python-semantic-release · codejedi365 · Jul 27, 2025 · Jul 4, 2025 · Jul 26, 2025 · Jul 27, 2025
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
@@ -134,6 +134,11 @@ outputs:
     description: |
       The commit SHA of the release if a release was made, otherwise an empty string
 
+  release_notes:
+    description: |
+      The release notes generated by the release, if any. If no release was made,
+      this will be an empty string.
+
   tag:
     description: |
       The Git tag corresponding to the version output

diff --git a/docs/configuration/automatic-releases/github-actions.rst b/docs/configuration/automatic-releases/github-actions.rst
@@ -549,6 +549,18 @@ Example when no release was made: ``""``
 
 ----
 
+.. _gh_actions-psr-outputs-release_notes:
+
+``release_notes``
+"""""""""""""""""""
+
+**Type:** ``string``
+
+The release notes generated by the release, if any. If no release was made,
+this will be an empty string.
+
+----
+
 .. _gh_actions-psr-outputs-version:
 
 ``version``

diff --git a/src/semantic_release/cli/commands/version.py b/src/semantic_release/cli/commands/version.py
@@ -641,6 +641,29 @@ def version(  # noqa: C901
             click.echo("Build failed, aborting release", err=True)
             ctx.exit(1)
 
+    license_cfg = runtime.project_metadata.get(
+        "license-expression",
+        runtime.project_metadata.get(
+            "license",
+            "",
+        ),
+    )
+
+    license_cfg = "" if not isinstance(license_cfg, (str, dict)) else license_cfg
+    license_cfg = (
+        license_cfg.get("text", "") if isinstance(license_cfg, dict) else license_cfg
+    )
+
+    gha_output.release_notes = release_notes = generate_release_notes(
+        hvcs_client,
+        release=release_history.released[new_version],
+        template_dir=runtime.template_dir,
+        history=release_history,
+        style=runtime.changelog_style,
+        mask_initial_release=runtime.changelog_mask_initial_release,
+        license_name="" if not isinstance(license_cfg, str) else license_cfg,
+    )
+
     project = GitProject(
         directory=runtime.repo_dir,
         commit_author=runtime.commit_author,
@@ -713,33 +736,6 @@ def version(  # noqa: C901
         logger.info("Remote does not support releases. Skipping release creation...")
         return
 
-    license_cfg = runtime.project_metadata.get(
-        "license-expression",
-        runtime.project_metadata.get(
-            "license",
-            "",
-        ),
-    )
-
-    if not isinstance(license_cfg, (str, dict)) or license_cfg is None:
-        license_cfg = ""
-
-    license_name = (
-        license_cfg.get("text", "")
-        if isinstance(license_cfg, dict)
-        else license_cfg or ""
-    )
-
-    release_notes = generate_release_notes(
-        hvcs_client,
-        release=release_history.released[new_version],
-        template_dir=runtime.template_dir,
-        history=release_history,
-        style=runtime.changelog_style,
-        mask_initial_release=runtime.changelog_mask_initial_release,
-        license_name=license_name,
-    )
-
     exception: Exception | None = None
     help_message = ""
     try:

diff --git a/src/semantic_release/cli/github_actions_output.py b/src/semantic_release/cli/github_actions_output.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import os
 from re import compile as regexp
+from typing import Any
 
 from semantic_release.globals import logger
 from semantic_release.version.version import Version
@@ -15,10 +16,12 @@ def __init__(
         released: bool | None = None,
         version: Version | None = None,
         commit_sha: str | None = None,
+        release_notes: str | None = None,
     ) -> None:
         self._released = released
         self._version = version
         self._commit_sha = commit_sha
+        self._release_notes = release_notes
 
     @property
     def released(self) -> bool | None:
@@ -64,35 +67,61 @@ def commit_sha(self, value: str) -> None:
 
         self._commit_sha = value
 
+    @property
+    def release_notes(self) -> str | None:
+        return self._release_notes if self._release_notes else None
+
+    @release_notes.setter
+    def release_notes(self, value: str) -> None:
+        if not isinstance(value, str):
+            raise TypeError("output 'release_notes' should be a string")
+        self._release_notes = value
+
     def to_output_text(self) -> str:
-        missing = set()
+        missing: set[str] = set()
         if self.version is None:
             missing.add("version")
         if self.released is None:
             missing.add("released")
         if self.released and self.commit_sha is None:
             missing.add("commit_sha")
+        if self.released and self.release_notes is None:
+            missing.add("release_notes")
 
         if missing:
             raise ValueError(
                 f"some required outputs were not set: {', '.join(missing)}"
             )
 
