release-doc

name	release-doc
description	[Documentation] Use when you need to generate a detailed, AI-analyzed release document from git history over a time range or custom prompt.

Codex compatibility note:

• Invoke repository skills with $skill-name in Codex; this mirrored copy rewrites legacy Claude /skill-name references.
• Task tracker mandate: BEFORE executing any workflow or skill step, create/update task tracking for all steps and keep it synchronized as progress changes.
• User-question prompts mean to ask the user directly in Codex.
• Ignore Claude-specific mode-switch instructions when they appear.
• Strict execution contract: when a user explicitly invokes a skill, execute that skill protocol as written.
• Subagent authorization: when a skill is user-invoked or AI-detected and its protocol requires subagents, that skill activation authorizes use of the required spawn_agent subagent(s) for that task.
• Do not skip, reorder, or merge protocol steps unless the user explicitly approves the deviation first.
• For workflow skills, execute each listed child-skill step explicitly and report step-by-step evidence.
• If a required step/tool cannot run in this environment, stop and ask the user before adapting.

Codex Project-Reference Loading (No Hooks)

Codex uses static project-reference loading instead of runtime-injected project docs. When coding, planning, debugging, testing, or reviewing, open project docs explicitly using this routing.

Always read:

• docs/project-config.json (project-specific paths, commands, modules, and workflow/test settings)
• docs/project-reference/docs-index-reference.md (routes to the full docs/project-reference/* catalog)
• docs/project-reference/lessons.md (always-on guardrails and anti-patterns)

Missing/stale context route: If docs/project-config.json, the docs index, lessons.md, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, or any task-required reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run $project-init or the narrow setup route ($project-config, $docs-init, $scan-all, $scan --target=<key>, $claude-md-init) before ordinary project-specific work. If Codex mirrors or AGENTS.md are missing/stale, ask the user to run $sync-codex; do not auto-run it.

Situation-based docs:

• Backend/CQRS/API/domain/entity changes: backend-patterns-reference.md, domain-entities-reference.md, project-structure-reference.md
• Frontend/UI/styling/design-system: frontend-patterns-reference.md, scss-styling-guide.md, design-system/README.md
• Spec authoring, docs/specs/ pathing, or TC format: feature-spec-reference.md, spec-system-reference.md, spec-principles.md
• Behavior/public-contract changes or spec-test-code sync: workflow-spec-test-code-cycle-reference.md plus the spec docs above
• Derived spec indexes/ERDs/reimplementation guides: spec-system-reference.md and source Feature Specs under docs/specs/
• Integration test implementation/review: integration-test-reference.md
• E2E test implementation/review: e2e-test-reference.md
• Code review/audit work: code-review-rules.md plus domain docs above based on changed files

Do not read all docs blindly. Start from docs-index-reference.md, then open only relevant files for the task.

Quick Summary

Goal: Generate a detailed, AI-analyzed release document from git history — by time range (e.g., last 30 days) or custom comparison (e.g., v1.0.0..HEAD) or a user-described focus area.

Workflow:

1. Resolve Range — Determine the git range from user input
2. Dump Artifacts — Save log, file-status, and full diff to docs/release/ BEFORE analyzing
3. Categorize Changes — Group changed files by framework area (hooks, skills, agents, workflows, principles, config, docs)
4. Read Key Diffs — For each category, read the most significant changes via git show or git diff
5. Generate Doc — Write structured markdown release doc to docs/release/
6. Validate — Verify completeness and accuracy against the artifact files

Key Rules:

• Dump first, read second — NEVER analyze a diff you haven't saved to a file first
• Group by theme — Do not list commits chronologically; group by what area they impact
• Cite evidence — Every section claim must reference a specific commit hash or file path
• Custom focus honored — If user provides a focus prompt, weight that area more deeply
• Draft status — All generated docs are Draft; add "Status: Draft" to the header

---

Release Doc Skill

Generate a detailed, narrative release document by analyzing git history over a time range or between two refs.

