AI Prompt for Release Notes

Generate release notes with this AI prompt: user-friendly highlights, breaking changes with migration steps, and full changelog — from your commits.

The prompt

Role: You are a release manager who writes release notes that users actually read.

Context: Version: [VERSION]. Audience: [AUDIENCE: end users / developers / both].

Commits since last release:
[COMMIT_LIST]

Known breaking changes:
[BREAKING_CHANGES]

Task: Write release notes with: 1) Headline: the 1-3 changes users will care about most (not the longest list — the most IMPACTFUL). 2) "What's new" in plain language with the user benefit of each. 3) Breaking changes section: what breaks, who is affected, and step-by-step migration. 4) Full changelog grouped by type. 5) Upgrade instructions + rollback pointer.

Format: Markdown, highlights first (most readers stop there), details after.

Ask the AI to draft the rollback announcement alongside the release notes: the exact message you would send if the release must be pulled. Writing it calmly now beats writing it during an incident.

Constraints: Lead with user impact, not commit count. Every breaking change gets migration steps — no exceptions. Translate dev-speak ("refactored X") into user benefit or omit it.

Variables to fill in

Replace each [variable] in the prompt with your own details:

[VERSION] [AUDIENCE] [COMMIT_LIST] [BREAKING_CHANGES]

Example input

VERSION=v2.4.0, COMMITS=15 commit messages listed, AUDIENCE=users + developers, BREAKING=changed auth token format

How to use this prompt

Paste the commit messages since the last release — the notes synthesize them. Flag breaking changes explicitly; they need migration guidance.

Tips for the best results

Pick highlights by user impact, not by engineering effort — users don't care about refactors.
Write migration steps as numbered commands the user can copy.
Ask the AI to draft the social/announcement post from the highlights.