Automated GitHub Releases with Bun, Bumpp, and Changelogithub

Jan 16, 2026 · Bun, GitHub, Release, Automation, Changelog

Introduction

Ever wanted to automate your GitHub releases with auto-generated changelogs based on your commit messages? With Bun, bumpp, and changelogithub, you can create professional releases in seconds !!! no manual changelog writing required!

Prerequisites

Before getting started, make sure you have the following tools:

• Bun — A fast JavaScript runtime
• bumpp — Interactive version bumping
• changelogithub — GitHub release notes generator

Install bumpp as a dev dependency:

bun add -D bumpp

Setup

Add a release script to your package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "release": "bumpp"
  }
}

Bump the Version and Create a Tag

Run the release command:

bun run release

You’ll see an interactive prompt like this:

✔ Current version 1.4.1 ›         patch 1.4.2

   files package.json
  commit chore: release v1.4.2
     tag v1.4.2
    push yes

    from 1.4.1
      to 1.4.2

✔ Bump? … yes
✔ Git commit
✔ Git tag
✔ Git push

This will:

1. Update the version in package.json
2. Create a git commit with message chore: release vX.X.X
3. Create a git tag vX.X.X
4. Push everything to your remote repository

Step 2: Generate the Changelog

Now, let’s generate the changelog and create a GitHub release:

bunx changelogithub

No Previous Tag to Compare

If this is your first release, you’ll likely encounter this error:

fatal: ambiguous argument 'c46318bd...v1.4.2': unknown revision or path not in the working tree.

Why does this happen?

This error occurs because changelogithub tries to compare the current tag with the previous tag to generate a changelog. Since this is your first release, there’s no previous tag to compare against.

Solution: Manually specify the starting commit using the --from flag:

bunx changelogithub --from c46318b

To find your initial commit hash:

git log --oneline | tail -1

Error 2: No GitHub Token Found

After fixing the first error, you might encounter this:

No GitHub token found, specify it via GITHUB_TOKEN env. Release skipped.

Why does this happen?

Since we’re running changelogithub locally (without GitHub Actions), it needs a GitHub token to authenticate and create the release on your behalf.

Solution: Create and export a GitHub Personal Access Token.

How to Get a GitHub Token

1. Go to GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic)
2. Click “Generate new token (classic)”
3. Give it a name (e.g., changelogithub)
4. Select the scope:
   • public_repo — for public repositories
   • repo — for private repositories
5. Click “Generate token” and copy it

Export the Token

Add the token to your current shell session:

export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tip: Add this line to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc for permanent access.

Now Run Again!

Now run the command again with both fixes:

bunx changelogithub --from c46318b

You should see output like this:

changelogithub v14.0.0
c46318b -> v1.4.2 (224 commits)
--------------

### 🚨 Breaking Changes
- Update package manager to use bun or bunx

### 🚀 Features
- Add Friends page
- Add Gear page
- **OG-Image**: Add Open Graph image generation

### 🐞 Bug Fixes
- Missing thumbnail
- Correct spelling errors

##### View changes on GitHub

--------------
Creating release notes...
Released on https://github.com/username/repo/releases/tag/v1.4.2

Your release is now live on GitHub with a beautifully formatted changelog!

Automate with GitHub Actions

Want to skip the manual token setup entirely? Use GitHub Actions to automate the entire process!

Create .github/workflows/release.yml:

name: Release

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - name: Setup Bun
        uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v1

      - name: Generate Changelog & Release
        run: bunx changelogithub
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

Now your workflow is:

1. Run bun run release locally
2. GitHub Actions automatically generates the changelog and creates the release

Note: secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN is automatically provided by GitHub Actions — no manual setup required!

Command Reference

References

• bumpp — Version bumping tool by Anthony Fu
• changelogithub — Changelog generator by Anthony Fu
• Conventional Commits — Commit message specification