The request asks for a tool to auto-update a CONTRIBUTORS file. None of the candidates is a dedicated contributors-file updater, but several provide the Git history and automation needed to build one: GitHub Actions and Bitbucket's commit-history API can supply contributor data, and git-cliff generates changelogs from Git history, which can be adapted to contributor lists. Note: the request does not state the hosting platform (GitHub, Bitbucket, or other), which determines the best choice.
A question back: Which platform hosts the repository (GitHub, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, or another), so I can recommend the most suitable option?
- 1
GitHubgithub.comverified and signed
Its GitHub Actions ecosystem and repository tooling, including repo-story-time which generates summaries from commit history, can run automated workflows that update repository files such as CONTRIBUTORS 2.
official:MCP server · @github/mcp-registrySDK · @github/copilot-sdklibrary · CodeQL: StubCLI · specifyrepository · copilot-engine-sdk+2,577 community tools built for it
for agents: github/update-project-action · github/dependabot-action · repo-story-time
- 2
Bitbucket Cloud APIbitbucket.orgverified and signed
Its API lists commits and the commits that modified a given file, giving the contributor data needed to regenerate a CONTRIBUTORS file 8.
official:API · Bitbucket API+78 community tools built for it
for agents: GET /repositories/{workspace}/{repo_slug}/filehistory/{commit}/{path} · GET /repositories/{workspace}/{repo_slug}/commits · POST /repositories/{workspace}/{repo_slug}/commits
- 3
Microsoft Azure DevOps (ADO)microsoft.comverified and signed
Its Git repository tooling, including the author-contributions action that identifies all files an author contributed to on a branch, can provide authorship data for a CONTRIBUTORS list 1.
official:MCP server · Playwright MCP ServerSDK · markitdownlibrary · windows-sysCLI · playwright-mcppackage · Azure DevOps (ADO)+151 community tools built for it
for agents: author-contributions · list_repository_tree · list_issues
- 4
Sources
- 1Microsoft – AI, Cloud, Productivity, Computing, Gaming & Appsmicrosoft.com · read 2026-10-29
- 2GitHub · Change is constant. GitHub keeps you ahead. · GitHub · GitHubgithub.com · read 2026-10-29
- 8Bitbucket | Git solution for teams using Jirabitbucket.org · read 2026-10-29
- 10A highly customizable changelog generator ⛰️ | git-cliffgit-cliff.org · read 2026-10-29
Left out: git-flow-next, because each one's own page says it is retired or discontinued.
For agents: the 10 actions behind this answer
author-contributions · author-contributions verified and signed
Identify all files a specific author contributed to on a branch vs its upstream, tracing code through renames. Use when asked who edited what, what code an author contributed, or to audit authorship before a merge. This skill should be run as a subagent — it performs many git operations and returns
github/update-project-action · Update project verified and signed
Updates an item's fields on a GitHub Projects (beta) board based on a workflow dispatch (or other) event's input.
refresh_from_github · postpile found in code, not yet checked
backport · typing-extensions verified and signed
set_source_git · automated-security-helper found in code, not yet checked
Clone a repository into this session's workspace and make it the scan target.
update_row · Supabase (Activepieces) verified and signed
Update Row — Update rows in a table based on filter criteria
gitNamespaces · Vercel API verified and signed
List git namespaces by provider
GET /repositories/{workspace}/{repo_slug}/filehistory/{commit}/{path} · Bitbucket API verified and signed
List commits that modified a file
orhun/git-cliff-action · git-cliff - Changelog Generator verified and signed
Generate changelog based on your Git history
· git-cliff website read, tools not yet checked
A highly customizable changelog generator ⛰️
Labels are the instruments' verdict and are never changed by ranking. Agents and robots get this same answer as JSON at /api/v1/find?q=…&answer=1 and through the MCP server.