| name | update-description |
| description | Updates GitHub Release notes with human-readable summaries AFTER release-please creates a release. Use when user says "update release description", "improve release notes", or after merging a release-please PR. NEVER modifies the release PR body (breaks parsing). |
Update Release-Please Description
This skill creates human-readable summaries for release-please GitHub Releases.
⚠️ CRITICAL: Never Modify the Release PR Body
DO NOT edit the release-please PR body. Release-please parses specific patterns from the PR body to extract version information. Modifying the PR body (especially wrapping content in <details> tags or changing headers) will break version parsing and result in:
⚠ Failed to find version in release notes⚠ Failed to parse releases- Empty GitHub Release body
Reference: release-please PR body parsing expects <summary> tags to contain version patterns like 1.1.0 or component: 1.1.0.
Correct Workflow
- Let release-please create the PR - don't touch it
- Merge the PR - release-please creates the GitHub Release
- Run this skill - update the GitHub Release notes with a human-readable summary
EXECUTION CHECKLIST
You MUST complete each step in order. Mark each complete before proceeding.
[ ] STEP 1: Find the Release to Update
# List recent releases
gh release list --limit 5
Look for releases with empty or minimal descriptions. Check a specific release:
gh release view <TAG> --json body,tagName,name
Checkpoint: State the release tag (e.g., "Updating Release myapp-v1.1.0")
If the release body already has good content, confirm with user before overwriting.
[ ] STEP 2: Get Changelog & Extract PR Numbers
Get the version's changelog section from CHANGELOG.md:
# Read CHANGELOG.md and find the version section
cat CHANGELOG.md
Extract ALL (#N) references from the version section:
# Example: extract PR numbers from changelog content
echo '<CHANGELOG_SECTION>' | grep -oE '\(#[0-9]+\)' | grep -oE '[0-9]+' | sort -u -n
Checkpoint: Report "Found N PRs: #X, #Y, #Z..."
[ ] STEP 3: Fetch ALL Referenced PR Bodies
⚠️ CRITICAL: Fetch the actual PR descriptions, not just titles!
For EACH PR number from Step 2, fetch full details:
gh pr view <NUMBER> --json number,title,body
Run in parallel for efficiency.
Checkpoint: List each PR with its title AND a snippet of its body:
Fetched N PR descriptions:
- #84 "Add row numbers column": "## Summary\nAdded row numbers to help users track position..."
- #87 "Add pagination": "## Changes\n- New Pagination component\n- Supports page size selection..."
VIOLATION CHECK:
- ❌ If you only have commit messages from the changelog → GO BACK
- ❌ If you only have PR titles without bodies → GO BACK
- ✅ You should have fetched
gh pr viewfor EACH#Nreference
[ ] STEP 3b: Self-Check Before Proceeding
STOP. Answer these questions before continuing:
- How many PRs did Step 2 identify? ___
- How many
gh pr viewcalls did you make in Step 3? ___ - Do these numbers match? ___
If the numbers don't match, you skipped PRs. Go back to Step 3.
[ ] STEP 4: Categorize Changes
Using PR BODIES, categorize:
User-facing (include):
- New capabilities
- Noticeable improvements
- UX bug fixes
- Perceptible performance gains
Internal-only (exclude):
- Refactors
- Test/CI changes
- Docs changes
Checkpoint: List what's included vs excluded.
[ ] STEP 5: Write Summary
Audience: Users, PMs, executives — NOT developers.
Forbidden: component, SSR, tRPC, virtualization, CLS, refactor, robust, seamless, enhanced
Format:
### What's New
- [2-4 bullets, plain language, what users can DO]
### What's Changed
- [2-4 bullets, improvements/fixes users notice]
Translations:
| PR Body Says | You Write |
|---|---|
| "Virtualized grid for 1000+ items" | "Large lists load faster" |
| "Eliminated CLS with SSR skeletons" | "Pages no longer jump during load" |
| "Refactored Button variants" | (OMIT) |
Checkpoint: Draft complete.
[ ] STEP 6: Update GitHub Release
Update the GitHub Release notes directly using gh release edit:
gh release edit <TAG> --notes '### What'\''s New
- First bullet
- Second bullet
### What'\''s Changed
- First bullet
- Second bullet
---
<details>
<summary>Full Changelog</summary>
## [X.Y.Z](compare-link) (date)
### Features
- feature 1
- feature 2
### Bug Fixes
- fix 1
- fix 2
</details>'
Important: The full changelog from CHANGELOG.md goes inside the <details> block.
[ ] STEP 7: Verify
gh release view <TAG> --json body -q '.body' | head -30
Checkpoint: Summary at top, full changelog in collapsible section.
ANTI-PATTERNS (VIOLATIONS)
These indicate you skipped steps or did something wrong:
| If you did this... | You violated... |
|---|---|
| Modified the release PR body | CRITICAL - breaks release-please parsing |
Used git log for commit info |
Step 3 - must fetch PR bodies |
| Wrote summary from PR titles | Step 3 - titles are insufficient |
| Didn't list fetched bodies | Step 3 checkpoint |
| Jumped to writing summary | Steps 2-4 |
| Used forbidden words | Step 5 rules |