release-notes

name	release-notes
description	Maintain project release notes, changelogs, and framework phase updates. Use when the user asks to generate a changelog, draft release notes, update CHANGELOG.md, or track framework phase transitions.
license	MIT
compatibility	Node.js 22+ or Python 3.11+
metadata	{"author":"skillscraft","version":"1.0","category":"project-management"}
allowed-tools	Bash Read Edit Write

Release Notes

When to use this skill

Activate when the user wants to:

• Generate release notes from recent git history
• Update or create a CHANGELOG.md following Keep a Changelog format
• Draft a GitHub release body from merged PRs
• Track framework development phase transitions (alpha, beta, RC, GA)
• Summarize what changed between two git tags or commits

Instructions

Generating a changelog entry

1. Identify the version range — ask the user or infer from git describe --tags
2. Run the changelog generator script:

   node scripts/generate-changelog.js --from <tag-or-sha> --to HEAD
   

3. Review the grouped output (Added, Changed, Fixed, Removed)
4. Insert the new entry at the top of CHANGELOG.md, below the ## [Unreleased] section
5. If CHANGELOG.md doesn't exist, create it from the template in references/CHANGELOG-TEMPLATE.md

Drafting release notes

1. Run the same script with --format github:

   node scripts/generate-changelog.js --from <tag> --to HEAD --format github
   

2. The output is markdown suitable for a GitHub release body
3. Add a one-sentence summary at the top highlighting the most impactful change

Tracking phase updates

1. Read the current phase from the project's package.json version field or a PHASE.md file
2. Phase progression follows: alpha -> beta -> rc -> stable
3. When updating phase, also:
   • Update the version field in package.json (e.g., 1.0.0-beta.1)
   • Add a CHANGELOG entry noting the phase transition
   • List any breaking changes that landed since the last phase

Commit classification

The script classifies commits by conventional commit prefixes:

Prefix	Section
feat:	Added
fix:	Fixed
refactor:	Changed
docs:	Documentation
chore:	Maintenance
BREAKING CHANGE	Breaking
Other	Other

Output format

The script outputs structured JSON or markdown:

{
  "version": "0.9.1",
  "date": "2026-04-06",
  "sections": {
    "added": ["New gallery page with search and filters"],
    "fixed": ["Corrected nav links on specification page"],
    "changed": ["Updated CI to skip empty test packages"]
  }
}

Gotchas

• Always verify the --from tag exists before running — use git tag -l to list
• Merge commits are skipped by default; only first-parent commits are classified
• If the repo uses squash merges, PR titles become the commit messages — ensure they follow conventional commits
• The --format github flag adds emoji prefixes and contributor @mentions
• Phase transitions should always bump the pre-release segment, never the major/minor/patch