MAINT: Use towncrier for release notes

.github/workflows/check_changelog.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+name: Check PR change log
+
+on:  # yamllint disable-line rule:truthy
+  pull_request:
+    types: [opened, synchronize, labeled, unlabeled]
+
+jobs:
+  changelog_checker:
+    name: Check if towncrier change log entry is correct
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: scientific-python/[email protected]
+        env:
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          BOT_USERNAME: changelog-bot

doc/changes/devel.rst

@@ -1,55 +1,31 @@
-.. NOTE: we use cross-references to highlight new functions and classes.
-   Please follow the examples below like :func:`mne.stats.f_mway_rm`, so the
-   whats_new page will have a link to the function/class documentation.
-
-.. NOTE: there are 3 separate sections for changes, based on type:
-   - "Enhancements" for new features
-   - "Bugs" for bug fixes
-   - "API changes" for backward-incompatible changes
-
-.. NOTE: changes from first-time contributors should be added to the TOP of
-   the relevant section (Enhancements / Bugs / API changes), and should look
-   like this (where xxxx is the pull request number):
-
-       - description of enhancement/bugfix/API change (:gh:`xxxx` by
-         :newcontrib:`Firstname Lastname`)
-
-   Also add a corresponding entry for yourself in doc/changes/names.inc
+.. NOTE: we use standard sphinx cross-references to highlight new functions and classes.
+   References must be to where they are documented in the built API documentation, e.g.,
+   :class:`mne.Epochs` not :class:`mne.epochs.Epochs` (even though the class is defined
+   in mne/epochs.py).
+
+   There are 5 separate sections for changes, based on type.
+   Each should have a filename in this directory of the form NNNNN.<type>.rst,
+   where NNNNN is the PR number (e.g., 12345.bugfix.rst). The types are:
+
+   notable
+       For overarching changes, e.g., adding type hints package-wide. These are rare.
+   dependency
+       For changes to dependencies, e.g., adding a new dependency or changing
+       the minimum version of an existing dependency.
+   bugfix
+       For bug fixes. Can change code behavior with no deprecation period.
+   deprecation
+       Code behavior changes that require a deprecation period.
+   enhancement
+       For new features.
+   other
+       For changes that don't fit into any of the above categories, e.g.,
+       internal refactorings.
+
+   First-time contributors should use :newcontrib:`Firstname Lastname` instead of
+   `Firstname Lastname`_ in their entries. Also add a corresponding entry for
+   yourself in doc/changes/names.inc
 
 .. _current:
 
-Version 1.7.dev0 (development)
-------------------------------
-
-In this version, we started adding type hints (also known as "type annotations") to select parts of the codebase.
-This meta information will be used by development environments (IDEs) like VS Code and PyCharm automatically to provide
-better assistance such as tab completion or error detection even before running your code.
-
-So far, we've only added return type hints to :func:`mne.io.read_raw`, :func:`mne.read_epochs`, :func:`mne.read_evokeds` and
-all format-specific ``read_raw_*()`` and ``read_epochs_*()`` functions. Now your editors will know:
-these functions return evoked and raw data, respectively. We are planning add type hints to more functions after careful
-evaluation in the future.
-
-You don't need to do anything to benefit from these changes – your editor will pick them up automatically and provide the
-enhanced experience if it supports it!
-
-Enhancements
-~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- Speed up export to .edf in :func:`mne.export.export_raw` by using ``edfio`` instead of ``EDFlib-Python`` (:gh:`12218` by :newcontrib:`Florian Hofer`)
-- Inform the user about channel discrepancy between provided info, forward operator, and/or covariance matrices in :func:`mne.beamformer.make_lcmv` (:gh:`12238` by :newcontrib:`Nikolai Kapralov`)
-- We added type hints for the return values of raw, epochs, and evoked reading functions. Development environments like VS Code or PyCharm will now provide more help when using these functions in your code. (:gh:`12250`, :gh:`12297` by `Richard Höchenberger`_ and `Eric Larson`_)
-- Add ``method="polyphase"`` to :meth:`mne.io.Raw.resample` and related functions to allow resampling using :func:`scipy.signal.upfirdn` (:gh:`12268` by `Eric Larson`_)
-- The package build backend was switched from ``setuptools`` to ``hatchling``. This will only affect users who build and install MNE-Python from source. (:gh:`12269`, :gh:`12281` by `Richard Höchenberger`_)
-- :meth:`mne.Annotations.to_data_frame` can now output different formats for the ``onset`` column: seconds, milliseconds, datetime objects, and timedelta objects. (:gh:`12289` by `Daniel McCloy`_)
-
-Bugs
-~~~~
-- Allow :func:`mne.viz.plot_compare_evokeds` to plot eyetracking channels, and improve error handling (:gh:`12190` by `Scott Huberty`_)
-- Fix bug with accessing the last data sample using ``raw[:, -1]`` where an empty array was returned (:gh:`12248` by `Eric Larson`_)
-- Remove incorrect type hints in :func:`mne.io.read_raw_neuralynx` (:gh:`12236` by `Richard Höchenberger`_)
-- Fix bug where parent directory existence was not checked properly in :meth:`mne.io.Raw.save` (:gh:`12282` by `Eric Larson`_)
-- ``defusedxml`` is now an optional (rather than required) dependency and needed when reading EGI-MFF data, NEDF data, and BrainVision montages (:gh:`12264` by `Eric Larson`_)
-
-API changes
-~~~~~~~~~~~
-- None yet
+.. towncrier-draft-entries:: Version |release| (development)

