Release Notes

Turn a logical grouping of commits into clear summaries for teammates, stakeholders, or changelogs — not developer jargon.

Workflow

1. Choose the boundary (required)

Ask which grouping of commits to summarize before gathering history or writing notes. Do not assume. Do not default to "recent commits."

If the user already named a boundary in this request, use it. Otherwise ask once and wait:

Which commits should these notes cover?

1. This branch — commits on the current branch that are not on the default base (usually main)
2. A PR — commits in a pull request (number, URL, or this branch's open PR)
3. Recent commits — only when the user chooses this; they must name a count, date, or tag

Do not gather git history or draft notes until the boundary is known.

Follow-ups after they pick:

Author, path, or extra filters are optional refinements after the boundary is set, not a substitute for it.

2. Gather that range

Run read-only git commands. Do not commit, push, or edit files unless the user explicitly asks.

Detect the default base with git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD (fall back to origin/main or origin/master).

Then collect detail:

git log --oneline <range>
git log --stat --format='%h %s%n%b' <range>

Skip empty merge commits unless they carry meaningful context.

If the range is empty, say so and stop. Do not widen the range on your own.

3. Understand the changes

• Read commit messages and file stats (--stat) to learn what actually changed.
• Group related commits into one user-facing idea (e.g. three truncation commits → "prompts load without flicker").
• Focus on user-visible behavior: what someone using the app will see or feel.
• Deprioritize internal-only work (refactors, lockfile-only bumps) unless it is the whole story or the user asked for technical detail.

4. Deliver outputs (in order)

Produce only what the user asked for. When they want the full treatment, use this order:

1. Technical digest (optional) — one short paragraph for engineers; file names and mechanisms OK here.
2. Plain paragraph — 3–5 sentences at the requested reading level (default: 8th grade).
3. Bulleted list — same content as the paragraph, one idea per line.

If the user liked the paragraph and asks for bullets next, convert without re-explaining from scratch.

State the boundary you used in one short line before the notes (branch name, PR number, or the recent-commits window).

Plain-language writing rules

• Short sentences. Common words. Active voice.
• Describe what changed for the user, not which files moved.
• Prefer: "the page loads smoother", "videos show first", "a duplicate button was removed".
• Avoid unless requested: refactor, dependency bump, ResizeObserver, hook names, component paths.
• No hype ("exciting", "powerful", "game-changing"). State facts.
• Dependency updates: one line like "software packages were updated" unless versions matter to the audience.

Reading levels

Output template

Use these headings unless the user specifies another format.

### What changed
[One short paragraph — plain language]

### At a glance
- [Bullet 1]
- [Bullet 2]
- ...

For a technical-only request, omit the template and write a concise engineer-facing summary.

Categorization hints

When grouping commits, map themes to plain labels:

Examples

User: "Write release notes"

1. Ask which boundary: this branch, a PR, or recent commits. Do not log git yet.
2. After they answer, gather that range, group related commits, then write notes at 8th-grade level.

User: "Release notes for this PR"

1. Boundary is already a PR — do not re-ask. Identify the PR (current branch's open PR, or ask for the number if none).
2. Gather PR commits vs its base. Output paragraph + bullets.

User: "Summarize this branch for the team"

1. Boundary is this branch. Log <base>..HEAD.
2. Group related commits. Output paragraph + bullets at 8th-grade level.

User: "What did we ship since v1.2.0? Keep it short."

1. Boundary is recent commits with a named tag. git log v1.2.0..HEAD --oneline.
2. Output plain paragraph only; skip technical digest unless asked.

User: "Bullet list only, executive level, last 5 commits"

1. Boundary is recent commits with an explicit count. Do not ask again.
2. Output ### At a glance bullets only; no paragraph; outcome-focused.

Boundaries

• Do: ask which grouping to use, then summarize, rephrase, group, and adjust reading level.
• Do not: invent features not supported by the commits.
• Do not: default the range to "recent commits" or a commit count.
• Do not: run destructive git commands or modify the repo as part of this skill.