feat: enhance hierarchy issue rendering logic for open and closed parents

action.yml

@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ inputs:
     description: 'Icon to be used for duplicity warning. Icon is placed before the record line.'
     required: false
     default: '🔔'
+  open-hierarchy-sub-issue-icon:
+    description: 'Icon prepended to open children under a closed hierarchy parent.'
+    required: false
+    default: '🟡'
   published-at:
     description: 'Use `published-at` timestamp instead of `created-at` as the reference point of previous Release.'
     required: false
@@ -181,6 +185,7 @@ runs:
         INPUT_HIERARCHY: ${{ inputs.hierarchy }}
         INPUT_DUPLICITY_SCOPE: ${{ inputs.duplicity-scope }}
         INPUT_DUPLICITY_ICON: ${{ inputs.duplicity-icon }}
+        INPUT_OPEN_HIERARCHY_SUB_ISSUE_ICON: ${{ inputs.open-hierarchy-sub-issue-icon }}
         INPUT_WARNINGS: ${{ inputs.warnings }}
         INPUT_HIDDEN_SERVICE_CHAPTERS: ${{ inputs.hidden-service-chapters }}
         INPUT_SERVICE_CHAPTER_ORDER: ${{ inputs.service-chapter-order }}

docs/features/issue_hierarchy_support.md

@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ Represent issue → sub-issue relationships directly in release notes, aggregati
 ## How It Works
 - Enabled via input `hierarchy: true` (default: `false`). When disabled, all issues render flat.
 - Parent issues are detected; sub-issues (and nested hierarchy issues) are fetched and ordered by level. Levels indent with two spaces per depth; nested items use list markers (`-`).
-- Only closed sub-issues that contain a change increment (merged PR to default branch) are rendered; open ones, and PR to non default branch are ignored.
+- When the parent hierarchy issue is **open**:
+  - Leaf sub-issues: only closed ones with a change increment are rendered; open ones and those closed or delivered in a previous release are ignored.
+  - Nested sub-hierarchy children: filtered by change increment only — an open child that aggregates PRs from deeper levels is still rendered.
+- When the parent hierarchy issue is **closed**: all children (sub-issues and nested sub-hierarchy children) are rendered. Open children are prefixed with the `open-hierarchy-sub-issue-icon` (default `🟡`) to signal incomplete work.
 - Each hierarchy issue line can expand with its own extracted release notes block if present (prefixed with `_Release Notes_:` heading within the item block).
 
