CLI

Installation

Standalone binaries — no Node.js or runtime required. The installer detects your platform automatically.

Linux & macOS

curl -fsSL https://gitlogpretty.com/install.sh | bash

Installs to /usr/local/bin (or ~/.local/bin if that's not writable). Supports x64 and ARM64 on both Linux and macOS.

Windows

irm https://gitlogpretty.com/install.ps1 | iex

Installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\gitlogpretty and adds it to your user PATH.

Manual download

Prefer to download yourself? Grab the binary for your platform from the latest release, place it on your PATH, and rename it to gitlogpretty-cli.

Verify the install

gitlogpretty-cli --version

Quick start

You need two things: a downloaded binary and an API token.

1. Download the binary for your platform from the releases page and place it on your PATH as gitlogpretty-cli.
2. Sign in at gitlogpretty.com/app and open the API Tokens section.
3. Click Create token, give it a label (e.g. GitHub Actions), and copy the token — it's shown only once.
4. Store it as an environment variable or CI secret named GITLOGPRETTY_TOKEN.
5. Run the CLI from the root of any GitHub repository:

   gitlogpretty-cli --output CHANGELOG.md

   The repo URL is detected automatically from git remote get-url origin. No arguments needed.

Authentication

The CLI authenticates using an API token tied to your GitLogPretty account. Each generation deducts one credit from your account balance.

Creating a token

1. Go to gitlogpretty.com/app and sign in with GitHub.
2. Scroll to the API Tokens section.
3. Enter a label and click Create token.
4. Copy the glp_... value immediately — it won't be shown again.

You can create as many tokens as you need (one per project or per environment) and revoke them individually at any time.

Providing the token

There are two ways to pass your token to the CLI:

Environment variable (recommended) — set once in your shell profile or CI secrets:

export GITLOGPRETTY_TOKEN=glp_...

Flag — pass it directly (useful for testing):

npx gitlogpretty-cli --token glp_... https://github.com/owner/repo

Usage

gitlogpretty-cli [options] [github-repo-url]

Repo URL is optional. If omitted, the CLI runs git remote get-url origin in the current directory and normalises the result — whether it's an HTTPS or SSH remote.

Output to a file

gitlogpretty-cli --output CHANGELOG.md

Output to stdout

gitlogpretty-cli

Progress messages are printed to stderr so they don't pollute a piped stdout stream.

Suppress progress messages

gitlogpretty-cli --quiet --output CHANGELOG.md

Explicit repo URL

gitlogpretty-cli https://github.com/owner/repo

Options

CI / CD integration

Store your token as a CI secret and call the CLI in your release workflow. The CLI exits with a non-zero code on any error, so failed runs will correctly fail the job.

GitHub Actions

name: Release

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  changelog:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install gitlogpretty-cli
        run: curl -fsSL https://gitlogpretty.com/install.sh | bash

      - name: Generate changelog
        run: gitlogpretty-cli --output CHANGELOG.md
        env:
          GITLOGPRETTY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITLOGPRETTY_TOKEN }}

      - name: Commit changelog
        run: |
          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
          git add CHANGELOG.md
          git commit -m "chore: update changelog" || echo "No changes to commit"
          git push

GitLab CI

changelog:
  stage: release
  script:
    - curl -fsSL https://gitlogpretty.com/install.sh | bash
    - gitlogpretty-cli --output CHANGELOG.md
  variables:
    GITLOGPRETTY_TOKEN: $GITLOGPRETTY_TOKEN  # set in CI/CD settings
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - CHANGELOG.md

npm release script

"scripts": {
  "changelog": "gitlogpretty-cli --output CHANGELOG.md",
  "release": "npm run changelog && npm version patch && git push --follow-tags"
}

FAQ

Does it work with private repositories?

Yes. The CLI uses your linked GitHub account's OAuth token to fetch commits. Private repo access requires at least one credit purchase — free credits cover public repos only.

What if my remote isn't named origin?

Pass the URL explicitly: npx gitlogpretty-cli https://github.com/owner/repo

Can I use SSH remotes?

Yes. git@github.com:owner/repo.git is automatically normalised to the HTTPS equivalent.

How many commits does it analyse?

The most recent 20 commits. This keeps output focused on your latest release and controls AI token costs.

Does it require Node.js?

No. The standalone binary bundles its own runtime — download it, make it executable, and run it anywhere.

How do I check my credit balance?

Sign in at gitlogpretty.com/app. Credits are shown in the header. Each successful CLI run deducts one credit.