release-notes-generator

name	release-notes-generator
description	Generate release notes in 3 formats (CHANGELOG.md, PR body, Slack announcement) from git commits. Automatically categorizes changes and converts technical language to user-friendly messaging. Use for releases, changelogs, version notes, what's new summaries, or ship announcements.
tags	["release-notes","changelog","slack","git","automation"]
effort	low

Release Notes Generator

Generate comprehensive release notes in 3 formats from git commits.

Workflow

1. Analyze git history since last release tag or specified version
2. Fetch PR details (titles, descriptions, labels) via gh api
3. Categorize changes into features, bug fixes, improvements, security, breaking changes
4. Generate 3 outputs: CHANGELOG.md section (technical), PR release body (semi-technical), Slack message (user-friendly)
5. Transform language from technical jargon to accessible messaging
6. Alert on migrations if database migrations are detected

How to Use

Basic Usage

Generate release notes since last release

Create release notes for version 0.18.0

With Specific Range

Generate release notes from v0.17.0 to HEAD

Preview Only

Preview release notes without writing files

Output Formats

1. CHANGELOG.md Section

Technical format for developers:

## [0.18.0] - 2025-12-08

### Objective
[1-2 sentence summary]

### New Features
#### [Feature Name] (#PR)
- **Description**: ...
- **Impact**: ...

### Bug Fixes
- **[Module]**: Description (#issue, [error-tracker] ISSUE-XX)

### Technical Improvements
#### Performance / UI/UX / Architecture
- [Description]

### Database Migrations
[If applicable]

### Statistics
- PRs: X
- Features: Y
- Bugs: Z

2. PR Release Body

Uses template from .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/release.md:

• Objective summary
• Features with specs links
• Bug fixes with error tracker references
• Improvements by category
• Migration instructions
• Deployment checklist

3. Slack Announcement

Product-focused format from .github/COMMUNICATION_TEMPLATE/slack-release.md:

• PR link included for traceability
• Non-technical language
• Focus on user impact (end-users, admins, stakeholders)
• Emojis for readability
• Statistics summary

Workflow Integration

This skill integrates with the release workflow:

1. Analyze commits: git log <last-tag>..HEAD
2. Determine version number (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH)
3. Generate 3 outputs
4. Create PR develop -> main with "Release" label
5. Update CHANGELOG.md
6. After merge: create git tag
7. Generate Slack announcement

Tech-to-Product Transformation

The skill automatically transforms technical language:

Technical	Product
"N+1 query optimization with DataLoader"	"Faster list loading"
"AI embeddings implementation with pgvector"	"New intelligent search"
"Fix scope permissions in getPermissionScope()"	"Fixed access permissions bug"
"Migration webpack -> Turbopack"	Do not communicate
"React hooks refactoring"	Do not communicate
"Fix N+1 in user loaders"	"Performance improvement"
"Add retry logic for DB connection errors"	"Better connection stability"

Commit Categories

Commits are categorized by conventional commit prefix:

Prefix	Category	Include in Slack?
feat:	New Features	Yes
fix:	Bug Fixes	Yes (if user-facing)
perf:	Performance	Yes (simplified)
security:	Security	Yes
refactor:	Architecture	No
chore:	Maintenance	No
docs:	Documentation	No
test:	Tests	No
style:	Style	No

Console Output Format

When generating release notes, ALWAYS display a clear summary in the console with:

Migration Alert (CRITICAL)

If migrations are detected, display prominently:

╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  ⚠️  [WARNING] DATABASE MIGRATIONS REQUIRED                      ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║                                                                  ║
║  This release contains X migration(s):                           ║
║                                                                  ║
║  • 20251210123456_add_feature_description                        ║
║  • 20251211094532_update_status_enum                             ║
║                                                                  ║
║  Action required BEFORE deployment:                              ║
║  → Run: [migration-command]                                      ║
║                                                                  ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

If NO migrations:

✅ [OK] No database migrations required

Detection Method

Check for new migration files since last release:

# Find new migrations since last tag
git diff <last-tag>..HEAD --name-only -- migrations/

Example

User: "Generate release notes since v0.17.0"

Output:

Analyzing commits from v0.17.0 to HEAD...

Found:
- 15 commits
- 8 PRs merged
- 2 new features
- 5 bug fixes
- 3 improvements

╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  ⚠️  [WARNING] DATABASE MIGRATIONS REQUIRED                      ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║  This release contains 1 migration(s):                           ║
║  • 20251208143021_add_user_preferences                           ║
║  Action required: [migration-command]                             ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

--- CHANGELOG.md Section ---
[Technical format output]

--- PR Release Body ---
[Semi-technical format output]

--- Slack Announcement ---
[Product-focused format output]

Write to files? (CHANGELOG.md, clipboard for PR/Slack)

Commands Used

# Get last release tag
git tag --sort=-v:refname | head -n 1

# List commits since tag
git log <tag>..HEAD --oneline --no-merges

# Get PR details
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{number}

# Get commit details
git show --stat <sha>

Tips

• Run from repository root
• Ensure gh CLI is authenticated
• Review generated content before publishing
• Adjust product language for your audience
• Use --preview to see output without writing

Reference Files

• assets/changelog-template.md - CHANGELOG section template
• assets/slack-template.md - Slack announcement template
• references/tech-to-product-mappings.md - Transformation rules
• references/commit-categories.md - Categorization rules

Related Skills

• github-actions-templates - For CI/CD workflows
• changelog-generator - Original inspiration (ComposioHQ)