The use of $URL variable

[hmp3094]

I have included the $URL as follows: change-template: '* $TITLE $URL @$AUTHOR'.
I want the change in the release draft to include the URL as it is and not as a hyperlink in the PR number. Even after replacing #$NUMBER with $URL, it is displaying the change as "TITLE #PR_No. (with a hyperlink to the PR) @author

Not sure what I am doing wrong. Please advise!

[jetersen]

Can you share your config or even better a link to the config?

[hmp3094]

I can't share a link because it's on a self hosted github but here is my config.

categories:
  - title: '🚀 Features'
    label: 'feature'
  - title: '🐛 Bug Fixes'
    labels:
      - 'fix'
      - 'bugfix'
      - 'bug'
  - title: '🔼 Enhancements'
    label: 'enhancement'

change-template: '* $TITLE ($URL) @$AUTHOR'

template: |
  ## Changes
  $CHANGES

I noticed that when I try to publish the release, it displays just the URL. But that's only when you are on the edit draft page, not when you are just viewing the draft in the releases section. The reason for having the URL in the change is that someone else is going to copy the draft and paste it on some other document that's not on github.

[jetersen]

Again this has nothing todo with release-drafter and everything to do with how GitHub renders the release notes section.

If you want the source of truth for a draft. You can either click edit or use the GitHub action which outputs the release notes in a variable body

https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter#action-outputs

[hmp3094]

Forgive me for the lack of clarity. Basically I want the change to look something like: $TITLE {https://github.com/repo/PR/PR no.} @Author
Instead github automatically shortens the PR URL and displays it as a PR number.

[jetersen]

that's not possible I cannot change how GitHub renders an URL on their website.
Is it too much to ask the user that is going to copy those release notes elsewhere to click edit and copy?

If you want you can also use the github rest api to extract the release notes as stored inside the draft, there are endless possibilities for automation 😉

[hmp3094]

May I ask what should the expected output of using the $URL be?

[jetersen]

release-drafter/lib/releases.js

Line 197 in 3f24611

$URL: pullRequest.url,

currently the pullRequest.url which refers to the pullRequest.html_url based on this payload:
https://docs.github.com/en/developers/webhooks-and-events/webhooks/webhook-events-and-payloads#webhook-payload-example-32