Write Release Notes

The write-release-notes skill automates the creation of changelogs by analyzing code diffs and commit messages to generate structured release documentation. It transforms raw version control data into human-readable summaries suitable for public distribution or internal team updates.

When to use it

• Post-deployment: Immediately after merging a feature branch to draft notes for the next release.
• Release management: Generating standardized changelogs for major version bumps without manual editing.
• Stakeholder communication: Creating clear summaries of new features, bug fixes, and breaking changes for non-technical audiences.
• Documentation maintenance: Keeping project READMEs or CHANGELOG.md files up to date automatically.

Key capabilities

• Parses git diffs and commit logs to identify changes.
• Categorizes updates into sections like "Added," "Changed," "Deprecated," and "Fixed."
• Generates markdown-formatted release notes ready for copy-pasting.
• Supports custom templates or formatting styles based on project needs.

Example prompts

• "Generate release notes for the latest commit in the main branch, highlighting only breaking changes."
• "Summarize all bug fixes and new features from the last sprint into a concise changelog entry."
• "Create formatted release notes for version 2.0 based on these specific commits: [list of hashes]."

Tips & gotchas

Ensure your repository has a clean commit history with descriptive messages, as vague logs may lead to generic output. Review generated notes before publishing to catch context-specific nuances the AI might miss.