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Release Changelog Generation Capability Pack Skill

Expert release changelog generation capability pack for drafting, validating, and publishing user-facing release notes from conventional commits, tags, and GitHub Releases with source-backed review matrices and privacy-safe output.

by kiannidev·added 2026-06-15·
Claude CodeCodexWindsurfGeminiCursorCLI
HarnessClaude CodeCodexWindsurfGeminiCursorCLI
Level:expertType:capability-packVerified:validated
Review first — review before installing

Open the source and read safety notes before installing.

Safety notes

  • This skill plans release publication; it must not create tags, publish releases, or push version bumps without explicit maintainer approval.
  • Security and breaking-change entries can affect downstream consumers; require owner review before public release.
  • Automated changelog tools may include contributor handles or internal ticket IDs; scrub before publishing.
  • Do not run release scripts or CI publish workflows from unreviewed fork contexts.

Privacy notes

  • Changelog drafts may expose unreleased features, customer names, internal URLs, and security fix details.
  • GitHub compare views and release automation logs can include private repository metadata.
  • Redact embargoed vulnerability details and internal-only migration notes from public release text.
  • Keep registry tokens, npm credentials, and signing keys out of prompts and generated notes.

Prerequisites

  • Access to merged commit history, tags, and release branch or main since the last release.
  • Project changelog policy (keep-a-changelog sections, semver rules, and pre-release handling).
  • Permission to draft release notes without publishing until maintainer approval.
  • GitHub Releases or equivalent publish surface when shipping to users.

Schema details

Install type
package
Reading time
9 min
Difficulty score
82
Troubleshooting
Yes
Breaking changes
No
Source repository stats
Scope
Source repo
Package metadata
Skill and platform metadata
Skill type
capability-pack
Skill level
expert
Verification
validated
Verified at
2026-06-15
Retrieval sources
https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/https://semver.org/https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/releasing-projects-on-github/automatically-generated-release-noteshttps://docs.github.com/en/repositories/releasing-projects-on-github/managing-releases-in-a-repository
Tested platforms
ClaudeClaude CodeCodexCursorWindsurfGeneric AGENTS
PlatformSupportInstall path
claude-codeNative.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md
codexNative.agents/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md
windsurfNative.windsurf/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md
geminiNative.gemini/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md or .agents/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md
cursorAdapter.cursor/rules/<skill-name>.mdc
cliManualAGENTS.md or tool-specific context file
Full copyable content
# Trigger
"Apply the release changelog generation capability pack for this release."

# Required output
1) Commit history classification and semver recommendation
2) Draft changelog sections (Added, Changed, Fixed, Removed, Security)
3) GitHub release notes draft with upgrade guidance
4) Maintainer sign-off checklist and rollback notes

About this resource

Knowledge Freshness

This capability pack is grounded in keep-a-changelog 1.1.0, Conventional Commits 1.0.0, SemVer 2.0.0, and GitHub Releases documentation verified on 2026-06-15. Release automation defaults and GitHub UI labels can change; prefer live docs over cached assumptions.

Retrieval Sources

Source Verification Notes

Verified against public keep-a-changelog, Conventional Commits, SemVer, and GitHub Releases docs on 2026-06-15:

  • keep-a-changelog defines Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, and Security sections with an Unreleased heading for in-progress work.
  • Conventional Commits maps feat/fix/BREAKING CHANGE prefixes to semver bumps.
  • GitHub supports automatically generated release notes and configurable categories for pull requests merged since the last tag.

Scope Note

This pack focuses on maintainer-owned changelog generation and release-note review. It complements tool-specific packs (for example git-cliff or Changesets) by providing a source-backed cross-tool workflow.

Core Workflow

  1. Identify the previous release tag and the commit or PR range since that tag.
  2. Classify merged changes into keep-a-changelog sections and semver impact.
  3. Draft user-facing bullets; remove internal noise, duplicate entries, and low-signal dependency bumps unless user-impacting.
  4. Flag breaking changes, security fixes, migrations, and deprecation windows.
  5. Produce GitHub release notes with upgrade steps and known limitations.
  6. Run a maintainer review matrix for accuracy, embargo, and support policy.
  7. Deliver a privacy-safe public draft plus an internal-only detail appendix when needed.

Capability Scope

  • Commit and PR classification for changelog sections.
  • Semver recommendation with rationale.
  • GitHub Releases note drafting and category mapping.
  • Security and breaking-change escalation checks.
  • Maintainer sign-off and rollback planning.

Compatibility

Native

  • Claude Code / Claude: use as an Agent Skill when preparing releases, version PRs, or GitHub release drafts.

Manual Adaptation

  • Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, Generic AGENTS: apply the workflow as a deterministic checklist for any repository using keep-a-changelog conventions.

Required Inputs

  • Last release tag, default branch, and merge window.
  • Changelog file location and project semver policy.
  • List of merged PRs or commits with labels and conventional commit subjects.
  • Maintainer contacts for security, breaking changes, and publish approval.

