Default markdown template

docs/configuration.rst

@@ -2,57 +2,206 @@ Configuration Reference
 =======================
 
 ``towncrier`` has many knobs and switches you can use, to customize it to your project's needs.
-The setup in the `Tutorial <tutorial.html>`_ doesn't touch on many, but this document will detail each of these options for you!
+The setup in the :doc:`tutorial` doesn't touch on many, but this document will detail each of these options for you!
 
-For how to perform common customization tasks, see `Customization <customization/index.html>`_.
+For how to perform common customization tasks, see :doc:`customization/index`.
 
 ``[tool.towncrier]``
 --------------------
 
-All configuration for ``towncrier`` sits inside ``pyproject.toml``, under the ``tool.towncrier`` namespace.
+All configuration for ``towncrier`` sits inside ``towncrier.toml`` or ``pyproject.toml``, under the ``tool.towncrier`` namespace.
 Please see https://toml.io/ for how to write TOML.
 
+A minimal configuration for a Python project looks like this:
+
+.. code-block:: toml
+
+   # pyproject.toml
+
+   [tool.towncrier]
+   package = "myproject"
+
+A minimal configuration for a non-Python project looks like this:
+
+.. code-block:: toml
+
+   # towncrier.toml
+
+   [tool.towncrier]
+   name = "My Project"
 
 Top level keys
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-- ``directory`` -- If you are not storing your news fragments in your Python package, or aren't using Python, this is the path to where your newsfragments will be put.
-- ``filename`` -- The filename of your news file.
-  ``NEWS.rst`` by default.
-- ``package`` -- The package name of your project.
-  (Python projects only)
-- ``package_dir`` -- The folder your package lives. ``./`` by default, some projects might need to use ``src``.
-  (Python projects only)
-- ``template`` -- Path to an alternate template for generating the news file, if you have one.
-- ``start_string`` -- The magic string that ``towncrier`` looks for when considering where the release notes should start.
-  ``.. towncrier release notes start`` by default.
-- ``title_format`` -- A format string for the title of your project.
-  ``{name} {version} ({project_date})`` by default.
-- ``issue_format`` -- A format string for rendering the issue/ticket number in newsfiles.
-  ``#{issue}`` by default.
-- ``underlines`` -- The characters used for underlining headers.
-  ``["=", "-", "~"]`` by default.
+``name``
+    The name of your project.
+
+    For Python projects that provide a ``package`` key, if left empty then the name will be automatically determined.
+
+    ``""`` by default.
+
+``version``
+    The version of your project.
+
+    Python projects that provide the ``package`` key can have the version to be automatically determined from a ``__version__`` variable in the package's module.
+
+    If not provided or able to be determined, the version must be passed explicitly by the command line argument ``--version``.
+
+``directory``
+    The directory storing your news fragments.
+
+    For Python projects that provide a ``package`` key, the default is a ``newsfragments`` directory within the package.
+    Otherwise the default is a ``newsfragments`` directory relative to the configuration file.
+
+``filename``
+    The filename of your news file.
+
+    ``"NEWS.rst"`` by default.
+
+``template``
+    Path to the template for generating the news file.
+
+    If the path looks like ``<some.package>:<filename.ext>``, it is interpreted as a template bundled with an installed Python package.
+
+    ``"towncrier:default.rst"`` by default unless ``filename`` ends with ``.md``, in which case the default is ``"towncrier:default.md"``.
+
+``start_string``
+    The magic string that ``towncrier`` looks for when considering where the release notes should start.
+
+    ``".. towncrier release notes start\n"`` by default unless ``filename`` ends with ``.md``, in which case the default is ``"<!-- towncrier release notes start -->\n"``.
+
+``title_format``
+    A format string for the title of your project.
+
+    The explicit value of ``False`` will disable the title entirely.
+    Any other empty value means the template should render the title (the bundled templates use ``<name> <version> (<date>)``).
+    Strings should use the following keys to render the title dynamically: ``{name}``, ``{version}``, and ``{project_date}``.
+
+    ``""`` by default.
+
+``issue_format``
+    A format string for rendering the issue/ticket number in newsfiles.
+
+    If none, the issues are rendered as ``#<issue>`` if for issues that are integers, or just ``<issue>`` otherwise.
+    Use the ``{issue}`` key in your string render the issue number, for example Markdown projects may want to use ``"[{issue}]: https://<your bug tracker>/{issue}"``.
+
+    ``None`` by default.
+
+``underlines``
+    The characters used for underlining headers.
+
+    Not used in the bundled Markdown template.
+
+    ``["=", "-", "~"]`` by default.
+
+``wrap``
+    Boolean value indicating whether to wrap news fragments to a line length of 79.
+
+    ``false`` by default.
+
+``all_bullets``
+    Boolean value indicating whether the template uses bullets for each news fragment.
+
+    ``true`` by default.
+
+``single_file``
+    Boolean value indicating whether to write all news fragments to a single file.
+
+    If ``false``, the ``filename`` should use the following keys to render the filenames dynamically:
+    ``{name}``, ``{version}``, and ``{project_date}``.
+
+    ``true`` by default.
+
+``orphan_prefix``
+    The prefix used for orphaned news fragments.
+
+    ``"+"`` by default.
+
+Extra top level keys for Python projects
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+``package``
+    The Python package name of your project.
+
+    Allows ``name`` and ``version`` to be automatically determined from the Python package.
+    Changes the default ``directory`` to be a ``newsfragments`` directory within this package.
+
+``package_dir``
+    The folder your package lives.
+
+    ``"."`` by default, some projects might need to use ``"src"``.
+
+
+Sections
+--------
+
+``towncrier`` supports splitting fragments into multiple sections, each with its own news of fragment types.
+
+Add an array of tables your ``.toml`` configuration file named ``[[tool.towncrier.section]]``.
+
+Each table within this array has the following mandatory keys:
+
+
+``name``
+    The name of the section.
+
+``path``
+    The path to the directory containing the news fragments for this section, relative to the configured ``directory``.
+    Use ``""`` for the root directory.
+
+For example:
+
+.. code-block:: toml
+
+   [[tool.towncrier.section]]
+   name = "Main Platform"
+   path = ""
+
+   [[tool.towncrier.section]]
+   name = "Secondary"
+   path = "secondary"
+
+Section Path Behaviour
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The path behaviour is slightly different depending on whether ``directory`` is explicitly set.
+
+If ``directory`` is not set, "newsfragments" is added to the end of each path. For example, with the above sections, the paths would be:
+
+:Main Platform:  ./newsfragments
+:Secondary:      ./secondary/newsfragments
+
+If ``directory`` *is* set, the section paths are appended to this path. For example, with ``directory = "changes"`` and the above sections, the paths would be:
+
+:Main Platform:  ./changes
+:Secondary:      ./changes/secondary
 
