Fix incorrect commit range when tags are created out of order

Sort tags by semver version instead of git creation date when determining the previous tag for release notes. This fixes the issue where hotfix tags (e.g., v1.0.1 released after v1.2.0) would incorrectly be used as the starting point for the commit range.

Fixes #758

Author: sindresorhus

source/git-util.js

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import path from 'node:path';
 import {execa} from 'execa';
 import escapeStringRegexp from 'escape-string-regexp';
 import ignoreWalker from 'ignore-walk';
+import semver from 'semver';
 import * as util from './util.js';
 
 export const latestTag = async () => {
@@ -39,19 +40,27 @@ export const readFileFromLastRelease = async file => {
 	return oldFile;
 };
 
-/** Returns an array of tags, sorted by creation date in ascending order. */
+/** Returns an array of all tags. */
 const tagList = async () => {
-	const {stdout} = await execa('git', ['tag', '--sort=creatordate']);
+	const {stdout} = await execa('git', ['tag']);
 	return stdout ? stdout.split('\n') : [];
 };
 
+/** Returns an array of tags sorted by semver in ascending order. Non-semver tags are excluded. */
+const tagListSortedBySemver = async () => {
+	const tags = await tagList();
+	return tags
+		.filter(tag => semver.valid(tag))
+		.sort((a, b) => semver.compare(a, b));
+};
+
 const firstCommit = async () => {
 	const {stdout} = await execa('git', ['rev-list', '--max-parents=0', 'HEAD']);
 	return stdout;
 };
 
 export const previousTagOrFirstCommit = async () => {
-	const tags = await tagList();
+	const tags = await tagListSortedBySemver();
 
 	if (tags.length === 0) {
 		return;
@@ -62,9 +71,14 @@ export const previousTagOrFirstCommit = async () => {
 	}
 
 	try {
-		// Return the tag before the latest one.
+		// Return the tag before the latest one (sorted by semver).
 		const latest = await latestTag();
 		const index = tags.indexOf(latest);
+
+		if (index === -1 || index === 0) {
+			return firstCommit();
+		}
+
 		return tags[index - 1];
 	} catch {
 		// Fallback to the first commit.

test/git-util/previous-tag-or-first-commit.js

@@ -42,4 +42,22 @@ test('multiple tags', createFixture, async ({t, $$}) => {
 	t.is(result, 'v3.0.0');
 });
 
+test('tags created out of order - should sort by semver not creation date', createFixture, async ({t, $$}) => {
+	// Create tags out of semver order (simulating a hotfix scenario)
+	await $$`git tag v1.0.0`;
+	await t.context.commitNewFile();
+	await $$`git tag v1.2.0`;
+	await t.context.commitNewFile();
+	await $$`git tag v1.2.1`;
+	await t.context.commitNewFile();
+	// Create a hotfix tag for an older version (created after v1.2.1 but semver is lower)
+	await $$`git tag v1.0.1`;
+	await t.context.commitNewFile();
+	await $$`git tag v1.2.2`;
+}, async ({t, testedModule: {previousTagOrFirstCommit}}) => {
+	// Should return v1.2.1 (semver previous), not v1.0.1 (creation date previous)
+	const result = await previousTagOrFirstCommit();
+	t.is(result, 'v1.2.1');
+});
+
 test.todo('test fallback case');