Formatters

HelixCommit includes five built-in formatters for rendering changelogs: Markdown, HTML, plain text, JSON, and YAML.

Formatter comparison

Feature	Markdown	HTML	Text	JSON	YAML
GitHub releases	Best	Works	Plain	No	No
Websites	Good	Best	No	API	API
Email	Varies	Best	Universal	No	No
Terminal	Good	No	Best	Parse	Good
Programmatic use	Parse	Parse	Parse	Best	Best
CI/CD pipelines	Good	Limited	Good	Best	Best

Markdown formatter

Generate GitHub-compatible Markdown.

render_markdown()

from helixcommit.formatters.markdown import render_markdown

markdown = render_markdown(changelog: Changelog) -> str

Changelog

required

Structured changelog object to render.

Returns: Formatted Markdown string

Example

from helixcommit.formatters.markdown import render_markdown

markdown = render_markdown(changelog)

# Save to file
Path("RELEASE_NOTES.md").write_text(markdown)

# Print to console
print(markdown)

Output format

## Release v2.0.0
_Released on 2025-11-13_

### Breaking Changes
- **api**: Change authentication flow (abc123)

### Features
- **ui**: Add dashboard component (def456)
- **api**: Implement rate limiting (ghi789)

### Bug Fixes
- Fix memory leak in parser (jkl012)

[View full changelog](https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v1.0.0...v2.0.0)

HTML formatter

Generate styled HTML output.

render_html()

from helixcommit.formatters.html import render_html

html = render_html(changelog: Changelog) -> str

Changelog

required

Structured changelog object to render.

Returns: Formatted HTML string with embedded CSS

Example

from helixcommit.formatters.html import render_html

html = render_html(changelog)

# Save to file
Path("changelog.html").write_text(html)

# Serve on website
return Response(html, mimetype='text/html')

Output format

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>Release v2.0.0</title>
  <style>
    /* Embedded CSS styles */
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="release">
    <h2>Release v2.0.0</h2>
    <p class="date">Released on November 13, 2025</p>
    <!-- Sections and items -->
  </div>
</body>
</html>

Text formatter

Generate plain text output.

render_text()

from helixcommit.formatters.text import render_text

text = render_text(changelog: Changelog) -> str

Changelog

required

Structured changelog object to render.

Returns: Plain text string

Example

from helixcommit.formatters.text import render_text

text = render_text(changelog)

# Save to file
Path("CHANGES.txt").write_text(text)

# Send via email
send_email(to="team@example.com", body=text)

# Post to Slack
slack_client.post_message(channel="#releases", text=text)

Output format

================================================================================
Release v2.0.0
Released on 2025-11-13
================================================================================

BREAKING CHANGES
----------------
* api: Change authentication flow (abc123)

FEATURES
--------
* ui: Add dashboard component (def456)
* api: Implement rate limiting (ghi789)

BUG FIXES
---------
* Fix memory leak in parser (jkl012)

Full changelog: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v1.0.0...v2.0.0

JSON formatter

Generate machine-readable JSON output for programmatic use.

render_json()

from helixcommit.formatters.json import render_json

json_output = render_json(changelog: Changelog, *, indent: int = 2) -> str

Changelog

required

Structured changelog object to render.

int

default:"2"

Number of spaces for JSON indentation.

Returns: JSON string representation of the changelog

Example

from helixcommit.formatters.json import render_json

json_output = render_json(changelog)

# Save to file
Path("changelog.json").write_text(json_output)

# Parse and process
import json
data = json.loads(json_output)
for section in data["sections"]:
    print(f"{section['title']}: {len(section['items'])} items")

Output format

{
  "version": "v2.0.0",
  "date": "2025-11-13T12:00:00+00:00",
  "sections": [
    {
      "title": "Features",
      "items": [
        {
          "title": "Add dashboard component",
          "type": "feat",
          "scope": "ui",
          "breaking": false,
          "references": {
            "commit": "def456",
            "pr": "https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "compare_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v1.0.0...v2.0.0"
  }
}

YAML formatter

Generate human-readable YAML output for CI/CD pipelines.

render_yaml()

from helixcommit.formatters.yaml import render_yaml

yaml_output = render_yaml(changelog: Changelog, *, default_flow_style: bool = False) -> str

Changelog

required

Structured changelog object to render.

bool

default:"False"

If True, use flow style (inline) for collections.