 ## Configuration
@@ -23,6 +26,12 @@ Represent issue → sub-issue relationships directly in release notes, aggregati
       - {"title": "New Features 🎉", "label": "feature"}
 ```
 
+Optional inputs related to hierarchy:
+
+| Input | Default | Description |
+|---|---|---|
+| `open-hierarchy-sub-issue-icon` | `🟡` | Icon prepended to open sub-issues and open sub-hierarchy issues rendered under a closed hierarchy parent. Set to an empty string to disable highlighting. |
+
 ## Example Result
 ```markdown
 ### New Features 🎉
@@ -33,6 +42,7 @@ Represent issue → sub-issue relationships directly in release notes, aggregati
   - Updated `scala213 = "2.13.13"`
   - Feature: _Add user MFA enrollment flow_ #123 developed by @alice in #124
     - Add user MFA enrollment flow
+  - 🟡 Feature: _Add OAuth2 login_ #125  ← open sub-issue under closed Epic
 ```
 (1st four indented bullets under Epic line represent the extracted release notes from the parent hierarchy issue's body.)
 

release_notes_generator/action_inputs.py

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
     PRINT_EMPTY_CHAPTERS,
     DUPLICITY_SCOPE,
     DUPLICITY_ICON,
+    OPEN_HIERARCHY_SUB_ISSUE_ICON,
     ROW_FORMAT_LINK_PR,
     ROW_FORMAT_ISSUE,
     ROW_FORMAT_PR,
@@ -200,6 +201,13 @@ def get_duplicity_icon() -> str:
         """
         return get_action_input(DUPLICITY_ICON, "🔔")  # type: ignore[return-value]  # string is returned as default
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_open_hierarchy_sub_issue_icon() -> str:
+        """
+        Get the icon prepended to open sub-issues rendered under a closed hierarchy parent.
+        """
+        return get_action_input(OPEN_HIERARCHY_SUB_ISSUE_ICON, "🟡")  # type: ignore[return-value]  # string is returned as default
+
     @staticmethod
     def get_published_at() -> bool:
         """

release_notes_generator/model/record/hierarchy_issue_record.py

@@ -216,24 +216,40 @@ def to_chapter_row(self, add_into_chapters: bool = True) -> str:
 
         # add sub-hierarchy issues
         for sub_hierarchy_issue in self._sub_hierarchy_issues.values():
-            logger.debug("Rendering hierarchy issue row for sub-issue #%s", sub_hierarchy_issue.issue.number)
-            if sub_hierarchy_issue.contains_change_increment():
-                logger.debug("Sub-hierarchy issue #%s contains change increment", sub_hierarchy_issue.issue.number)
-                row = f"{row}\n{sub_hierarchy_issue.to_chapter_row()}"
+            logger.debug("Rendering sub-hierarchy issue row for #%s", sub_hierarchy_issue.issue.number)
+            if self.is_open:
+                if not sub_hierarchy_issue.contains_change_increment():
+                    continue
+            # Closed parent: render all sub-hierarchy issues regardless of state or change increment
+            logger.debug("Rendering sub-hierarchy issue #%s", sub_hierarchy_issue.issue.number)
+            sub_row = sub_hierarchy_issue.to_chapter_row()
+            if self.is_closed and sub_hierarchy_issue.is_open:
+                # Highlight open children under a closed parent to signal incomplete work
+                icon = ActionInputs.get_open_hierarchy_sub_issue_icon()
+                header_line, newline, remaining_lines = sub_row.partition("\n")
+                header_text = header_line.lstrip()
+                indent = header_line[: len(header_line) - len(header_text)]
+                sub_row = f"{indent}{icon} {header_text}{newline}{remaining_lines}"
+            row = f"{row}\n{sub_row}"
 
         # add sub-issues
         if len(self._sub_issues) > 0:
             sub_indent = "  " * (self._level + 1)
             for sub_issue in self._sub_issues.values():
-                logger.debug("Rendering sub-issue row for issue #%d", sub_issue.issue.number)
-                if sub_issue.is_open:
-                    continue  # only closed issues are reported in release notes
-
-                if not sub_issue.contains_change_increment():
-                    continue  # skip sub-issues without change increment
-
-                logger.debug("Sub-issue #%s contains change increment", sub_issue.issue.number)
-                sub_issue_block = "- " + sub_issue.to_chapter_row()
+                logger.debug("Rendering sub-issue row for issue #%s", sub_issue.issue.number)
+                if self.is_open:
+                    if sub_issue.is_open:
+                        continue  # only closed issues are reported in release notes
+                    if not sub_issue.contains_change_increment():
+                        continue  # skip sub-issues without change increment
+                # Closed parent: render all sub-issues regardless of state or change increment
+
+                logger.debug("Rendering sub-issue #%s", sub_issue.issue.number)
+                open_icon_prefix = ""
+                if self.is_closed and sub_issue.is_open:
+                    # Highlight open children under a closed parent to signal incomplete work
+                    open_icon_prefix = f"{ActionInputs.get_open_hierarchy_sub_issue_icon()} "
+                sub_issue_block = "- " + open_icon_prefix + sub_issue.to_chapter_row()
                 ind_child_block = "\n".join(
                     f"{sub_indent}{line}" if line else "" for line in sub_issue_block.splitlines()
