Add changelog render --no-descriptions

Author: lcawl

docs/cli/changelog/render.md

@@ -62,6 +62,13 @@ The `render` command automatically discovers and merges `.amend-*.yaml` files wi
 :   When disabled (default), entries are rendered as flattened bulleted lists with PR/issue links inline and Impact/Action sections indented.
 :   This flag only affects markdown output; AsciiDoc output always uses its standard format.
 
+`--no-descriptions`
+:   Optional: Hide changelog record descriptions from output.
+:   Defaults to false (descriptions are shown).
+:   When enabled, entry titles, PR/issue links, Impact and Action sections remain visible.
+:   Bundle-level descriptions (release intro text) are unaffected.
+:   Works with both markdown and asciidoc output formats.
+
 `--title <string?>`
 :   Optional: The title to use for section headers, directories, and anchors in output files.
 :   Defaults to the version in the first bundle. When omitted, ISO date targets are formatted for display the same way as the `{changelog}` directive (e.g., `2026-05-04` becomes "May 4, 2026", `2026-05` becomes "May 2026"), while directory names and heading anchors continue to use the raw target slug.

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/Rendering/Asciidoc/AsciidocRendererBase.cs

@@ -63,9 +63,9 @@ private static void RenderEntryTitleAndLinks(StringBuilder sb, ChangelogEntry en
 	/// <summary>
 	/// Renders an entry's description with optional comment handling and list continuation
 	/// </summary>
-	private static void RenderEntryDescription(StringBuilder sb, ChangelogEntry entry, bool shouldHide, bool needsContinuation = true)
+	private static void RenderEntryDescription(StringBuilder sb, ChangelogEntry entry, ChangelogRenderContext context, bool shouldHide, bool needsContinuation = true)
 	{
-		if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
+		if (context.HideDescriptions || string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
 			return;
 
 		_ = sb.AppendLine();
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ protected void RenderBasicEntry(StringBuilder sb, ChangelogEntry entry, Changelo
 	{
 		var (entryRepo, _, hideLinks, shouldHide) = ChangelogRenderUtilities.GetEntryContext(entry, context);
 		RenderEntryTitleAndLinks(sb, entry, entryRepo, hideLinks, shouldHide);
-		RenderEntryDescription(sb, entry, shouldHide, needsContinuation: !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description));
+		RenderEntryDescription(sb, entry, context, shouldHide, needsContinuation: !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description));
 		_ = sb.AppendLine();
 	}
 
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ protected void RenderEntryWithImpactAction(StringBuilder sb, ChangelogEntry entr
 
 		// Description needs continuation when it exists
 		var hasDescription = !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description);
-		RenderEntryDescription(sb, entry, shouldHide, needsContinuation: hasDescription);
+		RenderEntryDescription(sb, entry, context, shouldHide, needsContinuation: hasDescription);
 
 		RenderImpactAndAction(sb, entry);
 		_ = sb.AppendLine();

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/Rendering/ChangelogRenderContext.cs

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ public record ChangelogRenderContext
 	public required IReadOnlyDictionary<ChangelogEntryType, IReadOnlyCollection<ChangelogEntry>> EntriesByType { get; init; }
 	public required bool Subsections { get; init; }
 	public required bool Dropdowns { get; init; }
+	public required bool HideDescriptions { get; init; }
 	public required HashSet<string> FeatureIdsToHide { get; init; }
 	public required Dictionary<ChangelogEntry, HashSet<string>> EntryToBundleProducts { get; init; }
 	public required Dictionary<ChangelogEntry, string> EntryToRepo { get; init; }

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/Rendering/ChangelogRenderingService.cs

@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ public record RenderChangelogsArguments
 	public string[]? HideFeatures { get; init; }
 	public string? Config { get; init; }
 	public ChangelogFileType FileType { get; init; } = ChangelogFileType.Markdown;
+	public bool HideDescriptions { get; init; }
 
 }
 
@@ -341,6 +342,7 @@ private static ChangelogRenderContext BuildRenderContext(
 			EntriesByType = entriesByType,
 			Subsections = input.Subsections,
 			Dropdowns = input.Dropdowns,
+			HideDescriptions = input.HideDescriptions,
 			FeatureIdsToHide = featureIdsToHide,
 			EntryToBundleProducts = entryToBundleProducts,
 			EntryToRepo = entryToRepo,

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/Rendering/Markdown/BreakingChangesMarkdownRenderer.cs

@@ -68,7 +68,8 @@ public override async Task RenderAsync(ChangelogRenderContext context, Cancel ct
 					{
 						// Dropdown rendering (current logic)
 						_ = sb.AppendLine(InvariantCulture, $"::::{{dropdown}} {ChangelogTextUtilities.Beautify(entry.Title)}");
-						_ = sb.AppendLine(entry.Description ?? "% Describe the functionality that changed");
+						if (!context.HideDescriptions)
+							_ = sb.AppendLine(entry.Description ?? "% Describe the functionality that changed");
 						_ = sb.AppendLine();
 						RenderPrIssueLinks(sb, new PrIssueLinkOptions(entry, entryRepo, entryOwner, entryHideLinks));
 
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ public override async Task RenderAsync(ChangelogRenderContext context, Cancel ct
 						_ = sb.AppendLine();
 
 						// Description with proper indentation
-						if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
+						if (!context.HideDescriptions && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
 						{
 							_ = sb.AppendLine(ChangelogTextUtilities.Indent(entry.Description));
 							_ = sb.AppendLine();

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/Rendering/Markdown/DeprecationsMarkdownRenderer.cs

@@ -65,7 +65,8 @@ public override async Task RenderAsync(ChangelogRenderContext context, Cancel ct
 					{
 						// Dropdown rendering (current logic)
 						_ = sb.AppendLine(InvariantCulture, $"::::{{dropdown}} {ChangelogTextUtilities.Beautify(entry.Title)}");
-						_ = sb.AppendLine(entry.Description ?? "% Describe the functionality that was deprecated");
+						if (!context.HideDescriptions)
+							_ = sb.AppendLine(entry.Description ?? "% Describe the functionality that was deprecated");
 						_ = sb.AppendLine();
 						RenderPrIssueLinks(sb, new PrIssueLinkOptions(entry, entryRepo, entryOwner, entryHideLinks));
 
@@ -89,7 +90,7 @@ public override async Task RenderAsync(ChangelogRenderContext context, Cancel ct
 						_ = sb.AppendLine();
 
 						// Description with proper indentation
-						if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
+						if (!context.HideDescriptions && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
 						{
 							_ = sb.AppendLine(ChangelogTextUtilities.Indent(entry.Description));
 							_ = sb.AppendLine();

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/Rendering/Markdown/HighlightsMarkdownRenderer.cs

@@ -68,7 +68,8 @@ public override async Task RenderAsync(ChangelogRenderContext context, Cancel ct
 					{
 						// Dropdown rendering (current logic)
 						_ = sb.AppendLine(InvariantCulture, $"::::{{dropdown}} {ChangelogTextUtilities.Beautify(entry.Title)}");
-						_ = sb.AppendLine(entry.Description ?? "% Describe the highlight");
+						if (!context.HideDescriptions)
+							_ = sb.AppendLine(entry.Description ?? "% Describe the highlight");
 						_ = sb.AppendLine();
 						RenderPrIssueLinks(sb, new PrIssueLinkOptions(entry, entryRepo, entryOwner, entryHideLinks));
 						_ = sb.AppendLine("::::");
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ public override async Task RenderAsync(ChangelogRenderContext context, Cancel ct
 						_ = sb.AppendLine();
 
 						// Description with proper indentation
-						if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
+						if (!context.HideDescriptions && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
 						{
 							_ = sb.AppendLine(ChangelogTextUtilities.Indent(entry.Description));
 							_ = sb.AppendLine();

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/Rendering/Markdown/IndexMarkdownRenderer.cs

@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ private static void RenderEntriesByArea(
 					}
 				}
 
-				if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
+				if (!context.HideDescriptions && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
 				{
 					_ = sb.AppendLine(entryHideLinks && hasCommentedLinks ? "  " : "");
 					_ = sb.AppendLine();

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/Rendering/Markdown/KnownIssuesMarkdownRenderer.cs

@@ -65,7 +65,8 @@ public override async Task RenderAsync(ChangelogRenderContext context, Cancel ct
 					{
 						// Dropdown rendering (current logic)
 						_ = sb.AppendLine(InvariantCulture, $"::::{{dropdown}} {ChangelogTextUtilities.Beautify(entry.Title)}");
-						_ = sb.AppendLine(entry.Description ?? "% Describe the known issue");
+						if (!context.HideDescriptions)
+							_ = sb.AppendLine(entry.Description ?? "% Describe the known issue");
 						_ = sb.AppendLine();
 						RenderPrIssueLinks(sb, new PrIssueLinkOptions(entry, entryRepo, entryOwner, entryHideLinks));
 
@@ -89,7 +90,7 @@ public override async Task RenderAsync(ChangelogRenderContext context, Cancel ct
 						_ = sb.AppendLine();
 
 						// Description with proper indentation
-						if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
+						if (!context.HideDescriptions && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(entry.Description))
 						{
 							_ = sb.AppendLine(ChangelogTextUtilities.Indent(entry.Description));
 							_ = sb.AppendLine();

src/tooling/docs-builder/Commands/ChangelogCommand.cs

@@ -1153,6 +1153,7 @@ async static (s, collector, state, ctx) => await s.RemoveChangelogs(collector, s
 	/// <param name="output">Optional: Output directory for rendered files. Defaults to current directory</param>
 	/// <param name="subsections">Optional: Group entries by area/component in subsections. For breaking changes with a subtype, groups by subtype instead of area. Defaults to false</param>
 	/// <param name="dropdowns">Optional: Render separated types (breaking changes, deprecations, known issues, highlights) as MyST dropdowns. When false (default), renders as flattened bulleted lists. Defaults to false</param>
+	/// <param name="noDescriptions">Optional: Hide changelog record descriptions from output. When enabled, entry titles, PR/issue links, Impact and Action sections remain visible. Bundle-level descriptions are unaffected. Defaults to false</param>
 	/// <param name="title">Optional: Title to use for section headers in output files. Defaults to version from first bundle</param>
 	/// <param name="ctx"></param>
 	[Command("render")]
@@ -1164,6 +1165,7 @@ public async Task<int> Render(
 		string? output = null,
 		bool subsections = false,
 		bool dropdowns = false,
+		bool noDescriptions = false,
 		string? title = null,
 		Cancel ctx = default
 	)
@@ -1196,6 +1198,7 @@ public async Task<int> Render(
 			Title = title,
 			Subsections = subsections,
 			Dropdowns = dropdowns,
+			HideDescriptions = noDescriptions,
 			HideFeatures = allFeatureIds.Count > 0 ? allFeatureIds.ToArray() : null,
 			FileType = ft.Value,
 			Config = config