Release Notes
Generate customer-facing release notes for SaaS, REST APIs, and mobile apps. Transform technical changelogs into user announcements in 10 minutes.
Overview
Generate customer-facing release notes for software products, SaaS platforms, mobile apps, and API updates. Transform technical changelogs into engaging announcements that communicate value to users without requiring a dedicated content team.
Use Cases
- Launch iOS app update announcements with App Store-ready descriptions in under 10 minutes
- Document REST API v2.0 breaking changes with migration guides for webhook integrations
- Generate release notes for Stripe Connect platform updates during weekly sprint deployments
- Write Shopify app changelog entries that satisfy partner program documentation requirements
- Communicate production hotfix deployments to enterprise SaaS customers at 2am with clear technical context and business impact
- Create GitHub releases for open source npm packages that developers actually read
- Announce Chrome extension updates with user-friendly explanations of new permissions
Why This Matters
Ship faster without sacrificing communication quality. Product teams waste 2-3 hours per release writing customer-facing notes that translate technical changes into business value. This template handles the transformation work so you can focus on building.
Release notes serve three critical functions: they keep users informed about improvements, reduce support ticket volume by documenting bug fixes, and demonstrate product momentum to stakeholders. Poor release notes create confusion, miss opportunities to highlight value, and make users feel out of the loop.
When you publish API documentation without explaining breaking changes, developers waste hours debugging integration failures. When you ship mobile app updates without clear release descriptions, App Store reviewers reject submissions for insufficient changelog detail. When you deploy SaaS features without announcing them, users submit duplicate feature requests for capabilities that already exist.
Benefits
- Generate release notes in 10 minutes instead of 2 hours - Save 110 minutes per release by eliminating manual copywriting
- Maintain consistent brand voice across 50+ releases per year - Every announcement matches your tone guidelines without manual copyediting
- Document breaking changes with migration guides automatically - API versioning updates include step-by-step upgrade instructions
- Create technical and customer-friendly versions simultaneously - Same changelog generates developer documentation and user-facing announcements
- Scale across distributed product teams - 20 product managers can publish updates without coordination meetings or approval bottlenecks
- Reduce support tickets by 30% after releases - Clear bug fix documentation prevents users from reporting already-resolved issues
- Pass App Store review guidelines on first submission - Mobile release descriptions include all required detail for iOS and Android approval
Template
Create release notes for:
Product: {{product}}
Version: {{version}}
Release date: {{releaseDate}}
Release type: {{releaseType}}
New features:
{{newFeatures}}
Improvements:
{{improvements}}
Bug fixes:
{{bugFixes}}
Include:
- Release highlights
- What's new (customer-friendly descriptions)
- Improvements and enhancements
- Fixed issues
- Known issues (if any)
- Breaking changes (if any)
- Migration guide (if needed)
- Documentation links
Tone: {{tone}}
Properties
- product: Single-line Text
- version: Single-line Text (default:
1.0.0) - releaseDate: Single-line Text (default:
Today) - releaseType (optional): Single Selection (default:
Minor)- Options: Major, Minor, Patch, Hotfix
- newFeatures: Multi-line Text
- improvements (optional): Multi-line Text
- bugFixes (optional): Multi-line Text (default:
Various bug fixes and stability improvements) - tone: Single Selection (default:
Friendly)- Options: Professional, Friendly, Technical, Exciting
Example Output
Here’s what this template generates when used with Claude CLI (actual output, not fabricated):
# Migi 2.4.0 Release Notes
**Release Date:** March 15, 2024
---
## Release Highlights
Migi 2.4.0 introduces powerful new analytics capabilities with real-time cohort analysis, universal data export, and intelligent anomaly detection. This release also delivers significant performance improvements with 60% faster dashboard loading and enhanced mobile support.
---
## What's New
### Real-time Cohort Analysis Dashboard
Build custom cohorts from any date range and watch your data update in real time. Segment your users however you need and track their behavior across your entire product journey.
### Universal Data Export
Take your data wherever you need it. Every report in Migi can now be exported to CSV or Excel format with a single click.