 
 Custom fragment types
 ---------------------
-``towncrier`` allows defining custom fragment types.
-Custom fragment types will be used instead ``towncrier`` default ones, they are not combined.
 
-There are two ways to add custom fragment types.
+``towncrier`` has the following default fragment types: ``feature``, ``bugfix``, ``doc``, ``removal``, and ``misc``.
+
+You can use either of the two following method to define custom types instead (you will need to redefine any of the default types you want to use).
 
 
-Defining Custom Fragment Types With a TOML Mapping
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+Use TOML tables (alphabetical order)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-Users can configure each of their own custom fragment types by adding tables to
-the pyproject.toml named ``[tool.towncrier.fragment.<a custom fragment type>]``.
+Adding tables to your ``.toml`` configuration file named ``[tool.towncrier.fragment.<a custom fragment type>]``.
 
-These tables may include the following optional keys:
+These may include the following optional keys:
 
- * ``name``: The description of the fragment type, as it must be included in the news file.
-   If omitted, it defaults to  its  fragment type, but capitalized.
- * ``showcontent``: Whether if the fragment contents should be included in the news file. If omitted, it defaults to ``true``
+
+``name``
+    The description of the fragment type, as it must be included in the news file.
+
+    Defaults to its fragment type, but capitalized.
+
+``showcontent``
+    A boolean value indicating whether the fragment contents should be included in the news file.
+
+    ``true`` by default.
 
 For example, if you want your custom fragment types to be ``["feat", "fix", "chore",]`` and you want all of them to use the default configuration except ``"chore"`` you can do it as follows:
 
@@ -70,25 +219,30 @@ For example, if you want your custom fragment types to be ``["feat", "fix", "cho
 
 .. warning::
 
-   Since TOML mappings aren't ordered, the sections are always rendered alphabetically.
+   Since TOML mappings aren't ordered, types defined using this method are always rendered alphabetically.
+
 
+Use a TOML Array (defined order)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-Defining Custom Fragment Types With an Array of TOML Tables
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+Add an array of tables to your ``.toml`` configuration file named ``[[tool.towncrier.type]]``.
 
-Users can create their own custom fragment types by adding an array of
-tables to the pyproject.toml named ``[[tool.towncrier.type]]``.
+If you use this way to configure custom fragment types, ensure there is no ``tool.towncrier.fragment`` table.
 
-If you use this way to configure custom fragment types, please note that ``fragment_types`` must be empty or not provided.
+Each table within this array has the following mandatory keys:
 
-Each custom type (``[[tool.towncrier.type]]``) has the following
-mandatory keys:
 
-* ``directory``: The type / category of the fragment.
-* ``name``: The description of the fragment type, as it must be included
-  in the news file.
-* ``showcontent``: Whether if the fragment contents should be included in the
-  news file.
+``directory``
+    The type / category of the fragment.
+
+``name``
+    The description of the fragment type, as it must be included
+    in the news file.
+
+``showcontent``
+    A boolean value indicating whether the fragment contents should be included in the news file.
+
+    ``true`` by default.
 
