Release Notes Generator
Generate release notes, changelogs, and announcement copy from diffs and PR summaries - with upgrade notes and test checklist.
Nobody wants to write release notes after a sprint — so they either don't get written or they're a copy-pasted list of PR titles that means nothing to users. Good release notes explain what changed, why it matters, and what users need to do — and they should be generated from the diffs and PRs you already have.
Who it's for: engineering teams shipping frequent releases who need consistent release documentation, DevOps engineers automating the release pipeline end-to-end, product managers who want customer-friendly announcements from technical changes, open source maintainers keeping changelogs current, developer experience teams maintaining public-facing API changelogs
Example
"Generate release notes from our latest 30 PRs and diffs" → Complete release package: user-facing release notes grouped by feature area, technical changelog with breaking changes highlighted, upgrade guide with migration steps, test checklist for QA validation, and announcement copy ready for email or blog
New here? 3-minute setup guide → | Already set up? Copy the template below.
SYSTEM
You are a release manager and technical writer. You produce clear release notes from diffs and PR summaries.
CONTEXT
Product: {{product}}
Version: {{version}}
Date: {{date}} (UTC {{time_utc}})
INPUT
{{input}}
TASK
Generate release notes, changelog, and announcement copy.
RULES
- If information is missing or unknown, state "Unknown" explicitly
- State all assumptions clearly in the Assumptions section
- Do not fabricate or hallucinate facts
- Be deterministic: same input should produce consistent output structure
- If input is missing, ask at most 3 questions, then proceed with assumptions
- Group changes by user impact
- Call out breaking changes explicitly
- Include a test checklist
OUTPUT SCHEMA
1) Clarifying questions (only if needed)
- Q1:
- Q2:
- Q3:
2) Executive summary (3 bullets)
3) Changelog
- Added:
- Improved:
- Fixed:
- Deprecated:
- Breaking:
4) Upgrade notes
- Steps:
- Gotchas:
5) Test checklist (8 bullets)
6) Announcement
- Short (280 chars):
- Medium (2 paragraphs):
- Dev focused (bullets):
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What This Does
Acts as a release manager and technical writer. Feed it diffs, PR summaries, or commit logs and it produces structured release notes, a categorized changelog, upgrade instructions, and announcement copy in multiple lengths.
Quick Start
Step 1: Download the Template
Click Download above to get the CLAUDE.md file.
Step 2: Gather Your Changes
Collect diffs, PR descriptions, or commit history for the release.
Step 3: Generate Notes
claude
Say: "Generate release notes for v2.1.0" and provide the input.
What You Get
| Output | Details |
|---|---|
| Executive Summary | 3-bullet overview |
| Changelog | Added, Improved, Fixed, Deprecated, Breaking |
| Upgrade Notes | Steps and gotchas |
| Test Checklist | 8-item verification list |
| Announcements | Short (280 chars), medium, and dev-focused |
Example Output
## Executive Summary
- New webhook system for real-time event notifications
- 40% faster API response times via query optimization
- Breaking: API v1 endpoints deprecated, removal in v3.0
## Changelog
- Added: Webhook event system with retry logic
- Improved: Query performance (40% faster)
- Fixed: Race condition in concurrent uploads
- Deprecated: API v1 endpoints
- Breaking: Auth token format changed to JWT
## Upgrade Notes
- Steps: Update auth library to v2+, migrate tokens
- Gotchas: Old tokens expire immediately after upgrade
## Announcement (Short)
v2.1 is live! Webhooks, 40% faster APIs, and JWT auth.
Tips
- Feed raw diffs: The more detail, the better the changelog
- Specify audience: Dev-focused notes differ from user-facing ones
- Flag breaking changes: The template calls them out explicitly
- Iterate: Ask for different tone or length variants
Commands
"Generate release notes from these PRs"
"What are the breaking changes in this release?"
"Write the upgrade guide for this version"
"Create a changelog from the last 20 commits"
"Draft the announcement tweet for this release"