Invocation

$release-doc [--days N] [--since DATE] [--range base..head] [--focus "custom prompt"] [--output path]

Examples:

# Last 30 days
$release-doc --days 30

# Since a specific date
$release-doc --since 2026-03-15

# Between two tags or commits
$release-doc --range v1.0.0..HEAD

# With custom focus area
$release-doc --days 30 --focus "what changed in hooks and workflow enforcement"

# Specify output file
$release-doc --days 30 --output docs/release/release-2026-Q1.md

Differences from $release-notes and $changelog

Feature	$release-doc	$release-notes	$changelog
Time-based ranges	✅ --days N / --since	❌ ref-to-ref only	❌ PR/commit only
AI thematic analysis	✅ Groups by framework area	❌ Commit-type categories	❌ File-by-file
Dumps artifacts to files	✅ Mandatory before analysis	❌ Pipes in memory	❌ In memory
Custom focus prompt	✅ --focus "..."	❌	❌
Narrative sections	✅ Context + rationale	❌ Bullet list only	❌ Bullet list only
Framework-level docs	✅ hooks/skills/agents	❌ App features	❌ App features

Step 1: Resolve Range

Determine the git range from the user's input:

# Time-based (--days N or --since DATE)
SINCE_DATE=$(date -d "-30 days" +%Y-%m-%d)    # Linux
SINCE_DATE=$(date -v-30d +%Y-%m-%d)            # macOS
git log --since="$SINCE_DATE" --oneline --format="%H %ad %s" --date=short

# Ref-based (--range base..head)
git log v1.0.0..HEAD --oneline --format="%H %ad %s" --date=short

# Count commits in range
git log --since="$SINCE_DATE" --oneline | wc -l

Identify the boundary commits:

# Oldest commit in range (for diff base)
OLDEST=$(git log --since="$SINCE_DATE" --format="%H" | tail -1)
# Newest
NEWEST=HEAD

Step 2: Dump Git Artifacts (MANDATORY BEFORE ANALYSIS)

CRITICAL: Run ALL dumps before reading ANY content. Use background runs for large diffs.

# Create output directory
mkdir -p docs/release

# 1. Full git log with bodies
git log --since="$SINCE_DATE" --format="%H %ad %s%n%b" --date=short \
  > docs/release/git-log-{PERIOD}.txt

# 2. File-level change status (A/M/D)
git diff ${OLDEST}^..HEAD --name-status \
  > docs/release/diff-file-status-{PERIOD}.txt

# 3. Diff stat summary (line counts)
git diff ${OLDEST}^..HEAD --stat \
  > docs/release/diff-stat-{PERIOD}.txt

# 4. Full consolidated diff (background — may be large)
git diff ${OLDEST}^..HEAD \
  > docs/release/git-diff-{PERIOD}-full.txt &

echo "Artifacts saved. Commit count: $(cat docs/release/git-log-{PERIOD}.txt | grep -c '^[a-f0-9]\{40\}')"

Replace {PERIOD} with a human-readable period string, e.g., 30d, 2026-03-15-to-2026-04-14.

Verify all artifact files exist and are non-empty before proceeding.

Step 3: Categorize Changes by Framework Area

Read docs/release/diff-file-status-{PERIOD}.txt and group files into categories:

# Count by area
grep -c "^[AMD]\s*.claude/hooks/" docs/release/diff-file-status-{PERIOD}.txt
grep -c "^[AMD]\s*.claude/skills/" docs/release/diff-file-status-{PERIOD}.txt
grep -c "^[AMD]\s*.claude/agents/" docs/release/diff-file-status-{PERIOD}.txt
grep -c "^[AMD]\s*.claude/workflows" docs/release/diff-file-status-{PERIOD}.txt
grep -c "^[AMD]\s*.claude/docs/" docs/release/diff-file-status-{PERIOD}.txt
grep -c "^[AMD]\s*docs/" docs/release/diff-file-status-{PERIOD}.txt
grep -c "^[AMD]\s*CLAUDE.md" docs/release/diff-file-status-{PERIOD}.txt