-        outputs = {
+        output_values: dict[str, Any] = {
             "released": str(self.released).lower(),
             "version": str(self.version),
             "tag": self.tag,
             "is_prerelease": str(self.is_prerelease).lower(),
             "commit_sha": self.commit_sha if self.commit_sha else "",
         }
 
-        return str.join("", [f"{key}={value!s}\n" for key, value in outputs.items()])
+        multiline_output_values: dict[str, str] = {
+            "release_notes": self.release_notes if self.release_notes else "",
+        }
+
+        output_lines = [
+            *[f"{key}={value!s}{os.linesep}" for key, value in output_values.items()],
+            *[
+                f"{key}<<EOF{os.linesep}{value}EOF{os.linesep}"
+                if value
+                else f"{key}={os.linesep}"
+                for key, value in multiline_output_values.items()
+            ],
+        ]
+
+        return str.join("", output_lines)
 
     def write_if_possible(self, filename: str | None = None) -> None:
         output_file = filename or os.getenv(self.OUTPUT_ENV_VAR)
         if not output_file:
             logger.info("not writing GitHub Actions output, as no file specified")
             return
 
-        with open(output_file, "a", encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            f.write(self.to_output_text())
+        with open(output_file, "ab") as f:
+            f.write(self.to_output_text().encode("utf-8"))
diff --git a/tests/e2e/cmd_version/test_version_github_actions.py b/tests/e2e/cmd_version/test_version_github_actions.py
@@ -1,20 +1,32 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+import os
+from datetime import timezone
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, cast
 
 import pytest
+from freezegun import freeze_time
 from pytest_lazy_fixtures.lazy_fixture import lf as lazy_fixture
 
-from tests.const import MAIN_PROG_NAME, VERSION_SUBCMD
+from semantic_release.version.version import Version
+
+from tests.const import EXAMPLE_PROJECT_LICENSE, MAIN_PROG_NAME, VERSION_SUBCMD
 from tests.fixtures.repos import (
     repo_w_git_flow_w_alpha_prereleases_n_conventional_commits,
 )
 from tests.util import actions_output_to_dict, assert_successful_exit_code
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from tests.conftest import RunCliFn
+    from tests.conftest import GetStableDateNowFn, RunCliFn
     from tests.fixtures.example_project import ExProjectDir
-    from tests.fixtures.git_repo import BuiltRepoResult
+    from tests.fixtures.git_repo import (
+        BuiltRepoResult,
+        GenerateDefaultReleaseNotesFromDefFn,
+        GetCfgValueFromDefFn,
+        GetHvcsClientFromRepoDefFn,
+        GetVersionsFromRepoBuildDefFn,
+        SplitRepoActionsByReleaseTagsFn,
+    )
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
@@ -25,21 +37,56 @@ def test_version_writes_github_actions_output(
     repo_result: BuiltRepoResult,
     run_cli: RunCliFn,
     example_project_dir: ExProjectDir,
+    get_cfg_value_from_def: GetCfgValueFromDefFn,
+    get_hvcs_client_from_repo_def: GetHvcsClientFromRepoDefFn,
+    generate_default_release_notes_from_def: GenerateDefaultReleaseNotesFromDefFn,
+    split_repo_actions_by_release_tags: SplitRepoActionsByReleaseTagsFn,
+    get_versions_from_repo_build_def: GetVersionsFromRepoBuildDefFn,
+    stable_now_date: GetStableDateNowFn,
 ):
     mock_output_file = example_project_dir / "action.out"
+    repo_def = repo_result["definition"]
+    tag_format_str = cast(str, get_cfg_value_from_def(repo_def, "tag_format_str"))
+    all_versions = get_versions_from_repo_build_def(repo_def)
+    latest_release_version = all_versions[-1]
+    release_tag = tag_format_str.format(version=latest_release_version)
+
+    repo_actions_per_version = split_repo_actions_by_release_tags(
+        repo_definition=repo_def,
+        tag_format_str=tag_format_str,
+    )
     expected_gha_output = {
         "released": str(True).lower(),
-        "version": "1.2.1",
-        "tag": "v1.2.1",
+        "version": latest_release_version,
+        "tag": release_tag,
         "commit_sha": "0" * 40,
-        "is_prerelease": str(False).lower(),
+        "is_prerelease": str(
+            Version.parse(latest_release_version).is_prerelease
+        ).lower(),
+        "release_notes": generate_default_release_notes_from_def(
+            version_actions=repo_actions_per_version[release_tag],
+            hvcs=get_hvcs_client_from_repo_def(repo_def),
+            previous_version=(
+                Version.parse(all_versions[-2]) if len(all_versions) > 1 else None
+            ),
+            license_name=EXAMPLE_PROJECT_LICENSE,
+            mask_initial_release=get_cfg_value_from_def(
+                repo_def, "mask_initial_release"
+            ),
+        ),
     }
 
