terms

$ man changelog-vocabulary
baseline
chore Establishing a reference configuration — dependency, config, or environment changes pinlockfreezenormalizestandardize
decouple
refactor Reducing coupling, improving modularity — restructuring without changing behavior modularizepartitiondecomposeisolateextract
deprecate
remove Formally retiring — removing dead, unused, or redundant code decommissionretiresunsetexpungephase-out
harden
fix Making the system resistant to failure, attack, or bad input — validation, retries, error handling fortifyruggedizearmorguard
instantiate
feat Bringing a concept or spec into implementation — new capability, feature, or behavior realizeprovisionactualizecommissionmanifest
interface
feat Defining or implementing connections between subsystems or components integratebridgeinteroperatebindwire
margin
fix Adding buffer or slack so the system tolerates variation — headroom, timeouts, rate limits bufferheadroomslacktolerancereserve
qualify
test Demonstrating fitness for purpose — tests, assertions, verification verifyvalidatecertifydemonstrateconfirm
remediate
fix Correcting a non-conformance — fixing broken or incorrect behavior rectifycorrectmitigateresolverestore
specify
docs Writing requirements, specs, or documentation — making the implicit explicit formalizedefineprescribeannotatearticulate
streamline
perf Reducing drag or friction — performance optimization optimizetunerefineacceleratereduce-drag
alt-label
An alternative label for a concept — an entry point that resolves to the preferred term
category
What kind of work was done — the nature of a change independent of its scope
genus
The classification of a term — groups terms into named families within the vocabulary
severity
The scope and impact of a change — how far its effects propagate
architectural
Changes the fundamental design — breaking change or foundational redesign structuralfoundationalsystemicsweeping
behavioral
Changes observable behavior without restructuring — meaningful, non-breaking functionaloperationalobservableexternal
errata
Correction within tolerance — cosmetic, near-invisible cosmeticsuperficialincidentalnegligible
internal
Implementation detail only — no external interface or behavior change mechanical