 For example:
 
@@ -104,40 +258,3 @@ For example:
    directory = "chore"
    name = "Other Tasks"
    showcontent = false
-
-
-All Options
------------
-
-``towncrier`` has the following global options, which can be specified in the toml file:
-
-.. code-block:: toml
-
-   [tool.towncrier]
-   package = ""
-   package_dir = "."
-   single_file = true  # if false, filename is formatted like `title_format`.
-   filename = "NEWS.rst"
-   directory = "directory/of/news/fragments"
-   version = "1.2.3"  # project version if maintained separately
-   name = "arbitrary project name"
-   template = "path/to/template.rst"
-   start_string = "Text used to detect where to add the generated content in the middle of a file. Generated content added after this text. Newline auto added."
-   title_format = "{name} {version} ({project_date})"  # or false if template includes title
-   issue_format = "format string for {issue} (issue is the first part of fragment name)"
-   underlines = "=-~"
-   wrap = false  # Wrap text to 79 characters
-   all_bullets = true  # make all fragments bullet points
-   orphan_prefix = "+"   # Prefix for orphan news fragment files, set to "" to disable.
-
-If ``single_file`` is set to ``true`` or unspecified, all changes will be written to a single fixed newsfile, whose name is literally fixed as the ``filename`` option.
-In each run of ``towncrier build``, content of new changes will append at the top of old content, and after ``start_string`` if the ``start_string`` already appears in the newsfile.
-If the corresponding ``top_line``, which is formatted as the option 'title_format', already exists in newsfile, ``ValueError`` will be raised to remind you "already produced newsfiles for this version".
-
-If ``single_file`` is set to ``false`` instead, each versioned ``towncrier build`` will generate a separate newsfile, whose name is formatted as the pattern given by option ``filename``.
-For example, if ``filename="{version}-notes.rst"``, then the release note with version "7.8.9" will be written to the file "7.8.9-notes.rst".
-If the newsfile already exists, its content will be overwritten with new release note, without throwing a ``ValueError`` warning.
-
-If ``title_format`` is unspecified or an empty string, the default format will be used.
-If set to ``false``, no title will be created.
-This can be useful if the specified template creates the title itself.

docs/customization/newsfile.rst

@@ -5,23 +5,36 @@ Adding Content Above ``towncrier``
 ----------------------------------
 
 If you wish to have content at the top of the news file (for example, to say where you can find the tickets), you can use a special rST comment to tell ``towncrier`` to only update after it.
-In your existing news file (e.g. ``NEWS.rst``), add the following line above where you want ``towncrier`` to put content::
+In your existing news file (e.g. ``NEWS.rst``), add the following line above where you want ``towncrier`` to put content:
 
-  .. towncrier release notes start
+.. code-block:: restructuredtext
 
-In an existing news file, it'll look something like this::
+    .. towncrier release notes start
 
-  This is the changelog of my project. You can find the
-  issue tracker at http://blah.
+In an existing news file, it'll look something like this:
 
-  .. towncrier release notes start
+.. code-block:: restructuredtext
 
-  myproject 1.0.2 (2018-01-01)
-  ============================
+    This is the changelog of my project. You can find the
+    issue tracker at http://blah.
 
-  Bugfixes
-  --------
+    .. towncrier release notes start
 
-  - Fixed, etc...
+    myproject 1.0.2 (2018-01-01)
+    ============================
+
+    Bugfixes
+    --------
+
+    - Fixed, etc...
 
 ``towncrier`` will not alter content above the comment.
+
+Markdown
+~~~~~~~~
+
+If your news file is in Markdown (e.g. ``NEWS.md``), use the following comment instead:
+
+.. code-block:: html
+
+    <!-- towncrier release notes start -->

docs/tutorial.rst

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 Tutorial
 ========
 
-This tutorial assumes you have a Python project with a *reStructuredText* (rst) news file (also known as changelog) file that you wish to use ``towncrier`` on, to generate its news file.
+This tutorial assumes you have a Python project with a *reStructuredText* (rst) or *Markdown* (md) news file (also known as changelog) that you wish to use ``towncrier`` on, to generate its news file.
 It will cover setting up your project with a basic configuration, which you can then feel free to `customize <customization/index.html>`_.
 
 Install from PyPI::
@@ -144,6 +144,8 @@ You should get an output similar to this::
 
    - #1, #2
 
+Note: if you configure a Markdown file (for example, ``filename = "CHANGES.md"``) in your configuration file, the titles will be output in Markdown format instead.
+
 
 Producing News Files In Production
 ----------------------------------
@@ -161,6 +163,8 @@ If you wish to have content at the top of the news file (for example, to say whe
 
 ``towncrier`` will then put the version notes after this comment, and leave your existing content that was above it where it is.
 
+Note: if you configure a Markdown file (for example, ``filename = "CHANGES.md"``) in your configuration file, the comment should be ``<!-- towncrier release notes start -->`` instead.
+
 
 Finale
 ------