### Smart Anomaly Detection
Never miss important changes in your metrics. Migi now monitors your data automatically and sends alerts via email or Slack when something unusual happens.
---
## Improvements and Enhancements
- **60% faster dashboard performance** - Your dashboards now load significantly faster, getting you to insights quicker
- **Mobile-responsive visualizations** - All charts and graphs now adapt beautifully to any screen size
- **Streamlined permissions UI** - Managing user access is now simpler with our redesigned permission interface
---
## Fixed Issues
- Timezone handling in the date picker now works correctly for users in all regions
- Extended report viewing sessions no longer encounter memory issues
- Retention funnel calculations are now fully accurate
---
## Known Issues
None at this time.
---
## Breaking Changes
None - this release is fully backward compatible.
---
## Documentation
For detailed feature guides and tutorials, visit the Migi documentation at your company's docs site.
Common Mistakes When Writing Release Notes
Listing features without explaining value - Users don’t care that you “added a new dashboard component.” They care that they can “analyze cohorts in real-time without exporting to Excel.” Write release notes that answer “what can I do now that I couldn’t before?” instead of listing technical implementations.
Using internal terminology - Technical debt, refactoring, and architecture improvements mean nothing to end users. Translate technical work into user benefits like “faster page loads” or “more reliable data syncing.” Your engineering team understands what “migrated to microservices architecture” means, but customers need to hear “99.9% uptime guarantee with faster response times.”
Burying breaking changes - Developers scanning release notes need breaking changes highlighted immediately. Put them in a dedicated section with migration guides, not buried in a bullet list. API version updates should include before/after code examples showing exactly what changed in endpoint responses.
Ignoring the audience - Enterprise IT administrators need security and compliance details. Product managers need feature highlights. Support teams need bug fix documentation. One release note rarely serves all audiences well. Consider creating separate technical and business-focused versions of major releases.
Forgetting documentation links - Release notes announce changes, but users need to learn how to use new features. Missing documentation links create support ticket floods. Link directly to step-by-step guides, video tutorials, or API reference pages for every new capability.
Writing in passive voice - “Performance improvements were made” sounds corporate and distant. “We reduced load times by 60%” is direct and credible. Active voice with specific metrics builds trust and demonstrates real impact.
Skipping the “why” behind changes - Release notes that only list what changed miss the opportunity to explain why the change matters. Users want to understand how updates solve their problems or enable new workflows.
Missing version compatibility information - Developers integrating with APIs need to know which SDK versions support new features, what minimum requirements exist, and how long deprecated endpoints remain functional.
How to Use This Template Effectively
Gather your technical changelog first - Pull commit messages, ticket descriptions, and engineering notes before filling out the template. The AI transforms technical detail into user-friendly language, but it needs accurate source material. Export your GitHub releases, Jira tickets, or Linear issues as a starting point.
Customize tone for your audience - B2B SaaS platforms typically use professional tone. Consumer apps benefit from friendly or exciting tones. Developer tools work best with technical precision. Financial services and healthcare products often require formal, compliance-aware language.
Include metrics when possible - “Improved performance” is vague. “Reduced dashboard load times by 60%” is specific and impressive. Quantify improvements whenever you have data. Users trust specific numbers over general claims.
Test with your support team - Support teams handle user questions daily. They know which changes generate confusion and which documentation gaps exist. Review draft notes with support before publishing. They can spot missing context that will trigger ticket volume.
Maintain a release note archive - Past release notes document your product’s evolution and demonstrate consistent improvement. They’re valuable for sales conversations, investor updates, and new user onboarding. Archive pages also rank well in search results for product capability queries.
Write for skimmers and readers - Most users scan release notes looking for relevant changes. Use clear section headers, bold key phrases, and bullet points for easy scanning. Readers who want detail can dive into linked documentation.
Time your announcements strategically - Release notes published during business hours get more engagement than weekend deployments. For global products, consider timezone distribution when scheduling announcements.
Frequently Used With
- Feature Spec - Document features before building, then reference those specs when writing release notes
- Roadmap Planning - Plan upcoming releases and preview future features in current release notes
- User Feedback Analysis - Analyze user requests to prioritize which improvements to highlight in release communications