chore(changelog): Use towncrier to generate release changelogs

Author: msbrogli

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/feature_branch_pr_template.md

@@ -8,4 +8,5 @@ What was the motivation for the changes in this PR?
 
 ### Checklist
 
-- [ ] If you are requesting a merge into `master`, confirm this code is production-ready and can be included in future releases as soon as it gets merged 
+- [ ] If you are requesting a merge into `master`, confirm this code is production-ready and can be included in future releases as soon as it gets merged
+- [ ] Added changelog fragment OR added `skip-changelog` label

.github/workflows/main.yml

@@ -77,6 +77,27 @@ jobs:
           restore-keys: |
             ${{ runner.os }}-py${{ matrix.python }}-mypy-refs/heads/dev-
             ${{ runner.os }}-py${{ matrix.python }}-mypy-
+      - name: Check for changelog fragment
+        env:
+          SKIP_CHANGELOG: ${{ contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'skip-changelog') }}
+        run: |
+          # Skip if 'skip-changelog' label present
+          if [[ "$SKIP_CHANGELOG" == "true" ]]; then
+            echo "Skipping due to skip-changelog label"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          PR=${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+          if ls changelogs/unreleased/${PR}.*.md 1> /dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "Found changelog fragment for PR #${PR}"
+          else
+            echo "::error::Missing changelog fragment: changelogs/unreleased/${PR}.<type>.md"
+            echo "Valid types: breaking, security, feat, fix, perf, deprecation, docs, misc"
+            echo "Or add 'skip-changelog' label to skip this check."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+      - name: Validate towncrier config
+        run: towncrier build --draft --version "test" > /dev/null
       - name: Run linters
         run: poetry run make check
       - name: Run tests

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Changelog
+
+All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
+
+The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
+
+<!-- towncrier release notes start -->

changelogs/TEMPLATE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+<!--
+CHANGELOG FRAGMENT TEMPLATE
+============================
+
+HOW TO USE:
+1. Copy this file to: changelogs/unreleased/<PR_NUMBER>.<type>.md
+   Example: changelogs/unreleased/1234.feat.md
+
+2. Choose <type> based on your change (matches semantic commit prefixes):
+   - feature  → New user-facing features
+   - fix      → Bug fixes for users
+   - docs     → Documentation changes
+   - style    → Formatting, no code change (hidden from public changelog)
+   - refactor → Refactoring production code
+   - test     → Test changes, no production code (hidden from public changelog)
+   - chore    → Admin/build/config changes (hidden from public changelog)
+
+   Note: Breaking changes should be noted in the fragment description, not as a separate type.
+
+3. Replace this entire comment block with your changelog entry.
+   Write a concise, user-facing description of the change.
+
+EXAMPLES:
+
+  Simple feature (feature):
+    Add rate limiting support for API endpoints
+
+  Bug fix (fix):
+    Fix WebSocket reconnection failing after timeout
+
+  Refactoring (refactor):
+    Simplify transaction validation logic
+
+  Breaking change (feature with migration note):
+    Rename `get_tx()` to `get_vertex()` in storage API
+
+    **BREAKING:** Replace all calls to `storage.get_tx(hash)`
+    with `storage.get_vertex(hash)`
+
+  With code examples (feature with breaking change):
+    Change configuration format from YAML to TOML
+
+    **BREAKING:**
+    ```yaml
+    # Before (config.yml)
+    server:
+      port: 8080
+    ```
+    ```toml
+    # After (config.toml)
+    [server]
+    port = 8080
+    ```
+
+GUIDELINES:
+- Write for end users, not developers
+- Focus on impact, not implementation details
+- For breaking changes, always include migration steps
+- Keep it concise: 1-2 sentences for simple changes
+-->
+
+Your changelog entry here

changelogs/unreleased/1565.chore.md

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add changelog fragment support using towncrier

changelogs/unreleased/fix-output-negative-value.yml

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ yamllint = "~1.35.1"
 types-requests = "=2.28.11.4"
 types-pyopenssl = "=22.1.0.2"
 types-pyyaml = "=6.0.12.9"
+towncrier = "~23.11.0"
 
 [tool.poetry.dependencies]
 python = ">=3.11,<4"
@@ -185,3 +186,45 @@ norecursedirs = ["hathor_tests/nanocontracts/test_blueprints"]
 [build-system]
 requires = ["poetry-core >= 1.3.2", "cython < 0.30"]
 build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"
+
+[tool.towncrier]
+package = "hathor"
+filename = "CHANGELOG.md"
+directory = "changelogs/unreleased"
+title_format = "## [{version}] - {project_date}"
+issue_format = "[#{issue}](https://github.com/HathorNetwork/hathor-core/pull/{issue})"
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "feature"
+name = "Features"
+showcontent = true
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "fix"
+name = "Bug Fixes"
+showcontent = true
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "docs"
+name = "Documentation"
+showcontent = true
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "style"
+name = "Style"
+showcontent = false
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "refactor"
+name = "Refactoring"
+showcontent = true
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "test"
+name = "Tests"
+showcontent = false
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "chore"
+name = "Chores"
+showcontent = false