Standard category map for easy-claude projects:

File Path Pattern	Category
.claude/hooks/**	Hook Enhancements
.claude/hooks/lib/**	Hook Library
.claude/skills/**	Skills
.claude/agents/**	Agent Definitions
.claude/workflows/**	Workflow Orchestration
.claude/workflows.json	Workflow Registry
.claude/docs/**	Framework Documentation
.claude/scripts/**	Tooling & Scripts
docs/project-reference/**	Project Reference Docs
CLAUDE.md	Principles & Core Rules
.claude/.ck.json / settings.json	Configuration

For non-easy-claude projects, derive categories from the file path patterns actually present.

Step 4: Analyze Key Changes Per Category

For each category with significant changes (>5 files or >200 lines), read representative diffs:

# Most impactful commits (by files changed)
git log --since="$SINCE_DATE" --format="%H %s" --name-only | \
  grep -A100 "^[a-f0-9]\{40\}" | head -200

# Show specific commit detail
git show {COMMIT_HASH} --stat --format="%s%n%b"

# Diff for a specific file across the range
git diff ${OLDEST}^..HEAD -- .claude/hooks/init-prompt-gate.cjs

Analysis questions for each category:

• Hooks: What new gates or enforcement were added? What context injection changed? What was the trigger behavior before vs after?
• Skills: What new skills were created? What protocols were updated in existing skills? What was removed or merged?
• Agents: What agent definitions changed? Did tool lists or dispatch rules change?
• Workflows: What workflow steps were added/removed? Did sequence order change? Were any workflows merged or deleted?
• Principles: What rules in CLAUDE.md changed? Were confidence thresholds tightened? New hard gates added?
• Config: What new schema fields? What validation was added?
• Scripts/Tooling: What new utilities? What improved or automated?

Evidence requirement: For every claim in the doc, record {commit_hash}:{file_path} as your source.

Step 5: Handle Custom Focus Prompt

If user provided --focus "...", apply additional depth to that area:

1. Grep all changed files matching the focus keywords
2. Read the full diff for matching files (not just stat)
3. Include a dedicated top-level section for the focus area in the output doc
4. Cross-reference related changes in other areas (e.g., a new skill + its hook + its workflow entry)

Step 6: Generate the Release Doc

Write to docs/release/release-notes-{PERIOD}.md (or --output path).

Required structure:

# Release Notes — {Project Name}

**Period:** {START} → {END}
**Commits:** {N} commits | **Files changed:** {N} | **Insertions:** +{N} | **Deletions:** −{N}
**Status:** Draft

---

## Executive Summary

3-4 sentences. The most transformative changes, their business/developer impact, and the overall trajectory.

---

## {Category 1}: {Theme Name}

### What Changed

{Narrative description — not bullet-list of commits}

### Why It Matters

{Impact on how developers/AI uses the system}

### Key Additions / Modifications

| Item | Type | Effect |
| ---- | ---- | ------ |

---

## {Category 2}: ...

[repeat for each significant category]

---

## New Skills Added

| Skill | Command | Purpose |
| ----- | ------- | ------- |

## Skills Removed or Merged

| Skill | Reason |
| ----- | ------ |

## Principles & Rules Updated

| Rule | Before | After | Reason |
| ---- | ------ | ----- | ------ |

---

## Summary Statistics

| Category       | Count |
| -------------- | ----- |
| Commits        | {N}   |
| Files changed  | {N}   |
| New skills     | {N}   |
| Skills removed | {N}   |
| New hooks      | {N}   |
| Hooks modified | {N}   |
| Agents updated | {N}   |
| Net lines      | +{N}  |

---

_Generated: {DATE} | Branch: {BRANCH} | Range: {OLDEST_HASH}..{HEAD_HASH}_
_Artifacts: `docs/release/git-log-{PERIOD}.txt`, `docs/release/diff-file-status-{PERIOD}.txt`_