doc/changes/devel/.gitignore

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+!.gitignore

doc/changes/devel/12190.bugfix.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Allow :func:`mne.viz.plot_compare_evokeds` to plot eyetracking channels, and improve error handling, y `Scott Huberty`_.

doc/changes/devel/12218.enhancement.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Speed up export to .edf in :func:`mne.export.export_raw` by using ``edfio`` instead of ``EDFlib-Python``.

doc/changes/devel/12236.bugfix.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Remove incorrect type hints in :func:`mne.io.read_raw_neuralynx`, by `Richard Höchenberger`_.

doc/changes/devel/12238.enhancement.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Inform the user about channel discrepancy between provided info, forward operator, and/or covariance matrices in :func:`mne.beamformer.make_lcmv`, by :newcontrib:`Nikolai Kapralov`.

doc/changes/devel/12248.bugfix.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix bug with accessing the last data sample using ``raw[:, -1]`` where an empty array was returned, by `Eric Larson`_.

doc/changes/devel/12250.enhancement.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+We added type hints for the return values of :func:`mne.read_evokeds` and :func:`mne.io.read_raw`. Development environments like VS Code or PyCharm will now provide more help when using these functions in your code. By `Richard Höchenberger`_ and `Eric Larson`_.

doc/changes/devel/12250.notable.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+In this version, we started adding type hints (also known as "type annotations") to select parts of the codebase.
+This meta information will be used by development environments (IDEs) like VS Code and PyCharm automatically to provide
+better assistance such as tab completion or error detection even before running your code.
+
+So far, we've only added return type hints to :func:`mne.io.read_raw`, :func:`mne.read_epochs`, :func:`mne.read_evokeds` and
+all format-specific ``read_raw_*()`` and ``read_epochs_*()`` functions. Now your editors will know:
+these functions return evoked and raw data, respectively. We are planning add type hints to more functions after careful
+evaluation in the future.
+
+You don't need to do anything to benefit from these changes – your editor will pick them up automatically and provide the
+enhanced experience if it supports it!

doc/changes/devel/12264.dependency.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+``defusedxml`` is now an optional (rather than required) dependency and needed when reading EGI-MFF data, NEDF data, and BrainVision montages, by `Eric Larson`_.

doc/changes/devel/12268.enhancement.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add ``method="polyphase"`` to :meth:`mne.io.Raw.resample` and related functions to allow resampling using :func:`scipy.signal.upfirdn`, by `Eric Larson`_.

doc/changes/devel/12269.enhancement.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+The package build backend was switched from ``setuptools`` to ``hatchling``. This will only affect users who build and install MNE-Python from source. By `Richard Höchenberger`_.

