Switch to towncrier to automatically manage the change log

[stevepiercy]

Closes issue

Closes #1256.

Description

• Added towncrier as a development dependency
• Configured towncrier in pyproject.toml, adding supported types.
• Updated Makefile with two commands, make changes-draft to see the draft of what would be output, and make changes to update CHANGES.rst and remove the change log entries from /news
• Created a /news directory with .gitkeep file to keep the directory around.
• Converted existing change log entries in CHANGES.rst to compliant change log entries in /news
• Updated Contribute documentation section with new instructions for "Create a change log entry" and explain what makes a good entry.
• Updated Maintenance documentation, replacing and removing obsolete manual steps with a single command of make changes.
• Fixed link in tests.yml GitHub workflow to the change log.
• Updated pull_request_template.md with link to the updated contributor documentation.

Checklist

• I've added a change log entry to CHANGES.rst /news.
• I've added or updated tests if applicable.
• I've run and ensured all tests pass locally by following Run tests.
• I've added or edited documentation, both as docstrings to be rendered in the API documentation and narrative documentation, as necessary.

Additional information

Check out this branch and run:

make changes-draft

Output

Makefile:173: warning: overriding commands for target `changes'
Makefile:93: warning: ignoring old commands for target `changes'
"/Users/stevepiercy/projects/icalendar/.venv/bin/towncrier" build --draft --version 7.1.1 --yes
Loading template...
Finding news fragments...
Rendering news fragments...
Draft only -- nothing has been written.
What is seen below is what would be written.

7.1.1 (2026-05-14)
------------------

New features
~~~~~~~~~~~~

- Created an :attr:`~icalendar.prop.dt.period.vPeriod.ical_value` property for the :class:`~icalendar.prop.dt.period.vPeriod` component. @ZairKSM (`Issue #876 <https://github.com/collective/icalendar/issues/876>`_)
- Created a :meth:`~icalendar.prop.recur.weekday.vWeekday.ical_value` property for the :class:`~icalendar.prop.recur.weekday.vWeekday` component, mirroring the existing pattern on :class:`~icalendar.prop.boolean.vBoolean`. @mvanhorn (`Issue #1360 <https://github.com/collective/icalendar/issues/1360>`_)


Bug fixes
~~~~~~~~~

- Strictly validate BINARY property values in :attr:`vBinary.from_ical() <icalendar.prop.binary.vBinary.from_ical>` and reject malformed Base64 input instead of silently accepting invalid characters. @uwezkhan (`Issue #1349 <https://github.com/collective/icalendar/issues/1349>`_)


Documentation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- Replace the RFC quotations in the docstrings for :attr:`Alarm.REPEAT <icalendar.cal.alarm.Alarm.REPEAT>` and :attr:`Alarm.DURATION <icalendar.cal.alarm.Alarm.DURATION>` with Pythonic descriptions, including parameter notes, conformance references, and worked examples. @tmchow (`Issue #1244 <https://github.com/collective/icalendar/issues/1244>`_)
- Edited contributor documentation for how to add a change log entry, and maintenance documentation for how to process news fragments. @stevepiercy (`Issue #1256 <https://github.com/collective/icalendar/issues/1256>`_)


Dependency changes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- Added `towncrier <https://pypi.org/project/towncrier/>`_ to development dependencies. @stevepiercy (`Issue #1256 <https://github.com/collective/icalendar/issues/1256>`_)


Internal changes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- Switched from manual change log management to `towncrier <https://pypi.org/project/towncrier/>`_ to automate the process. @stevepiercy (`Issue #1256 <https://github.com/collective/icalendar/issues/1256>`_)
- Bump PyPy from 3.10 to 3.11 for testing. @stevepiercy (`Issue #1383 <https://github.com/collective/icalendar/issues/1383>`_)

---

📚 Documentation preview 📚: https://icalendar--1389.org.readthedocs.build/

[read-the-docs-community]

Documentation build overview

📚 icalendar | 🛠️ Build #32713149 | 📁 Comparing 3235e06 against latest (66fb3e1)

  🔍 Preview build  

4 files changed

± 404.html
± contribute/index.html
± contribute/maintenance.html
± reference/changelog.html

[coveralls]

Coverage Report for CI Build 25952817338

Coverage remained the same at 97.775%

Details

• Coverage remained the same as the base build.
• Patch coverage: No coverable lines changed in this PR.
• No coverage regressions found.

Uncovered Changes

No uncovered changes found.

Coverage Regressions

No coverage regressions found.

---

Coverage Stats

Relevant Lines:	12624
Covered Lines:	12348
Line Coverage:	97.81%
Relevant Branches:	770
Covered Branches:	748
Branch Coverage:	97.14%
Branches in Coverage %:	Yes
Coverage Strength:	6.84 hits per line

---

💛 - Coveralls

[SashankBhamidi]

Thanks! Few things:

[SashankBhamidi]

The PR description says "Created a /news directory with .gitkeep file to keep the directory around", but ls news/ shows no .gitkeep. After release, the directory will be empty and untracked by git.

[stevepiercy]

The PR description says "Created a /news directory with .gitkeep file to keep the directory around", but ls news/ shows no .gitkeep. After release, the directory will be empty and untracked by git.

Thanks. I thought it would get detected, but I needed to git add. Done in e493842.

That should address all your points. One more review please, @SashankBhamidi?

[SashankBhamidi]

Thanks!

Just one still open: the maintenance.rst git add line, I tested it end-to-end and the deleted news fragments don't get committed.

The Issue/#PR label thing I raised on pyproject.toml is cosmetic, feel free to skip if you're happy with towncrier's default.

[stevepiercy]

@SashankBhamidi one more review, please.

Ignore any issues in maintenance.rst. We need to fix it in #1350. After this PR is merged, let's work on that #1350 together to get it right, and even do a new minor release.

[SashankBhamidi]

LGTM. Note: maintenance.rst now has duplicate git checkout / git commit lines from 3235e06, flag for #1350 :)