Add path filtering support for monorepo setups #1458

Copilot · 2025-07-04T11:18:17Z

This PR adds the ability to filter commits by file paths, enabling better changelog generation for monorepo setups where different applications are stored in separate directories.

Problem

In monorepo environments, users often want to generate changelogs that only include commits affecting specific parts of the codebase. For example, when deploying app2, they don't want to see commits that only touched files in app1/. The GitHub API's compare endpoint doesn't support path filtering like git log -- app1/ does.

Solution

Added a new optional input parameter includeOnlyPaths that accepts comma-separated path patterns:

- name: "App1 Changelog" 
  uses: mikepenz/release-changelog-builder-action@{latest-release}
  with:
    includeOnlyPaths: "app1/,shared/"
    fromTag: "v1.0.0"
    toTag: "v2.0.0"

Implementation Details

GitHub API approach: For each commit, fetches file changes via additional API calls and filters commits based on whether any changed file matches the specified path patterns
Gitea approach: Uses git log -- <paths> to filter commits directly by path using local git commands
Path matching: Uses startsWith() for flexible prefix matching (e.g., app1/ matches app1/src/file.js)
Backward compatible: Optional parameter that doesn't affect existing functionality

Changes Made

Added includeOnlyPaths input parameter to action.yml
Updated input processing in main.ts and parameter passing through the call chain
Extended Options interface and repository classes to support path filtering
Added path filtering logic to both GithubRepository and GiteaRepository
Added comprehensive tests for the new functionality
Updated README with usage examples and documentation

Testing

Added unit tests covering:

Path pattern parsing (comma-separated, whitespace handling)
Integration with existing commit filtering
Edge cases (empty paths, malformed input)

Existing tests continue to pass, ensuring backward compatibility.

Fixes #1457.

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

gitea.com
- Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/release-changelog-builder-action/release-changelog-builder-action/node_modules/jest-worker/build/workers/processChild.js (dns block)
https://api.github.com/graphql
- Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/release-changelog-builder-action/release-changelog-builder-action/node_modules/jest-worker/build/workers/processChild.js (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/mikepenz/release-changelog-builder-action-playground/compare/1.5.0...2.0.0
- Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/release-changelog-builder-action/release-changelog-builder-action/node_modules/jest-worker/build/workers/processChild.js (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/mikepenz/release-changelog-builder-action-playground/compare/2.0.0...3.0.0-a01
- Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/release-changelog-builder-action/release-changelog-builder-action/node_modules/jest-worker/build/workers/processChild.js (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/mikepenz/release-changelog-builder-action-playground/compare/2.0.0...3.0.1
- Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/release-changelog-builder-action/release-changelog-builder-action/node_modules/jest-worker/build/workers/processChild.js (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/mikepenz/release-changelog-builder-action-playground/releases/tags/1.5.0
- Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/release-changelog-builder-action/release-changelog-builder-action/node_modules/jest-worker/build/workers/processChild.js (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/mikepenz/release-changelog-builder-action-playground/releases/tags/2.0.0
- Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/release-changelog-builder-action/release-changelog-builder-action/node_modules/jest-worker/build/workers/processChild.js (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/mikepenz/release-changelog-builder-action-playground/releases/tags/3.0.0-a01
- Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/release-changelog-builder-action/release-changelog-builder-action/node_modules/jest-worker/build/workers/processChild.js (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/mikepenz/release-changelog-builder-action-playground/releases/tags/3.0.1
- Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/release-changelog-builder-action/release-changelog-builder-action/node_modules/jest-worker/build/workers/processChild.js (http block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to my firewall allow list

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caspervdw · 2025-07-17T14:11:08Z

@mikepenz I tested this branch and it works as I would expect it to (using Github backend)

mikepenz · 2025-08-12T05:15:20Z

@copilot rebase please

Copilot · 2025-08-12T05:16:41Z

@copilot rebase please

I'm unable to perform git rebase operations as I don't have access to git push/rebase commands in this environment. You'll need to rebase this branch manually or through the GitHub interface.

github-actions · 2025-08-12T05:22:29Z

	Tests	Passed ✅	Skipped	Failed
JUnit Test Report	67 ran	67 passed	0 skipped	0 failed

Test	Result
No test annotations available

View JUnit Test Report

Co-authored-by: mikepenz <[email protected]>

…& adjust type accordingly

…ementations - Refactored `includeOnlyPaths` handling for better consistency. - Added path filtering to `getDiffStats` and `getCommitsBetween` functions. - Updated tests to reflect changes in path filtering logic. - Enhanced offline and remote repository handling with path filtering support.

…sitory - Refactored path filtering logic for better efficiency and readability. - Consolidated file matching and commit filtering to reduce redundant API calls. - Improved handling of commit-to-file mapping. - Adjusted logic to streamline stats collection and filtering process.

Copilot

Pull Request Overview

This PR adds support for path filtering in monorepo environments by introducing an includeOnlyPaths parameter that allows filtering commits based on the files they modify. This enables users to generate changelogs that only include commits affecting specific parts of their codebase.