                 )

release_notes_generator/utils/constants.py

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 CHAPTERS = "chapters"
 DUPLICITY_SCOPE = "duplicity-scope"
 DUPLICITY_ICON = "duplicity-icon"
+OPEN_HIERARCHY_SUB_ISSUE_ICON = "open-hierarchy-sub-issue-icon"
 PUBLISHED_AT = "published-at"
 SKIP_RELEASE_NOTES_LABELS = "skip-release-notes-labels"
 VERBOSE = "verbose"

tests/unit/conftest.py

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 
 import pytest
+from pytest_mock import MockerFixture
 
 from github import Github, IssueType, NamedUser
 from github.Commit import Commit
@@ -1226,3 +1227,108 @@ def mock_logging_setup(mocker):
     """Fixture to mock the basic logging setup using pytest-mock."""
     mock_log_config = mocker.patch("logging.basicConfig")
     yield mock_log_config
+
+
+# Helpers for hierarchy issue record tests
+_HIERARCHY_ROW_FMT = "_{title}_ {number}"
+_ISSUE_ROW_FMT_MINIMAL = "{number} _{title}_"
+
+
+def make_minimal_issue(mocker: MockerFixture, state: str, number: int) -> Issue:
+    """Return a minimal Issue mock."""
+    issue = mocker.Mock(spec=Issue)
+    issue.state = state
+    issue.number = number
+    issue.title = "Minimal test issue"
+    issue.body = None
+    issue.type = None
+    issue.user = None
+    issue.assignees = []
+    issue.get_labels.return_value = []
+    return issue
+
+
+def make_minimal_pr(mocker: MockerFixture, number: int) -> PullRequest:
+    """Return a minimal PullRequest mock."""
+    pr = mocker.Mock(spec=PullRequest)
+    pr.number = number
+    pr.body = None
+    pr.html_url = f"https://github.com/org/repo/pull/{number}"
+    pr.user = None
+    pr.assignees = []
+    pr.get_labels.return_value = []
+    return pr
+
+
+def make_closed_sub_issue_record_with_pr(mocker: MockerFixture, number: int) -> SubIssueRecord:
+    """Return a closed SubIssueRecord with one PR (no commits)."""
+    sub_record = SubIssueRecord(make_minimal_issue(mocker, IssueRecord.ISSUE_STATE_CLOSED, number))
+    sub_record.register_pull_request(make_minimal_pr(mocker, number=number + 1000))
+    return sub_record
+
+
+def make_open_sub_issue_record_no_pr(mocker: MockerFixture, number: int) -> SubIssueRecord:
+    """Return an open SubIssueRecord with no PRs."""
+    return SubIssueRecord(make_minimal_issue(mocker, IssueRecord.ISSUE_STATE_OPEN, number))
+
+
+def make_closed_sub_issue_record_no_pr(mocker: MockerFixture, number: int) -> SubIssueRecord:
+    """Return a closed SubIssueRecord with no PRs (no change increment)."""
+    return SubIssueRecord(make_minimal_issue(mocker, IssueRecord.ISSUE_STATE_CLOSED, number))
+
+
+def make_open_sub_hierarchy_record_no_pr(mocker: MockerFixture, number: int) -> HierarchyIssueRecord:
+    """Return an open HierarchyIssueRecord with no PRs."""
+    return HierarchyIssueRecord(make_minimal_issue(mocker, IssueRecord.ISSUE_STATE_OPEN, number))
+
+
+def make_open_sub_hierarchy_record_with_pr(mocker: MockerFixture, number: int) -> HierarchyIssueRecord:
+    """Return an open HierarchyIssueRecord with one PR (no commits)."""
+    rec = HierarchyIssueRecord(make_minimal_issue(mocker, IssueRecord.ISSUE_STATE_OPEN, number))
+    rec.register_pull_request(make_minimal_pr(mocker, number=number + 1000))
+    return rec
+
+
+def make_closed_sub_hierarchy_record_with_pr(mocker: MockerFixture, number: int) -> HierarchyIssueRecord:
+    """Return a closed HierarchyIssueRecord with one PR (no commits)."""
+    rec = HierarchyIssueRecord(make_minimal_issue(mocker, IssueRecord.ISSUE_STATE_CLOSED, number))
+    rec.register_pull_request(make_minimal_pr(mocker, number=number + 1000))
+    return rec
+
+
+def make_closed_sub_hierarchy_record_no_pr(mocker: MockerFixture, number: int) -> HierarchyIssueRecord:
+    """Return a closed HierarchyIssueRecord with no PRs (no change increment)."""
+    return HierarchyIssueRecord(make_minimal_issue(mocker, IssueRecord.ISSUE_STATE_CLOSED, number))
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def patch_hierarchy_action_inputs(mocker):
+    """Patch ActionInputs with minimal row-format values for HierarchyIssueRecord tests."""
+    mocker.patch(
+        "release_notes_generator.model.record.hierarchy_issue_record.ActionInputs.get_row_format_hierarchy_issue",
+        return_value=_HIERARCHY_ROW_FMT,
+    )
+    mocker.patch(
+        "release_notes_generator.model.record.hierarchy_issue_record.ActionInputs.get_duplicity_icon",
+        return_value="🔔",
+    )
+    mocker.patch(
+        "release_notes_generator.model.record.issue_record.ActionInputs.get_row_format_issue",
+        return_value=_ISSUE_ROW_FMT_MINIMAL,
+    )
+    mocker.patch(
+        "release_notes_generator.model.record.issue_record.ActionInputs.get_duplicity_icon",
+        return_value="🔔",
+    )
+    mocker.patch(
+        "release_notes_generator.model.record.record.ActionInputs.get_release_notes_title",
+        return_value="Release Notes:",
+    )
+    mocker.patch(
+        "release_notes_generator.model.record.record.ActionInputs.is_coderabbit_support_active",
+        return_value=False,
+    )
+    mocker.patch(
+        "release_notes_generator.model.record.hierarchy_issue_record.ActionInputs.get_open_hierarchy_sub_issue_icon",
+        return_value="🟡",
+    )