# release-drafter/release-drafter

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3,890 stars · 378 forks · TypeScript · ISC

## Links

- GitHub: https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter
- Homepage: https://github.com/marketplace/actions/release-drafter
- awesome-repositories: https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/release-drafter-release-drafter.md

## Topics

`action` `github-app` `hacktoberfest` `release-automation` `release-notes`

## Description

Release-drafter is a GitHub Action workflow and automation engine designed to manage the software release lifecycle. It functions as a release notes automator, an automated changelog generator, and a semantic versioning calculator that aggregates merged pull requests into structured draft releases.

The project distinguishes itself through event-driven execution that triggers updates based on repository activity. It features a semantic versioning calculator to determine the next version number based on merged change categories, and provides specialized management for both stable and prerelease draft notes.

The tool covers a broad range of automation capabilities, including rule-based change categorization, pattern-based labeling for issues and pull requests, and template-driven content rendering. It also supports changelog customization through regular expression text transformations and contributor list filtering.

## Tags

### DevOps & Infrastructure

- [GitHub Release Automators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/release-automation/github-release-automators.md) — Provides an automation engine that aggregates merged pull requests into structured draft releases and changelogs specifically for GitHub.
- [Release Note Generation](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/release-automation/github-release-automators/release-note-generation.md) — Aggregates merged pull requests into structured draft releases and maintains automated release notes on GitHub.
- [GitHub Actions Workflows](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/automation-orchestration/task-execution-frameworks/ci-workflow-automations/github-actions-workflows.md) — Automates repository tasks like labeling and release note updates using GitHub Actions workflows.
- [Automated Version Incrementing](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/dependency-management/version-compatibility-management/semantic-versioning-systems/automated-version-incrementing.md) — Programmatically calculates the next version number based on categories and labels of merged changes.
- [Draft Release Creators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/release-automation/git-release-automators/draft-release-creators.md) — Manages the transition from merged code to public release by creating automated draft releases and tracking versions.
- [Version Calculation Logic](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/release-automation/version-calculation-logic.md) — Determines the next project version number by mapping change categories to semantic versioning increment rules.
- [Release Contribution Filters](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/release-automation/github-release-automators/release-note-generation/release-contribution-filters.md) — Includes or excludes specific pull requests from release notes based on defined matching criteria and rules. ([source](https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter))

### Development Tools & Productivity

- [Event-Driven Workflow Triggers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/event-driven-workflow-triggers.md) — Provides automated triggers that initiate release note updates based on GitHub pull request merge events.
- [Label-Based Categorization](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/label-based-categorization.md) — Groups merged pull requests into distinct changelog sections based on label matches or file path patterns.
- [Release Changelog Generators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/project-changelogs/release-changelog-generators.md) — Uses templates and regular expressions to automatically format release summaries from pull request metadata.
- [Version Calculators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/project-version-managers/project-release-versions/semantic-versioning/version-calculators.md) — Calculates the next project version number by combining merged change categories with semantic versioning rules.
- [Post-Processing Text Transformations](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/project-changelogs/release-changelog-generators/post-processing-text-transformations.md) — Modifies the final generated changelog body using regular expression search-and-replace operations. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/release-drafter/release-drafter@master/README.md))
- [Regex Text Transformations](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/regex-text-transformations.md) — Sanitizes and refines generated release notes using regular expression search-and-replace patterns.
- [Prerelease Managers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/release-management/prerelease-managers.md) — Manages the lifecycle and versioning identifiers of prerelease drafts to track changes between unstable versions. ([source](https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter))

### Software Engineering & Architecture

- [Change Type Categorizations](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/changelogs/change-type-categorizations.md) — Organizes the changelog by grouping merged pull requests into specific sections based on labels or file paths. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/release-drafter/release-drafter@master/README.md))
- [Changelog Renderers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/changelogs/changelog-renderers.md) — Applies custom templates and regular expressions to format release names, tags, and pull request content. ([source](https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter))
- [Layout Templates](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/changelogs/changelog-renderers/layout-templates.md) — Provides templates and variables to define the visual layout of release headers, footers, and category titles. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/release-drafter/release-drafter@master/README.md))
- [Pull Request Labelers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/integration-extensibility/workflow-automation-integrations/ci-cd-integrations/github-actions/pull-request-labelers.md) — Automatically assigns labels to pull requests by matching file patterns, branch names, or text content.

### User Interface & Experience

- [Changelog Content Renderers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/control-template-customizations/custom-template-renderers/changelog-content-renderers.md) — Generates structured changelogs by injecting aggregated pull request data into customizable layout templates.