yaak-changelog

name

yaak-changelog

description

Create or edit Yaak changelogs. Beta and draft prerelease changelogs live only in the GitHub release body; stable release changelogs live in `src/content/changelog/YYYYMMDD_VERSION/`. Use when Codex needs to update a beta GitHub release body, generate a stable website changelog from beta releases, update `_release.yaml` or `_intro.md`, expand major entries into markdown files, or preserve Yaak's changelog writing style.

Yaak Changelog

Use this skill to create Yaak changelogs in the correct place:

• Beta or draft prerelease changelogs live only on the GitHub release.
• Stable release changelogs live in website files under src/content/changelog/YYYYMMDD_VERSION/.

Workflow

1. Identify the target release.

• If the target tag contains -beta or the GitHub release is a draft prerelease, update the GitHub release body only. Do not create or edit src/content/changelog/ files for beta releases.
• For a new stable changelog, gather all beta release notes for that version since the previous stable release, then create or edit website changelog files.
• Prefer gh api or GitHub release pages. If network access is restricted, request permission before querying GitHub.
• Extract PR numbers and yaak.app/feedback URLs while fetching. If most bullets do not include PR references, fetch again with a more specific prompt.
• Fetch PR authors when generating or revising release notes. Include contributor attribution for non-@gschier PR authors.

2. Parse release bullets.

• Treat each release-note bullet as one changelog entry.
• Skip dependency-only, generated, build-only, test-only, CI-only, and internal maintenance bullets unless they have a clear user-facing impact that can be described in user terms.
• For stable website changelogs, skip bullets prefixed with [beta-only].
• Preserve the entry wording closely. Remove wrapping quotes from titles.
• Map categories to feature, fix, improvement, or breaking.
• Convert #NNN into https://github.com/mountain-loop/yaak/pull/NNN.

3. For beta or draft prerelease changelogs, update the GitHub release.

• Keep the changelog in the GitHub release body. Do not create a website changelog directory.
• Do not add a changelog badge or link to yaak.app/changelog/VERSION for beta releases.
• Prefer concise bullets with PR links and feedback links when available.
• When a bullet has a feedback URL, wrap the changelog item text itself in the feedback link, then put the PR link after it. Example: - [Fixed request history timestamps](https://yaak.app/feedback/posts/request-history-time-stamp) in [#492](https://github.com/mountain-loop/yaak/pull/492).
• Append by [@handle](https://github.com/handle) to PR-backed bullets authored by external contributors. Do not append by @gschier for @gschier PRs.
• Include a **Full Changelog** comparison link using the previous beta tag when it exists, or the previous stable tag for beta.1.
• Use gh release edit TAG --repo mountain-loop/yaak --notes-file ... or the GitHub release API to update the draft/prerelease body.
• Stop after verifying the GitHub release body. The website checks below do not apply.

4. For stable website changelogs, create or edit the release directory.

• Path format: src/content/changelog/YYYYMMDD_VERSION/.
• For a new release, use today's date for YYYYMMDD.
• For an existing release, keep the original directory date.
• Do not create changelog directories for beta releases.

5. Write _release.yaml.

• Include draft, optional title, summary, image, youtube, and entries.
• Keep minor items as quick entries without content.
• Use content only when an entry needs its own markdown section.

title: "What's New in 2026.1.0"
summary: "Brief overview of the most important additions and fixes"
draft: true
entries:
  - title: "Request debugging"
    category: feature
    pr: "https://github.com/mountain-loop/yaak/pull/123"
    feedback: "https://feedback.yaak.app/p/request-debugging"
    content: "request-debugging.md"
  - title: "Fix broken cookie clearing"
    category: fix
    pr: "https://github.com/mountain-loop/yaak/pull/124"

6. Expand major entries.

• Expand 3 to 6 major items when enough context exists.
• Create slugified markdown files and reference them with content.
• Read the related PR before writing expanded content.
• Add emoji prefixes only for expanded entry titles if it helps distinguish major sections.

7. Handle images.

• Reuse screenshots from PRs when they exist.
• Convert GitHub private attachment URLs to https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/UUID before upload.
• Upload with go run cmd/yaakadmin/main.go upload "URL" when the environment permits it.
• If no real image is available, use a placeholder with real alt text and a caption.

8. Write _intro.md.

• Add a short overview paragraph at the top of the release.
• Focus on the major themes across the release instead of repeating every bullet.

9. Follow Yaak writing style.

• Be direct and factual. Avoid hype.
• State what changed and how to use it.
• Keep paragraphs short.
• Use backticks for code symbols, settings, and literal values.
• Use bold sparingly for the most important phrase in a section.

File Rules

• Beta releases must not create or edit files in src/content/changelog/.
• Main files are _release.yaml and optional _intro.md.
• Expanded entry files are regular markdown files such as request-debugging.md.
• entries[].content must match an existing markdown filename in the same directory.
• Images for changelog pages live under static/changelog/VERSION/ when committed to the repo.

Checks

• For beta releases, verify gh release view TAG --repo mountain-loop/yaak --json body,tagName,isDraft,isPrerelease and ensure no website changelog files were created.
• For beta releases, verify feedback-backed bullets use the feedback URL as the link target for the whole item text, not as a separate trailing Feedback: link.
• For stable releases, ensure each user-facing source bullet becomes exactly one changelog entry unless it is [beta-only] or dependency-only/internal maintenance.
• Ensure most entries include pr when the source release notes provide one.
• For stable releases, ensure every referenced content file exists.
• If the user wants stable website verification, run the site and inspect /changelog/VERSION and /rss.xml.