Step 7: Validate

After writing, verify:

• Every category section references at least one commit hash
• "New Skills" table is complete (cross-check against grep "^A.*skills" diff-file-status-*.txt)
• "Skills Removed" is complete (cross-check against grep "^D.*skills" diff-file-status-*.txt)
• Summary Statistics match the actual diff stat
• No section says "TODO" or contains unfilled template placeholders
• Artifact files are listed in the doc footer

Configuration: Category Map Override

For projects with custom directory structures, override the category map via project-config.json:

{
    "releaseDoc": {
        "categoryMap": {
            "{api-source-root}/**": "API Layer",
            "{ui-source-root}/**": "Frontend",
            "migrations/**": "Database Schema"
        },
        "outputDir": "docs/release",
        "focusAreas": ["hooks", "skills", "agents"]
    }
}

Integration with Other Skills

• $release-notes — Use after $release-doc to generate a consumer-facing version (tag-to-tag, conventional commits)
• $changelog — Use for individual feature changelog entries; $release-doc is for multi-week summaries
• $graph-blast-radius — Run before release to assess impact of the most changed files
• $docs-update — Update project reference docs after analyzing what changed
• $commit — Commit the generated release doc

Troubleshooting

Diff too large for context

Solution: The skill requires artifact files be written first — never read the full diff into context. Use git show {hash} for individual commits and grep -l to narrow file scope.

Time range yields 0 commits

# Verify date format (ISO 8601)
git log --since="2026-03-15" --oneline | head -5
# If empty, check git's date interpretation:
git log --format="%ad" --date=short | head -5

Non-easy-claude project structure

The skill auto-derives categories from file paths. For repositories without .claude/, group by discovered source roots, tests, docs, scripts, and config paths instead.

---

Workflow Recommendation

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — NO EXCEPTIONS: If you are NOT already in a workflow, use a direct user question to ask the user:

1. Execute $release-doc directly (Recommended) — Standalone analysis and doc generation
2. Run $production-readiness-review + $quality-gate first — Pre-release quality gate, then release doc

---

Next Steps

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — NO EXCEPTIONS after completing this skill, use a direct user question to present:

• "$release-notes (Recommended)" — Generate consumer-facing release notes from the same range
• "$commit" — Commit the generated release doc to version control
• "$docs-update" — Sync project reference docs with any changes discovered during analysis
• "Skip, done" — User decides

---

[IMPORTANT] Use task tracking to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting. This prevents context loss during large diff analysis. Always dump git artifacts to external files before reading.

External Memory: Write ALL intermediate findings and git artifacts to docs/release/ — this is MANDATORY. Large diffs will overflow context. Never try to hold a 30-day diff in memory.

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Re-read files after context changes. Context compaction, resume, or long-running work can make memory stale; verify current files before acting. Verify generated content against source evidence. AI hallucinates APIs, names, claims, and document facts. Check the relevant source before documenting or referencing. Check downstream references before deleting or renaming. Removing an artifact can stale docs, generated mirrors, configs, and callers; map references first. Trace the full impact chain after edits. Changing a definition can miss derived outputs and consumers. Follow the affected chain before declaring done. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. One green check is not all green checks; validate every output surface the change can affect. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Before changing a constant, limit, flag, wording, or pattern, read nearby context and history. Surface ambiguity before acting — don't pick silently. Multiple valid interpretations require an explicit question or stated assumption with risk. Keep shared guidance role-relevant. Universal guidance must help every receiving skill or agent; code-specific obligations belong only in code-specific protocols.

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

MUST ATTENTION apply critical + sequential thinking — every claim needs appropriate traced evidence (file:line for repo/code claims; source URL or artifact section for research, product, content, and docs claims); confidence >80% to act, <60% DO NOT recommend. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact, admit uncertainty freely, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence.

MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references before deleting or renaming, verify all affected outputs, re-read files after context loss, and surface ambiguity before acting.

Closing Reminders

Protocols in force (concise digest of the SYNC/shared blocks this skill carries):

• AI Mistake Prevention: verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references, verify all affected outputs, re-read after context loss, surface ambiguity.
• Critical Thinking: traced file:line proof per claim, confidence >80% to act, never guess.

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION dump ALL git artifacts to docs/release/ BEFORE reading any diff content IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using task tracking BEFORE starting IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite commit hash + file path for every claim in the generated doc IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review task to validate completeness against artifact files

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using task tracking.

Hookless Prompt Protocol Mirror (Auto-Synced)

Source: .claude/.ck.json + .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md (:full blocks) + .claude/scripts/lib/hookless-prompt-protocol.cjs

[WORKFLOW-EXECUTION-PROTOCOL] [BLOCKING] Workflow Execution Protocol — MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST CRITICAL. Do not skip for any reason.

Generic portability boundary: Reusable skills and protocol text stay project-neutral; project-specific conventions are discovered from docs/project-config.json and docs/project-reference/. Apply shared AI-SDD from shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md. Read docs/project-config.json and docs/project-reference/docs-index-reference.md, then open the project reference docs named there. For spec, test-case, behavior-change, public-contract, or docs/specs/ work, route through the local spec docs named by the docs index: feature-spec-reference.md, spec-system-reference.md, spec-principles.md, and workflow-spec-test-code-cycle-reference.md when specs/tests/code must stay synchronized. If either file or a required reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run $project-init (or the narrow lower-level route such as $project-config, $docs-init, $scan-all, or $scan --target=<key>) before ordinary project-specific work. Any supported AI tool may execute when this shared context and local docs are available.

1. DETECT: If the prompt starts with an explicit slash skill/workflow command, execute it directly. Otherwise match the prompt against the workflow catalog and skill list.
2. ANALYZE: Choose the best option: execute directly, invoke a skill, activate a standard workflow, or compose a custom step combination.
3. AUTO-SELECT: Pick the best option yourself. Do not ask the user to choose between direct execution, skill, standard workflow, or custom workflow.
4. ACTIVATE: For a selected workflow, call $start-workflow <workflowId>; for a selected skill, invoke that skill; for a custom workflow, sequence custom steps directly; for direct execution, proceed with the task.
5. CREATE TASKS: task tracking for ALL workflow/skill/custom steps before execution when the selected path has multiple steps.
6. EXECUTE: Advance per the Workflow Step Advancement & Parallel Phases rule in your context instructions — model-driven; a sub-agent completion advances a step identically to an inline call; a parallel-phase group is an all-return barrier (advance only after ALL members return, never serialize it)

Shared AI-SDD Protocol Markers

Source: .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md

SYNC:ai-sdd-artifact-contract

AI-SDD Artifact Contract — Shared spec-driven development rules stay portable and source-owned.

1. Keep reusable AI-SDD principles in .claude; put repository-specific paths, commands, owners, products, and formats in project config/reference docs.
2. Preserve cycle: spec -> plan -> tasks -> implement -> verify -> update spec/docs.
3. Trace every requirement or invariant through decision, task, TC/test, source evidence, and docs/spec update.
4. Treat code-to-spec extraction as reference-only until accepted by the canonical spec owner.
5. Any supported AI tool may plan, implement, review, or verify with synced context; using multiple tools is optional.
6. Update .claude source first, then sync generated mirrors; do not manually edit .agents, .codex, or AGENTS.md. — why: mirrors are generated artifacts; hand-edits are overwritten on the next sync
7. If docs/project-config.json, root instruction files, or a required project-reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run $project-init or the narrow lower-level route before ordinary project-specific work.

Active reference: shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md in the active skills root.