Added includeOnlyPaths input parameter to filter commits by file paths
Updated repository implementations to support path filtering with different strategies for GitHub and Gitea
Added comprehensive test coverage for the new functionality

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 12 out of 14 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
action.yml	Added `includeOnlyPaths` input parameter definition
src/main.ts	Added input processing for path patterns with filtering logic
src/repositories/*.ts	Updated all repository classes to support path filtering parameter
src/pr-collector/*.ts	Updated data flow to pass path filtering through the collection pipeline
tests/pathFiltering.test.ts	Added unit tests for path filtering functionality
README.md	Added documentation and usage examples for monorepo configuration

_{Tip: Customize your code reviews with copilot-instructions.md. Create the file or learn how to get started.}

Copilot · 2025-08-17T10:40:06Z

src/repositories/GiteaRepository.ts

+        authorName: commit.authorName,
+        authorDate: moment(commit.authorDate),
+        committer: "",
+        committerName: "",


The committer field is hardcoded to an empty string instead of using the actual commit data. This loses information that was previously available in the original implementation.

Suggested change

committerName: "",

committer: commit.committer ?? "",

committerName: commit.committerName ?? "",

Copilot · 2025-08-17T10:40:06Z

src/repositories/GiteaRepository.ts

+        authorName: commit.authorName,
+        authorDate: moment(commit.authorDate),
+        committer: "",
+        committerName: "",


The committerName field is hardcoded to an empty string instead of using the actual commit data. This loses information that was previously available in the original implementation.

Suggested change

committerName: "",

committer: commit.committer,

committerName: commit.committerName,

Copilot · 2025-08-17T10:40:07Z

src/repositories/GithubRepository.ts

    let changeCount = 0
-    let commitCount = 0
+
+    const pathFilteringEnabled = (includeOnlyPaths && includeOnlyPaths.length > 0) == true


Using == true is redundant. The expression (includeOnlyPaths && includeOnlyPaths.length > 0) already returns a boolean.

Suggested change

const pathFilteringEnabled = (includeOnlyPaths && includeOnlyPaths.length > 0) == true

const pathFilteringEnabled = (includeOnlyPaths && includeOnlyPaths.length > 0)

Copilot · 2025-08-17T10:40:07Z

src/repositories/GithubRepository.ts

-      commitInfo: commits
+      commits: filteredCommits.length,
+      commitInfo: filteredCommits
        .filter(commit => commit.sha)


[nitpick] The filter operation commit => commit.sha is applied after path filtering, but commit.sha should always be present in GitHub API responses. This filter may be unnecessary or could indicate a deeper issue.

Suggested change

.filter(commit => commit.sha)

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and mikepenz Jul 4, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of mikepenz July 4, 2025 11:18 View session

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Filtering commits by path~~ Add path filtering support for monorepo setups Jul 4, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from mikepenz July 4, 2025 11:37

Copilot finished work on behalf of mikepenz July 4, 2025 11:37

Copilot started work on behalf of mikepenz August 12, 2025 05:15 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of mikepenz August 12, 2025 05:17

mikepenz force-pushed the copilot/fix-1457 branch from 9660bbc to e9894ed Compare August 12, 2025 05:21

mikepenz force-pushed the copilot/fix-1457 branch from e9894ed to a3d6e36 Compare August 12, 2025 05:36

mikepenz requested a review from Copilot August 12, 2025 05:36

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mikepenz force-pushed the copilot/fix-1457 branch from cb0a5a9 to e65be06 Compare August 12, 2025 09:43

mikepenz marked this pull request as ready for review August 16, 2025 10:05

Copilot AI and others added 10 commits August 16, 2025 14:13

Initial plan

b61a380

Implement path filtering for commits in monorepo setups

26910c6

Co-authored-by: mikepenz <[email protected]>

- recompile dist

2dce5d0

update: enhance includeOnlyPaths handling, change to multiline input …

649dd07

…& adjust type accordingly

- warn that using includeOnlyPaths will use extra api requests

ba0609a

recompile dist

6c9dfe2

refactor: remove unused changedFiles property from commit objects

14c7858

test: use fake timers and adjust test timeout in transform tests

f1f0303

mikepenz force-pushed the copilot/fix-1457 branch from 48da528 to f1f0303 Compare August 16, 2025 12:14

- fix formatting

32e46ee

- remove jest

595d50d

mikepenz added the feature label Aug 16, 2025

mikepenz requested a review from Copilot August 16, 2025 12:20

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mikepenz added 4 commits August 16, 2025 14:21

- fixed extra requests

3b23ec1

adjust file to commit mapping

13f263a

simplify by using a set, remove obsolete handling

0ccf865

- fix filtering based on file path for github when doing it remotely

4a8e4e9

mikepenz requested a review from Copilot August 17, 2025 10:39

Copilot AI reviewed Aug 17, 2025

View reviewed changes

mikepenz merged commit 3429301 into develop Aug 17, 2025
7 checks passed

mikepenz deleted the copilot/fix-1457 branch August 17, 2025 11:09

	committerName: "",
	committer: commit.committer ?? "",
	committerName: commit.committerName ?? "",

	committerName: "",
	committer: commit.committer,
	committerName: commit.committerName,

	const pathFilteringEnabled = (includeOnlyPaths && includeOnlyPaths.length > 0) == true
	const pathFilteringEnabled = (includeOnlyPaths && includeOnlyPaths.length > 0)

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Add path filtering support for monorepo setups #1458

Add path filtering support for monorepo setups #1458

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Copilot AI commented Jul 4, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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Problem

Solution

Implementation Details

Changes Made

Testing

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Copilot AI commented Jul 4, 2025 •

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