Getting Started

Get up and running with Bumpkit in under 2 minutes.

Quick Start

Bumpkit is a REST API. You send commits, you get back a structured changelog and semver bump. No git access required, no SDK to install.

1. Get your API key

Sign up at dashboard.bumpkit.dev. Your API key starts with bk_live_.

2. Make your first call

curl -X POST https://bumpkit.dev/v1/analyze \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: bk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "commits": [
      { "message": "feat: add dark mode toggle" },
      { "message": "fix: auth null pointer" },
      { "message": "wip" }
    ],
    "previous_version": "1.4.2"
  }'

3. Read the response

{
  "status": "success",
  "confidence": 0.87,
  "version": {
    "previous": "1.4.2",
    "suggested": "1.5.0",
    "bump": "minor",
    "reasoning": "1 feature added, 1 fix, 1 uncategorized"
  },
  "changelog": {
    "formatted": "## [1.5.0] - 2026-05-22\n\n### Added\n- Add dark mode toggle\n\n### Fixed\n- Auth null pointer",
    "sections": {
      "added": [{ "message": "Add dark mode toggle", "hash": null }],
      "fixed": [{ "message": "Auth null pointer", "hash": null }],
      "uncategorized": [{ "message": "wip", "reason": "insufficient signal" }]
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "commits_received": 3,
    "commits_used": 2,
    "commits_ignored": 1,
    "warnings": []
  }
}

That's it. You have a changelog and a semver bump.

Authentication

All API requests require an x-api-key header:

-H "x-api-key: bk_live_YOUR_KEY"

Keys are scoped per account and displayed once at creation. Regenerate from your dashboard if lost.

Install via curl (CI shorthand)

For quick CI use without the full workflow:

RESPONSE=$(curl -s -X POST https://bumpkit.dev/v1/analyze \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: $BUMPKIT_API_KEY" \
  -d @bumpkit-request.json)

VERSION=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | jq -r '.version.suggested')
CHANGELOG=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | jq -r '.changelog.formatted')

GitHub Actions

The recommended way to use Bumpkit in CI is via the provided GitHub Actions workflow. See the GitHub Actions guide for the full workflow YAML and setup instructions.

Using Bumpkit from an AI agent

Bumpkit ships an MCP server, so Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and other MCP clients can call the API directly:

claude mcp add bumpkit -e BUMPKIT_API_KEY=bk_live_... -- npx -y bumpkit-mcp

Then ask your agent to suggest the next version or write the changelog. See the MCP Server guide.

Next Steps

• API Reference — full request/response schema, all fields, error codes
• GitHub Actions — drop-in workflow for automated releases
• MCP Server — use Bumpkit from Claude Code or any MCP client
• Changelog Pages — publish a hosted changelog with RSS