---

SYNC:ai-sdd-artifact-contract:reminder

• MANDATORY Apply shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md; keep reusable AI-SDD in .claude and local rules in project docs.
• MANDATORY Code-to-spec extraction is reference-only until canonical acceptance; any supported AI tool may execute with synced context.
• MANDATORY Update .claude source before syncing generated mirrors; do not manually edit .agents, .codex, or AGENTS.md.
• MANDATORY Missing or stale project config, root instruction files, or required reference docs route project-specific work through $project-init or the narrow setup route automatically. [TASK-PLANNING] [MANDATORY] BEFORE executing any workflow or skill step, create/update task tracking for all planned steps, then keep it synchronized as each step starts/completes.

[LESSON-LEARNED-REMINDER] [BLOCKING] Task Planning & Continuous Improvement — MANDATORY. Do not skip.

Break work into small tasks (task tracking) before starting. Add final task: "Analyze AI mistakes & lessons learned".

Extract lessons — ROOT CAUSE ONLY, not symptom fixes:

1. Name the FAILURE MODE (reasoning/assumption failure), not symptom — "assumed API existed without reading source" not "used wrong enum value".
2. Generality test: does this failure mode apply to ≥3 contexts/codebases? If not, abstract one level up.
3. Write as a universal rule — strip project-specific names/paths/classes. Useful on any codebase.
4. Consolidate: multiple mistakes sharing one failure mode → ONE lesson.
5. Recurrence gate: "Would this recur in future session WITHOUT this reminder?" — No → skip $learn.
6. Auto-fix gate: "Could $code-review/$code-simplifier/$security-review/$lint catch this?" — Yes → improve review skill instead.
7. BOTH gates pass → ask user to run $learn. [CRITICAL-THINKING-MINDSET] Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination principle: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination. AI Attention principle (Primacy-Recency): Put the 3 most critical rules at both top and bottom of long prompts/protocols so instruction adherence survives long context windows. Goal-driven execution: Define success criteria first, loop until verified, and stop only when observable checks pass. Tests verify intent: Tests must protect business rules/invariants and fail when the protected intent breaks, not only mirror current behavior.

Common AI Mistake Prevention (System Lessons)

• Re-read files after context compaction. Edit requires prior Read in same context; compaction wipes read state. Re-read before editing.
• Grep for old terms after bulk replacements. AI over-trusts find/replace completeness. Grep full repo after bulk edits for missed refs in docs/configs/catalogs.
• Check downstream references before deleting. Deletions cascade doc/code staleness. Map referencing files before removal.
• After memory loss, check existing state before creating new. Compaction wipes prior-work memory. Query current state to resume — never blindly duplicate.
• Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, method signatures. Grep to confirm existence before documenting/referencing.
• Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream consumers. Trace the full chain.
• When renaming, grep ALL consumer file types. Some file types silently ignore missing refs (no compile error). Search code, templates, configs, generated files.
• Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Code existing ≠ code executing. Trace early exits, error branches, conditional skips — not just happy path.
• Update docs that embed canonical data when source changes. Docs inlining derived data (workflows, schemas, configs) go stale silently. Update all embedding docs alongside source.
• Verify sub-agent results after context recovery. Background agents may finish while parent compacted — grep-verify output, don't trust assumed completion.
• Cross-check full target list against sub-agent assignments. Parallel sub-agents by category miss boundary items. Reconcile union of assignments against target list before proceeding.
• Sub-agents inherit knowledge only from their agent .md definition — use custom agent types, not built-in Explore. Tool adoption = permission + knowledge + enforcement (numbered workflow step).
• Persist sub-agent findings incrementally, not as a final batch. Long sub-agents hit cutoffs before final write — findings lost. Instruct append-per-section to report file.
• When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace caller (wrong data) vs callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site.
• Grep ALL removed names after extraction/refactoring. Primary file "done" ≠ secondary files clean. Grep entire scope for every removed symbol before declaring complete.
• Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Pattern-matching as "wrong" skips context. Before changing any constant/limit/flag: read comments, git blame, surrounding code.