LaunchNotes

Your commits. Ready to ship.

Turn real commit messages into tidy release notes and a launch announcement.

Free · Local by default · No account · No AI · No API keys

Quick start · Command line · Security · Contribute

You’ve finished a feature, fixed bugs, and shipped improvements. Now turn the commit history into release notes people can scan. LaunchNotes groups recognizable commit types, keeps your original wording, suggests a version, and drafts a short launch post. You review and edit before publishing.

Try it in 30 seconds

Requires Node.js 20 or later. No package installation is required.

npm start

Open http://127.0.0.1:4318, click Try the demo, and edit the example. Everything runs on your computer. Press Ctrl+C in the terminal to stop.

Your real commits

Copy commit titles from your Git history, one per line. The usual format works especially well:

feat: let readers search release notes
fix(auth): keep sessions active after refresh
perf: reduce startup time
security: validate uploaded file names
docs: explain keyboard shortcuts
chore: update development scripts

Paste them into the left box, set your current version, then review the release notes and announcement. Choose Copy or Download .md when the wording looks right. With no network request or account, you can keep using the local page offline after startup.

Make a commit list with Git

From a terminal inside your own project, run:

git log -10 --pretty=format:"%s"

Copy the printed commit subjects into LaunchNotes. -10 selects the latest ten commits; adjust that number for your release. This reads the messages you choose and does not send your repository to LaunchNotes.

Version suggestions

LaunchNotes follows the conventional commit convention as a practical suggestion:

• feat suggests a minor version increase.
• fix, perf, docs, and other recognized changes suggest a patch increase.
• A ! marker or BREAKING CHANGE: marker suggests a major version increase.

This is a convenience, not a release policy. Set the actual version yourself; prerelease tags and zero-version special rules are not inferred.

Command line

Generate a Markdown changelog from a text file with one commit per line:

node src/cli.js --input commits.txt --current 1.7.2 --output RELEASE_NOTES.md

Pick a release version directly, rename the heading, and include maintenance commits:

node src/cli.js --input commits.txt --version 1.8.0 --title "What's new" --all --output RELEASE_NOTES.md

The CLI reads local text only, limits input size, and refuses to overwrite an existing output file. Run node src/cli.js --help to see all options. CLI and browser share the same grouping and version-suggestion engine.

Categories

feat → Features · fix → Fixes · perf → Performance · security → Security · docs → Documentation · refactor, style, test, build, ci, chore, revert → Maintenance. Unrecognized messages go under Other. Duplicate messages are removed. A ! or BREAKING CHANGE: marks a breaking change. Maintenance messages are hidden until you select Include maintenance commits.

The output does not claim that a feature has shipped beyond what its commit text says. It does not generate commit links, infer ticket numbers, verify behavior, or know whether a commit should be public. Do a human review before publishing, especially if commit subjects contain sensitive project or customer details.

Design choices

• Browser interface and CLI use one plain JavaScript core.
• No third-party JavaScript packages at runtime.
• The server binds to 127.0.0.1, serves only a fixed list of files, and rejects write methods and unexpected hosts.
• Content is displayed as text, not executed markup.
• Web page policy blocks remote connections; no analytics, storage, API calls, or upload endpoint.
• Repository includes a Node syntax-check workflow for Node 20 and 22 on Linux and Windows.

This is a small open-source tool, not a guarantee of polished or complete release notes. Review its suggestions and your source messages.

Project layout

src/core.js       Commit parsing, grouping, version suggestions, Markdown
src/cli.js        CLI entry point and safe local file output
src/server.js     Loopback-only static server
web/              Accessible browser application and styling
examples/         Fictional sample commit messages
.github/          Cross-platform syntax-check workflow

Develop

npm run check

See CONTRIBUTING.md for safe sample-data rules and focused contribution guidance. Read the security notes before recommending this tool for sensitive workflows.

Built by Okan Tiktas. Released under the MIT License. If LaunchNotes made release day a little easier, share the repository and suggest a commit style it should understand.