release-notes-base

name	release-notes-base
description	Shared workflow for drafting MongoDB docs release notes from a GitHub repo. Not invoked directly — referenced by tool-specific release notes skills.
user-invocable	false

Release Notes Base Workflow

This skill defines the shared process for drafting release notes for open-source, unversioned MongoDB products where release data is available from GitHub. Tool-specific skills supply the values for the placeholders marked below.

Scope: This workflow applies only to open-source products with public GitHub releases (e.g., Compass, mongosh, MongoDB MCP Server). It does not apply to closed-source products where a compiled change list cannot be fetched from GitHub, or to versioned products that require changes to be made in an upcoming branch and backported.

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Workflow

1. Fetch release notes from GitHub

Use the Agent tool (subagent_type: Explore) to fetch the release notes for the {VERSION} tag from the {GITHUB_REPO} GitHub repository. Return the full list of changes, grouped by new features and bug fixes.

2. Read the existing release notes for formatting reference

Read the first 60 lines of {RELEASE_NOTES_FILE} to confirm the exact heading style, section labels, issue reference format, and changelog link format used by this product before drafting.

3. Fetch the release date from GitHub

Use the mcp__github__get_release_by_tag tool to retrieve the release date. Split {GITHUB_REPO} into owner and repo (e.g., mongodb-js/compass → owner mongodb-js, repo compass). Pass v{VERSION} as the tag (prepend v if not already present).

Extract the published_at field and format it as Month D, YYYY (e.g., March 11, 2026). If the tool call fails or published_at is missing, use TBD as the placeholder and note it to the writer.

4. Check the changes for embargoed terms

Use Glean to fetch the Embargoed Features List from the internal wiki (https://wiki.corp.mongodb.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=560136334) and return every embargoed feature name and its aliases. The page is internal to MongoDB, so instruct the subagent to read it with Glean.

Scan the change list fetched in step 1 for any embargoed feature name or alias, matching case-insensitively and including aliases.

If any change matches an embargoed term, stop before drafting: report the matching term and the affected changes to the writer, then ask how to proceed. Do not draft, include, or publish any release note that references an embargoed feature until the writer confirms the embargo is lifted.

If no change matches, continue to the next step.

5. Draft the new release notes entry

Format the new entry to match the conventions observed in step 2, using the tool-specific overrides supplied by the calling skill. Insert the entry in the correct version-sorted position (newest version first). Do not assume the new entry belongs at the top — scan the existing headings to find where {VERSION} falls relative to other versions and insert it there, with a blank line separating it from the entry above and below.

Format rules: If {RELEASE_NOTES_FILE} ends in .txt, read references/rst-formatting.md for the heading template and line-length rules. If it ends in .mdx, read references/mdx-formatting.md instead.

Shared rules (apply to all tools unless the calling skill overrides)

• Set the release date to *Released <date from step 3>*.
• Convert PR-style commit messages into clean sentence or noun-phrase descriptions. Drop scope prefixes like feat(connections): or fix(indexes): — extract only the meaningful description.
• Preserve issue references for any ticket numbers present. Omit the reference if no ticket is listed.
• Use the {PRODUCT_SUBSTITUTION} value for the heading (e.g. a substitution constant like |compass|, or a version prefix like v).
• Use the {CHANGELOG_LINK} template for the full changelog entry at the bottom of the section.

6. Ask about snooty.toml

After inserting the entry, ask the user: "Should I also update {VERSION_KEY} in {SNOOTY_TOML} to {VERSION}?"

If the user confirms, update that key's value in the file.

7. Confirm completion

Report the file(s) changed and ask the user if they are ready to commit. Remind the user to verify the release date with stakeholders prior to publishing.