diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+<!--
+How to Maintain This Changelog
+
+### For Contributors
+- Add entries to the "Unreleased" section when making changes.
+- Use the appropriate category (Added, Changed, Fixed, etc.).
+- Write entries from the user's perspective.
+- Reference issue numbers when applicable.
+
+### For Maintainers
+- Move "Unreleased" items to a new version section when releasing.
+- Add the release date.
+- Update the comparison links at the bottom.
+- Tag the release in Git with the version number.
+- When preparing the next development cycle, recreate the [Unreleased] section
+  and add a new comparison link:
+  [unreleased]: https://github.com/OpenSource-Communities/RepoReady/compare/<latest_version>...HEAD
+
+### Categories
+- **Added** for new features.
+- **Changed** for changes in existing functionality.
+- **Deprecated** for soon-to-be removed features.
+- **Removed** for now removed features.
+- **Fixed** for any bug fixes.
+- **Security** in case of vulnerabilities.
+
+### Template for Adding a New Version
+Use this block as an example when creating a new version section:
+
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Added
+- _Nothing yet_
+
+### Changed
+- _Nothing yet_
+
+### Deprecated
+- _Nothing yet_
+
+### Removed
+- _Nothing yet_
+
+### Fixed
+- _Nothing yet_
+
+### Security
+- _Nothing yet_
+-->
+
+# Changelog
+
+All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
+
+The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
+and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
+
+## [1.0.0] - 2025-08-29
+
+### Added
+- Initial release of RepoReady CLI
+- Repository evaluation functionality
+- Repository creation functionality
+- Support for GitHub personal access tokens
+- Comprehensive scoring system with 12 evaluation criteria
+- Organization-level community health file checking
+- Interactive CLI with `intro` and `examples` commands
+- Support for both npm installation and local development
+
+### Features
+- **Evaluate command**: Analyze any GitHub repository for contributor readiness
+- **Create command**: Set up new contributor-friendly GitHub repositories
+- **Scoring system**: 5-tier rating system (Excellent, Good, Fair, Needs Work, Not Ready)
+- **Actionable recommendations**: Specific suggestions for improvement
+- **Community health file detection**: Checks both repository and organization levels
+
+### Evaluation Criteria
+- Repository name and description
+- README file presence and quality
+- Contributing guidelines
+- Code of conduct
+- Open source license
+- Issue and PR templates
+- Good first issues and help wanted labels
+- Repository topics and activity status
+
+[1.0.0]: https://github.com/OpenSource-Communities/RepoReady/releases/tag/v1.0.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 783f1a8..404466f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -217,6 +217,10 @@ node dist/index.js evaluate your-org/your-repo
 - TypeScript knowledge (helpful for contributing)
 - All dependencies will be installed via `npm install`
 
+## Changelog
+
+See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) for a detailed history of changes.
+
 ## Contributing
 
 This project follows the same best practices it evaluates! We welcome contributions and maintain: