changesets

1---2name: changesets3description: Changesets. Use after consumer-visible runtime, public API, entrypoint, lifecycle, or wire-format changes, when deciding whether a change is breaking, or when authoring changesets and consumer release notes.4---5 6Record what consumers need to know after implementation and focused validation.7 8## Workflow9 101. Inspect the complete diff and identify directly affected published packages.112. Classify impact across source types, runtime behavior, entrypoints, required12   services, lifecycle, and persisted or wire data.133. Perform the breaking audit below.144. Record either a reason no changeset is required or one coherent changeset.15   When required, read [authoring.md](authoring.md).165. Validate package names, frontmatter, bump policy, and consumer-facing text.17 18Do not include unrelated worktree changes.19 20## Requirement21 22Create a changeset for observable runtime behavior changes, including bug23fixes; exported value or public type changes; entrypoint or export-map changes;24changes to required services, errors, ownership, defaults, or lifecycle; and25persisted, serialization, protocol, or wire-format changes.26 27Tests-only changes, behavior-preserving internal refactors, documentation or28JSDoc maintenance, and unpublished tooling normally do not need one. When29unclear, inspect exports and consumer-visible declarations rather than inferring30from source location.31 32## Breaking Audit33 34A change is breaking when valid existing consumer code, configuration, or data35must change to keep compiling or behaving according to the previous contract.36Audit every surface:37 38- **Names and locations:** exports, entrypoints, compatibility exports, and39  module paths.40- **Call compatibility:** parameters, accepted inputs, overload resolution,41  generic parameters, and defaults.42- **Result compatibility:** return and error types, output narrowing, members,43  inference, and required services.44- **Runtime contracts:** defaults, failures, interruption, concurrency,45  ordering, resource lifetime, acquisition, cleanup, and mutation.46- **Data compatibility:** persisted schemas, encodings, database layouts,47  protocols, and wire formats.48 49Additive exports, optional parameters, and behavior-preserving implementations50are normally non-breaking. A fix restoring the documented contract is normally51non-breaking but still needs a changeset when its operational impact is52consumer-visible. Verify representative existing calls when overload ordering,53structural assignability, or inference makes compatibility uncertain. API diff54output is mechanical evidence, not a semantic-version decision.55 56The task is complete when every affected surface and published package is57accounted for and either the no-changeset decision is explicit or one coherent,58valid changeset describes the consumer impact and migration for every break.59