release-drafter
Automatically generates release notes and changelogs from merged pull requests
- Also known as
- release-drafter
What is release-drafter?
Release Drafter is a GitHub Action that generates and manages release notes automatically. It creates drafts based on merged pull requests, supporting semantic versioning, conventional commits, and customizable release templates with category-based organization.
release-drafter pricing
We don't have release-drafter's full plan breakdown yet (its pricing page resisted automated reading). Here's what we could confirm. Always check live pricing for exact numbers.
What release-drafter does
The capabilities that matter for changelog tools, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.
- Conventional commits support
- ✓
- Semver automation
- ✓
- Public hosted page
- -
- Embeddable widget
- -
- Custom domain whitelabel
- -
- Audience segmentation
- -
- Monorepo support
- -
- Ci cd integration
- ✓
- AI assisted drafting
- -
- View analytics
- -
- Open source self host
- ✓
Platform & deployment
Independently observed- CLI
- Web
- Cloud / SaaS
- Self-hosted
Integrations (5)
Independently observed- GitHub
- GitHub Enterprise Server⇄•
- GitLab⇄•
- Gitea⇄•
- Forgejo⇄•
Security & compliance
Known vulnerabilities: 0 (0 in the last 12 months) sourcea count reflects scale & disclosure, not quality
release-drafter FAQ
Common questions about release-drafter, answered from independent, dated evidence.
What is release-drafter?
A GitHub Action that maintains an up-to-date draft release by categorizing merged pull requests. Supports custom templates, semantic versioning, contributor tracking, and automated version resolution. It is indexed under Changelog Tools.
Source: https://github.com/pricing
Is release-drafter free to use?
release-drafter is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the ISC licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.
Source: https://github.com/pricing
What platforms does release-drafter support?
We have confirmed browser-based access to release-drafter. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.
Source: https://github.com/pricing
Can release-drafter be self-hosted?
We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for release-drafter, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.
Source: https://github.com/pricing
Is release-drafter open source?
Yes. release-drafter is published under the ISC licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.
release-drafter alternatives
Other changelog tools we track, ranked by the same independent score.
- AnnounceKitPlatform for distributing product announcements and updates across multiple communication channelsmedium · 74%
- semantic-releaseAutomates the entire package release process including version determination, release notes generation, and publishingmedium · 60%
- LaunchNotesEnterprise-grade platform for distributing product updates and release notes across multiple channelsmedium · 73%
- conventional-changelogAutomated changelog and release note generation from commit messageslow · 49%
- OlvyConsolidates customer feedback from multiple channels and uses AI to extract actionable insights.low · 36%
- commitizenmedium · 60%
Compare release-drafter
Side by side against other changelog tools, attribute by attribute, with a source on every value.
The vioscaleAI score: one lens on the evidence
Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for release-drafter, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development activity | 63 | 0.12 | 7.6 | ✓ |
| Release cadence | 96 | 0.07 | 6.4 | ✓ |
| Capabilities | 67 | 0.08 | 5.6 | ✓ |
| Dependent projects | 70 | 0.08 | 5.6 | ✓ |
| Security score | 47 | 0.05 | 2.5 | ✓ |
| Stars | 68 | 0.03 | 2.2 | ✓ |
| Integrations | 22 | 0.05 | 1.2 | ✓ |
| Security posture | 0 | 0.09 | 0.0 | - |
| Package downloads | 0 | 0.17 | 0.0 | - |
| Developer Q&A activity | 0 | 0.08 | 0.0 | - |
Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.
All data & sourcesshow ↓
Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.
Activity
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Commits last 30d | 100 | mediumsource · 2026-10-14 · 65% |
Adoption
Content
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Faq | 5 items | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 67% |
Features
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | Ci cd integration, Semver automation, Open source self host, Conventional commits support | mediumsource · 2026-10-14 · 60% |
Integrations
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Count | 5 | mediumsource · 2026-10-14 · 60% |
Language
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | TypeScript | highsource · 2026-10-14 · 90% |
License
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Spdx | ISC | highsource · 2026-10-14 · 95% |
Pricing
Release
Security
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Scorecard | 4.7 | highsource · 2026-10-14 · 90% |
| Vulnerabilities | Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=actions&package_name=release-drafter%2Frelease-drafter&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0 | highsource · 2026-10-14 · 90% |
| Trust center | https://github.com/security | mediumsource · 2026-10-14 · 60% |
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