diff --git a/apprunner/CHANGELOG.md b/apprunner/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c8083186
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apprunner/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+<!--
+  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+  or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+  distributed with this work for additional information
+  regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+  to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+  "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+  with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+  software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+  "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+  KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+  specific language governing permissions and limitations
+  under the License.
+-->
+
+# Apache Polaris Apprunner Changelog
+
+This changelog is used to give users and contributors condensed information about the contents of Polaris releases.
+Entries are grouped in sections like _Highlights_ or _Upgrade notes_, the provided sections can be adjusted
+as necessary. Empty sections will not end up in the release notes. Contributors are encouraged to incorporate
+CHANGELOG updates into their PRs when appropriate. Reviewers should be mindful of the impact of PRs and
+request adding CHANGELOG notes for breaking (!) changes and possibly other sections as appropriate.
+
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Highlights
+
+- Initial release of the Apache Polaris Apprunner.
+
+### Upgrade notes
+
+### Breaking changes
+
+### New Features
+
+### Changes
+
+### Deprecations
+
+### Fixes
+
+### Commits
diff --git a/apprunner/build.gradle.kts b/apprunner/build.gradle.kts
index f1a53ee3..6ccc3e58 100644
--- a/apprunner/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/apprunner/build.gradle.kts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ plugins {
   id("eclipse")
   id("polaris-apprunner-root")
   alias(libs.plugins.rat)
+  alias(libs.plugins.jetbrains.changelog)
 }
 
 version = rootProject.rootDir.resolve("version.txt").readText().trim()
@@ -129,3 +130,23 @@ nexusPublishing {
     }
   }
 }
+
+changelog {
+  repositoryUrl.set("https://github.com/apache/polaris-tools")
+  title.set("Apache Polaris Apprunner Changelog")
+  versionPrefix.set("apache-polaris-apprunner-")
+  header.set(provider { version.get() })
+  groups.set(
+    listOf(
+      "Highlights",
+      "Upgrade notes",
+      "Breaking changes",
+      "New Features",
+      "Changes",
+      "Deprecations",
+      "Fixes",
+      "Commits",
+    )
+  )
+  version.set(provider { project.version.toString() })
+}
diff --git a/apprunner/gradle/libs.versions.toml b/apprunner/gradle/libs.versions.toml
index ac346948..1d329c5b 100644
--- a/apprunner/gradle/libs.versions.toml
+++ b/apprunner/gradle/libs.versions.toml
@@ -32,5 +32,6 @@ soebes-itf-assertj = { module = "com.soebes.itf.jupiter.extension:itf-assertj",
 soebes-itf-jupiter-extension = { module = "com.soebes.itf.jupiter.extension:itf-jupiter-extension", version.ref = "soebes-itf" }
 
 [plugins]
+jetbrains-changelog = { id = "org.jetbrains.changelog",  version = "2.4.0"}
 maven-plugin = { id = "io.freefair.maven-plugin", version = "9.1.0" }
 rat = { id = "org.nosphere.apache.rat", version = "0.8.1" }