Production Rules

  • Never publish security details before coordinated disclosure approval.
  • Separate user-facing release notes from internal runbook detail.
  • Require two-person review for major semver bumps when policy demands it.
  • Keep Unreleased sections current until the tag is cut.
  • Prefer links to docs and migration guides over long inline diffs.
  • Document rollback or hotfix criteria before tagging.

Review Matrix

Topic Signal Action
Semver Breaking API or schema change Major bump + migration section
Security CVE or credential fix Security section + embargo check
Noise Bot dependency bumps Collapse or omit unless user-facing
Accuracy Missing contributor credit Add thanks without internal IDs
Upgrade Config or env change Add explicit upgrade steps
Publish Draft vs live release Gate on maintainer approval

Output Contract

  1. Semver recommendation with evidence from merged changes.
  2. Draft keep-a-changelog sections ready for CHANGELOG.md.
  3. GitHub release notes draft with upgrade guidance.
  4. Review matrix with owners and blockers.
  5. Privacy-safe public summary and optional internal appendix.

Troubleshooting

Issue: Commits lack conventional prefixes Fix: Manually classify by diff impact; document mapping rules for next release.

Issue: GitHub auto-generated notes miss monorepo packages Fix: Add package-scoped sections or use per-package tags when applicable.

Issue: Security fix cannot be described publicly yet Fix: Use embargo wording and coordinate disclosure timeline with maintainers.

Issue: Duplicate entries from cherry-picks or merge commits Fix: Deduplicate by PR number and squash-merge subject lines.

Duplicate Check

Checked content/skills/, open PRs, and the live catalog for release changelog generation workflows. git-cliff-release-changelog-capability-pack covers git-cliff automation specifically, and changesets-release-cutover-agent covers Changesets cutovers in agents. No skills entry provides this general keep-a-changelog + GitHub Releases generation capability pack with review matrix and output contract.

Editorial Disclosure

Submitted as an independent source-backed HeyClaude content entry by kiannidev. It is based on public keep-a-changelog, Conventional Commits, SemVer, and GitHub documentation. No paid placement, referral link, affiliate link, or vendor sponsorship is used.

#changelog#releases#semver#github-releases#capability-pack

Source citations

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How it compares

Release Changelog Generation Capability Pack Skill side by side with 2 alternatives on trust, install, platform support, and disclosed safety notes — all from reviewed registry metadata.

FieldRelease Changelog Generation Capability Pack Skill

Expert release changelog generation capability pack for drafting, validating, and publishing user-facing release notes from conventional commits, tags, and GitHub Releases with source-backed review matrices and privacy-safe output.

Open dossier 		Git-Cliff Release Changelog Capability Pack Skill

Expert release-changelog capability pack for git-cliff with conventional commits, deterministic release notes, and low-maintenance versioning.

Open dossier 		Husky Commit Governance Capability Pack Skill

Expert husky capability pack for lightweight local quality gates, commit message enforcement, and low-friction contributor workflows.

Open dossier
Trust
Install riskReview firstReview firstReview first
Notes Safety ✓ Privacy ✓ Safety · Privacy · Safety · Privacy ·
Categoryskillsskillsskills
Sourcesource-backedfirst-partyfirst-party
AuthorkiannidevJSONboredJSONbored
Added2026-06-152026-04-112026-04-11
Platforms
Claude CodeCodexWindsurfGeminiCursorCLI
Claude CodeCodexWindsurfGeminiCursorCLI
Claude CodeCodexWindsurfGeminiCursorCLI
Source repo———
Safety notes✓This skill plans release publication; it must not create tags, publish releases, or push version bumps without explicit maintainer approval. Security and breaking-change entries can affect downstream consumers; require owner review before public release. Automated changelog tools may include contributor handles or internal ticket IDs; scrub before publishing. Do not run release scripts or CI publish workflows from unreviewed fork contexts.— missing— missing
Privacy notes✓Changelog drafts may expose unreleased features, customer names, internal URLs, and security fix details. GitHub compare views and release automation logs can include private repository metadata. Redact embargoed vulnerability details and internal-only migration notes from public release text. Keep registry tokens, npm credentials, and signing keys out of prompts and generated notes.— missing— missing
Prerequisites
  • Access to merged commit history, tags, and release branch or main since the last release.
  • Project changelog policy (keep-a-changelog sections, semver rules, and pre-release handling).
  • Permission to draft release notes without publishing until maintainer approval.
  • GitHub Releases or equivalent publish surface when shipping to users.
  • Conventional commit policy
  • Git tags access
  • Release workflow ownership
  • Node package scripts for validation
  • Conventional commit policy
  • Contributor onboarding docs
Install—
curl -L https://heyclau.de/downloads/skills/git-cliff-release-changelog-capability-pack.zip -o git-cliff-release-changelog-capability-pack.zip && unzip -o git-cliff-release-changelog-capability-pack.zip -d ./git-cliff-release-changelog-capability-pack
curl -L https://heyclau.de/downloads/skills/husky-commit-governance-capability-pack.zip -o husky-commit-governance-capability-pack.zip && unzip -o husky-commit-governance-capability-pack.zip -d ./husky-commit-governance-capability-pack
Config———
Citations
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