Returns: YAML string representation of the changelog

Example

from helixcommit.formatters.yaml import render_yaml

yaml_output = render_yaml(changelog)

# Save to file
Path("changelog.yaml").write_text(yaml_output)

# Use with CI/CD tools
with open(".release-data.yaml", "w") as f:
    f.write(yaml_output)

Output format

version: v2.0.0
date: '2025-11-13T12:00:00+00:00'
sections:
  - title: Features
    items:
      - title: Add dashboard component
        type: feat
        scope: ui
        breaking: false
        references:
          commit: def456
          pr: https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42
metadata:
  compare_url: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v1.0.0...v2.0.0

Using all formatters

Generate output in all formats:

from pathlib import Path
from helixcommit.formatters import markdown, html, text, json, yaml

# Generate all formats
markdown_output = markdown.render_markdown(changelog)
html_output = html.render_html(changelog)
text_output = text.render_text(changelog)
json_output = json.render_json(changelog)
yaml_output = yaml.render_yaml(changelog)

# Save to files
Path("RELEASE_NOTES.md").write_text(markdown_output)
Path("changelog.html").write_text(html_output)
Path("CHANGES.txt").write_text(text_output)
Path("changelog.json").write_text(json_output)
Path("changelog.yaml").write_text(yaml_output)

print("✓ Generated release notes in all formats")

Custom formatters

Create your own formatter by implementing a rendering function:

Basic custom formatter

from helixcommit.models import Changelog, ChangelogSection

def custom_formatter(changelog: Changelog) -> str:
    """Generate custom format release notes."""
    lines = []
    
    # Header
    lines.append(f"# Release {changelog.version}")
    lines.append(f"Date: {changelog.release_date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}")
    lines.append("")
    
    # Sections
    for section in changelog.sections:
        lines.append(f"## {section.title}")
        
        for item in section.items:
            # Format: "- [TYPE] Description (SHA)"
            commit_type = item.commit_type.upper()
            sha_short = item.commit_sha[:7]
            lines.append(f"- [{commit_type}] {item.description} ({sha_short})")
        
        lines.append("")
    
    return "\n".join(lines)

# Use custom formatter
output = custom_formatter(changelog)
print(output)

Template-based formatting

For more complex customization, use Jinja2 templates:

from jinja2 import Template
from helixcommit.models import Changelog

# Define template
template_string = """
# {{ changelog.version }}

Released: {{ changelog.release_date.strftime('%B %d, %Y') }}

{% for section in changelog.sections %}
## {{ section.title }}

{% for item in section.items %}
- {{ item.description }}
  {%- if item.scope %} ({{ item.scope }}){% endif %}
  {%- if item.breaking %} ⚠️ BREAKING{% endif %}
{% endfor %}

{% endfor %}
"""

def template_formatter(changelog: Changelog) -> str:
    """Render using Jinja2 template."""
    template = Template(template_string)
    return template.render(changelog=changelog)

# Use template formatter
output = template_formatter(changelog)

Complete example

from datetime import datetime
from pathlib import Path
from helixcommit.changelog import ChangelogBuilder
from helixcommit.formatters import markdown, html, text, json, yaml
from helixcommit.git_client import CommitRange, GitRepository

def generate_all_formats(repo_path: Path, since: str, until: str):
    """Generate release notes in all formats."""
    
    # Get commits
    repo = GitRepository(repo_path)
    commits = list(repo.iter_commits(
        CommitRange(since=since, until=until)
    ))
    
    # Build changelog
    builder = ChangelogBuilder(include_scopes=True)
    changelog = builder.build(
        version=until,
        release_date=datetime.now(),
        commits=commits,
        commit_prs={},
        pr_index={}
    )
    
    # Generate all formats
    formats = {
        "RELEASE_NOTES.md": markdown.render_markdown(changelog),
        "changelog.html": html.render_html(changelog),
        "CHANGES.txt": text.render_text(changelog),
        "changelog.json": json.render_json(changelog),
        "changelog.yaml": yaml.render_yaml(changelog)
    }
    
    # Save files
    output_dir = repo_path / "releases"
    output_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
    
    for filename, content in formats.items():
        output_file = output_dir / filename
        output_file.write_text(content)
        print(f"✓ Generated {filename}")

# Usage
generate_all_formats(
    repo_path=Path("."),
    since="v1.0.0",
    until="v2.0.0"
)

Next steps

Changelog builder

Build changelogs from commits

Output formats

Learn about format selection

Python API

Complete API reference

Examples

See formatters in action

Overview

Modules

Formatter comparison

Markdown formatter

render_markdown()

Example

Output format

HTML formatter

render_html()

Example

Output format

Text formatter

render_text()

Example

Output format

JSON formatter

render_json()

Example

Output format

YAML formatter

render_yaml()

Example

Output format

Using all formatters

Custom formatters

Basic custom formatter

Template-based formatting

Complete example

Next steps

Changelog builder

Output formats

Python API

Examples

​Formatter comparison

​Markdown formatter

​render_markdown()

​Example

​Output format

​HTML formatter

​render_html()

​Example

​Output format

​Text formatter

​render_text()

​Example

​Output format

​JSON formatter

​render_json()

​Example

​Output format

​YAML formatter

​render_yaml()

​Example

​Output format

​Using all formatters

​Custom formatters

​Basic custom formatter

​Template-based formatting

​Complete example

​Next steps

Changelog builder

Output formats

Python API

Examples

Formatter comparison

Markdown formatter

render_markdown()

Example

Output format

HTML formatter

render_html()

Example

Output format

Text formatter

render_text()

Example

Output format

JSON formatter

render_json()

Example

Output format

YAML formatter

render_yaml()

Example

Output format

Using all formatters

Custom formatters

Basic custom formatter

Template-based formatting

Complete example

Next steps