Encounter "Unknown changelog format 'None'" when generating changelog  #894

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1. github-actions

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   issue-status: needs-triage

   on Oct 19, 2023
2. anthonyfinch commented on Nov 3, 2023

   

   anthonyfinch

   on Nov 3, 2023

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   I have just been bitten by this one too. @gsemet thanks for version workaround, it was blocking our builds!
3. Lee-W

   changed the title [-]Good bug title tells us about precise symptom, not about the root cause.[/-] [+]Encounter "Unknown changelog format 'None'" when generating changelog on Python 3.12[/+] on Dec 3, 2023
4. Lee-W

   changed the title [-]Encounter "Unknown changelog format 'None'" when generating changelog on Python 3.12[/-] [+]Encounter "Unknown changelog format 'None'" when generating changelog [/+] on Dec 3, 2023
5. Lee-W commented on Dec 3, 2023

   

   Lee-W

   on Dec 3, 2023

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   HI @gsemet @anthonyfinch , could you please provide more detail on this issue? I'm not able to reproduce it. Might need to know how the changelog looks like and what are some of the example commits
6. Lee-W

   added

   issue-status: wait-for-response

   type: bug

   and removed

   issue-status: needs-triage

   on Dec 3, 2023
7. bearomorphism commented on May 9, 2026

   

   bearomorphism

   on May 9, 2026

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   Triage from #1964: Still valid on master (4.15.1). commitizen/changelog_formats/__init__.py (lines 73-78) raises ChangelogFormatUnknown('None') if changelog_format isn't set and the filename's extension isn't recognised (e.g. changelog.md.sections). Workaround: set changelog_format = "markdown" in your config. Long-term fix: better error message ("Set changelog_format explicitly when using a non-standard file extension") and/or default to markdown.
8. bearomorphism commented on May 9, 2026

   

   bearomorphism

   on May 9, 2026

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   Verification update (re #1964)

   Reproduced against current master (4.15.1):

   cz changelog --file-name docs/source/changelog.md.sections --dry-run --unreleased-version UNRELEASED_VERSION exits with code 29:

   Unknown changelog format 'None'
   

   Workaround confirmed: adding changelog_format = "markdown" to [tool.commitizen] fixes it (exit 0, changelog generated correctly).

   Verdict: STILL VALID. Suggested fixes:

   1. Better error message: "Cannot infer changelog format from filename '<filename>'. Set 'changelog_format' explicitly in your config (e.g., 'markdown')."
   2. Default to markdown when guessing fails (least surprising for most users).
   3. Document the changelog_format setting more prominently for non-standard filename use cases.
9. bearomorphism

   added

   issue-status: pr-created

   and removed

   issue-status: wait-for-response

   on May 9, 2026