feat(release): generate the GitHub release body from the changelog (#2987)

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -46,12 +46,15 @@ jobs:
         run: pnpm install
         working-directory: website
 
+      - name: Generate release notes
+        run: go run ./cmd/release --notes > "${RUNNER_TEMP}/release-notes.md"
+
       - name: Run GoReleaser
         uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@f06c13b6b1a9625abc9e6e439d9c05a8f2190e94 # v7
         with:
           distribution: goreleaser-pro
           version: latest
-          args: release --clean --draft
+          args: release --clean --release-notes=${{ runner.temp }}/release-notes.md
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN}}
           GH_GORELEASER_TOKEN: ${{secrets.GH_GORELEASER_TOKEN}}

Taskfile.yml

@@ -217,7 +217,6 @@ tasks:
 
         Please wait for the CI to finish and then do the following:
 
-        - Copy the changelog for v{{.VERSION}} to the GitHub release
         - Update and push the snapcraft manifest in https://github.com/go-task/snap/blob/main/snap/snapcraft.yaml
     preconditions:
       - sh: test $(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD) = "main"

cmd/release/main.go

@@ -43,20 +43,29 @@ var changelogReleaseRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`## Unreleased`)
 // Flags
 var (
 	versionFlag bool
+	notesFlag   bool
 )
 
 func init() {
 	pflag.BoolVarP(&versionFlag, "version", "v", false, "resolved version number")
+	pflag.BoolVar(&notesFlag, "notes", false, "changelog section of the current version, for the GitHub release body")
 	pflag.Parse()
 }
 
 func main() {
-	if err := release(); err != nil {
+	if err := run(); err != nil {
 		fmt.Println(err)
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 }
 
+func run() error {
+	if notesFlag {
+		return notes(os.Stdout)
+	}
+	return release()
+}
+
 func release() error {
 	if len(pflag.Args()) != 1 {
 		return errors.New("error: expected version number")

cmd/release/notes.go

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3"
+)
+
+func notes(w io.Writer) error {
+	version, err := getVersion(versionFile)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	b, err := os.ReadFile(changelogSource)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	section := changelogSection(string(b), version)
+	if section == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	_, err = fmt.Fprintln(w, section)
+	return err
+}
+
+func changelogSection(changelog string, version *semver.Version) string {
+	heading := fmt.Sprintf("## v%s ", version)
+	var section []string
+	var found bool
+	for line := range strings.SplitSeq(changelog, "\n") {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(line, "## ") {
+			if found {
+				break
+			}
+			found = strings.HasPrefix(line, heading)
+			continue
+		}
+		if found {
+			section = append(section, line)
+		}
+	}
+	return strings.TrimSpace(strings.Join(section, "\n"))
+}

cmd/release/notes_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func TestChangelogSection(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	const changelog = `# Changelog
+
+## v3.53.1 - 2026-08-18
+
+### 🚀 Features
+
+- Something new (#1 by @someone).
+
+### 🐛 Fixes
+
+- Something fixed (#2 by @someone).
+
+## v3.53.10 - 2026-08-17
+
+- An entry of a version whose heading starts with "## v3.53.1".
+
+## v3.5.0 - 2026-01-01
+
+- An older entry.
+`
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		version  string
+		expected string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:    "section with sub-headings",
+			version: "3.53.1",
+			expected: `### 🚀 Features
+
+- Something new (#1 by @someone).
+
+### 🐛 Fixes
+
+- Something fixed (#2 by @someone).`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "last section of the file",
+			version:  "3.5.0",
+			expected: "- An older entry.",
+		},
+		{
+			// A patch release may ship without changelog entries.
+			name:     "missing section",
+			version:  "3.53.2",
+			expected: "",
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "heading of another version starts with this one",
+			version:  "3.53.10",
+			expected: `- An entry of a version whose heading starts with "## v3.53.1".`,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, test := range tests {
+		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+			version := semver.MustParse(test.version)
+			assert.Equal(t, test.expected, changelogSection(changelog, version))
+		})
+	}
+}

website/src/next/docs/releasing.md

@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ of the Taskfile.
 artifacts automatically when a new Git tag is pushed to `main` branch (raw
 executables and DEB and RPM packages).
 
+The body of the GitHub release is the section of the `CHANGELOG.md` matching the
+version being released, extracted by `go run ./cmd/release --notes`. A version
+without changelog entries is released with an empty body.
+
 Raw executables can also be reproduced and verified locally by
 checking out a specific tag and calling `goreleaser build`, using the Go version
 defined in the above GitHub Actions.