+    # Remove the previous tag & version commit
+    repo_result["repo"].git.tag(release_tag, delete=True)
+    repo_result["repo"].git.reset("HEAD~1", hard=True)
+
     # Act
-    cli_cmd = [MAIN_PROG_NAME, VERSION_SUBCMD, "--patch", "--no-push"]
-    result = run_cli(
-        cli_cmd[1:], env={"GITHUB_OUTPUT": str(mock_output_file.resolve())}
-    )
+    with freeze_time(stable_now_date().astimezone(timezone.utc)):
+        cli_cmd = [MAIN_PROG_NAME, VERSION_SUBCMD, "--no-push"]
+        result = run_cli(
+            cli_cmd[1:], env={"GITHUB_OUTPUT": str(mock_output_file.resolve())}
+        )
+
     assert_successful_exit_code(result, cli_cmd)
 
     # Update the expected output with the commit SHA
@@ -51,9 +98,8 @@ def test_version_writes_github_actions_output(
         )
 
     # Extract the output
-    action_outputs = actions_output_to_dict(
-        mock_output_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-    )
+    with open(mock_output_file, encoding="utf-8", newline=os.linesep) as rfd:
+        action_outputs = actions_output_to_dict(rfd.read())
 
     # Evaluate
     expected_keys = set(expected_gha_output.keys())
@@ -67,3 +113,7 @@ def test_version_writes_github_actions_output(
     assert expected_gha_output["tag"] == action_outputs["tag"]
     assert expected_gha_output["is_prerelease"] == action_outputs["is_prerelease"]
     assert expected_gha_output["commit_sha"] == action_outputs["commit_sha"]
+    assert (
+        expected_gha_output["release_notes"].encode()
+        == action_outputs["release_notes"].encode()
+    )
diff --git a/tests/unit/semantic_release/cli/test_github_actions_output.py b/tests/unit/semantic_release/cli/test_github_actions_output.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import os
 from textwrap import dedent
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
@@ -26,19 +27,31 @@ def test_version_github_actions_output_format(
     released: bool, version: str, is_prerelease: bool
 ):
     commit_sha = "0" * 40  # 40 zeroes to simulate a SHA-1 hash
-    expected_output = dedent(
-        f"""\
+    release_notes = dedent(
+        """\
+        ## Changes
+        - Added new feature
+        - Fixed bug
+        """
+    )
+    expected_output = (
+        dedent(
+            f"""\
         released={'true' if released else 'false'}
         version={version}
         tag=v{version}
         is_prerelease={'true' if is_prerelease else 'false'}
         commit_sha={commit_sha}
         """
+        )
+        + f"release_notes<<EOF\n{release_notes}EOF{os.linesep}"
     )
+
     output = VersionGitHubActionsOutput(
         released=released,
         version=Version.parse(version),
         commit_sha=commit_sha,
+        release_notes=release_notes,
     )
 
     # Evaluate (expected -> actual)
@@ -66,31 +79,50 @@ def test_version_github_actions_output_fails_if_missing_commit_sha_param():
         output.to_output_text()
 
 
+def test_version_github_actions_output_fails_if_missing_release_notes_param():
+    output = VersionGitHubActionsOutput(
+        released=True,
+        version=Version.parse("1.2.3"),
+    )
+
+    # Execute with expected failure
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="required outputs were not set"):
+        output.to_output_text()
+
+
 def test_version_github_actions_output_writes_to_github_output_if_available(
     monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Path
 ):
     mock_output_file = tmp_path / "action.out"
     version_str = "1.2.3"
     commit_sha = "0" * 40  # 40 zeroes to simulate a SHA-1 hash
+    release_notes = dedent(
+        """\
+        ## Changes
+        - Added new feature
+        - Fixed bug
+        """
+    )
     monkeypatch.setenv("GITHUB_OUTPUT", str(mock_output_file.resolve()))
     output = VersionGitHubActionsOutput(
         version=Version.parse(version_str),
         released=True,
         commit_sha=commit_sha,
+        release_notes=release_notes,
     )
 
     output.write_if_possible()
 
-    action_outputs = actions_output_to_dict(
-        mock_output_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-    )
+    with open(mock_output_file, encoding="utf-8", newline=os.linesep) as rfd:
+        action_outputs = actions_output_to_dict(rfd.read())
 
     # Evaluate (expected -> actual)
     assert version_str == action_outputs["version"]
     assert str(True).lower() == action_outputs["released"]
     assert str(False).lower() == action_outputs["is_prerelease"]
     assert f"v{version_str}" == action_outputs["tag"]
     assert commit_sha == action_outputs["commit_sha"]
+    assert release_notes == action_outputs["release_notes"]
 
 
 def test_version_github_actions_output_no_error_if_not_in_gha(