CLI Reference

The CLI is for changelog-as-code workflows: scaffold, add entries, validate, build outputs, and generate feeds.

Run commands with npx featuredrop ... from your repo root.

Command index

Most common workflow

# 1) scaffold once
npx featuredrop init --format markdown
 
# 2) add entries as releases ship
npx featuredrop add --label "Decision Journal" --category ai --type feature --show-days 30
 
# 3) validate in CI
npx featuredrop validate --pattern "features/**/*.md"
 
# 4) compile output for runtime consumption
npx featuredrop build --pattern "features/**/*.md" --out featuredrop.manifest.json

Key commands with flags

featuredrop init

npx featuredrop init --format markdown --cwd .

Flags:

• --format markdown|json (default: markdown)
• --force overwrite sample output
• --cwd working directory

featuredrop add

npx featuredrop add \
  --label "New dashboard analytics" \
  --id new-dashboard-analytics \
  --type feature \
  --category analytics \
  --description "Compare activation metrics by segment." \
  --url /docs/analytics \
  --show-days 21

Flags:

• --label (required in non-interactive mode)
• --id, --type, --category, --description, --url
• --releasedAt, --showNewUntil, --show-days
• --format markdown|json, --cwd

featuredrop migrate

npx featuredrop migrate --from beamer --input beamer-export.json --out featuredrop.manifest.json

Supported --from values:

• beamer
• headway
• announcekit
• canny
• launchnotes

featuredrop validate and featuredrop build

npx featuredrop validate --pattern "features/**/*.md"
npx featuredrop build --pattern "features/**/*.md" --out featuredrop.manifest.json

Flags:

• --pattern markdown source pattern (default: features/**/*.md)
• --out output file for build command
• --cwd working directory

featuredrop doctor

npx featuredrop doctor --pattern "features/**/*.md"

doctor reports:

• duplicate IDs
• invalid date formats
• missing descriptions
• dependency cycles
• expiry/scheduled warnings

Feed and changelog generation

npx featuredrop generate-rss --pattern "features/**/*.md" --out featuredrop.rss.xml --title "Product Updates"
npx featuredrop generate-changelog --pattern "features/**/*.md" --out CHANGELOG.generated.md

Behavior details that matter in CI

• Exit code is non-zero for command errors and failed validations.
• featuredrop add prompts for label only in interactive TTY mode.
• In CI/non-interactive shells, always pass --label explicitly.
• Use --cwd if your feature files live in a subdirectory/monorepo package.