doc/changes/devel/12282.bugfix.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix bug where parent directory existence was not checked properly in :meth:`mne.io.Raw.save`, by `Eric Larson`_.

doc/changes/devel/12289.enhancement.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+:meth:`mne.Annotations.to_data_frame` can now output different formats for the ``onset`` column: seconds, milliseconds, datetime objects, and timedelta objects. By `Daniel McCloy`_.

doc/changes/devel/other.rst

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Use ``towncrier`` for automated release note generation, by `Eric Larson`_.

doc/conf.py

@@ -51,9 +51,8 @@
 # If extensions (or modules to document with autodoc) are in another directory,
 # add these directories to sys.path here. If the directory is relative to the
 # documentation root, use os.path.abspath to make it absolute, like shown here.
-curdir = os.path.dirname(__file__)
-sys.path.append(os.path.abspath(os.path.join(curdir, "..", "mne")))
-sys.path.append(os.path.abspath(os.path.join(curdir, "sphinxext")))
+curpath = Path(__file__).parent.resolve(strict=True)
+sys.path.append(str(curpath / "sphinxext"))
 
 
 # -- Project information -----------------------------------------------------
@@ -107,6 +106,7 @@
     "sphinx_gallery.gen_gallery",
     "sphinxcontrib.bibtex",
     "sphinxcontrib.youtube",
+    "sphinxcontrib.towncrier.ext",
     # homegrown
     "contrib_avatars",
     "gen_commands",
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@
 # List of patterns, relative to source directory, that match files and
 # directories to ignore when looking for source files.
 # This pattern also affects html_static_path and html_extra_path.
-exclude_patterns = ["_includes"]
+exclude_patterns = ["_includes", "changes/devel"]
 
 # The suffix of source filenames.
 source_suffix = ".rst"
@@ -149,6 +149,10 @@
 copybutton_prompt_text = r">>> |\.\.\. |\$ "
 copybutton_prompt_is_regexp = True
 
+# -- sphinxcontrib-towncrier configuration -----------------------------------
+
+towncrier_draft_working_directory = str(curpath.parent)
+
 # -- Intersphinx configuration -----------------------------------------------
 
 intersphinx_mapping = {
@@ -804,7 +808,7 @@ def append_attr_meth_examples(app, what, name, obj, options, lines):
 # Theme options are theme-specific and customize the look and feel of a theme
 # further.  For a list of options available for each theme, see the
 # documentation.
-switcher_version_match = "dev" if release.endswith("dev0") else version
+switcher_version_match = "dev" if ".dev" in version else version
 html_theme_options = {
     "icon_links": [
         dict(

pyproject.toml

@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@ doc = [
     "pydata_sphinx_theme==0.13.3",
     "sphinx-gallery",
     "sphinxcontrib-bibtex>=2.5",
+    "sphinxcontrib-towncrier",
     "memory_profiler",
     "neo",
     "seaborn!=0.11.2",
@@ -289,6 +290,7 @@ ignore_directives = [
     "toctree",
     "rst-class",
     "tab-set",
+    "towncrier-draft-entries",
 ]
 ignore_messages = "^.*(Unknown target name|Undefined substitution referenced)[^`]*$"
 
@@ -321,3 +323,40 @@ disable_error_code = [
     'assignment',
     'operator',
 ]
+
+[tool.towncrier]
+package = "mne"
+directory = "doc/changes/devel/"
+filename = "doc/changes/devel.rst"
+title_format = "{version} ({project_date})"
+issue_format = "`#{issue} <https://github.com/mne-tools/mne-python/pulls/{issue}>`__"
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "notable"
+name = "Notable changes"
+showcontent = true
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "dependency"
+name = "Dependencies"
+showcontent = true
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "bugfix"
+name = "Bugfixes"
+showcontent = true
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "deprecation"
+name = "Deprecations and API changes"
+showcontent = true
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "enhancement"
+name = "Enhancements"
+showcontent = true
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "other"
+name = "Other changes"
+showcontent = true