Release notes automation

Release Notes Automation

Instructions

Release notes should be generated, not written from memory. Conventional Commits + a generator produces three artefacts automatically: a project CHANGELOG.md, store release notes, and an in-app "What's New" screen.

1. Adopt Conventional Commits

Commit format:

<type>(<scope>)!: <description>

[body]

[footer, e.g. BREAKING CHANGE: ..., Refs: JIRA-123]

Common types: feat, fix, perf, refactor, docs, chore, test, build, ci.

Enforce with commitlint:

// commitlint.config.js
{
  "extends": ["@commitlint/config-conventional"],
  "rules": { "subject-case": [2, "always", "sentence-case"] }
}

Add a commit-msg Git hook with Husky or Lefthook.

2. Pick a Generator

Tool	Strengths	Use when
git-cliff	Single Rust binary, Keep-a-Changelog format, templated	You want zero JS deps
conventional-changelog-cli	Node ecosystem, many presets	You already live in npm
release-please	PR-based, bumps versions, files tags	You want "release on merge" automation

3. git-cliff Setup

cliff.toml:

[changelog]
header = "# Changelog\n\nAll notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.\n"
body = """
{% if version %}## [{{ version }}] - {{ timestamp | date(format="%Y-%m-%d") }}{% endif %}
{% for group, commits in commits | group_by(attribute="group") %}
### {{ group | upper_first }}
{% for commit in commits %}
- {{ commit.message | upper_first }}{% if commit.breaking %} (**BREAKING**){% endif %}
{% endfor %}
{% endfor %}
"""

[git]
conventional_commits = true
filter_unconventional = true
commit_parsers = [
    { message = "^feat",       group = "Features" },
    { message = "^fix",        group = "Bug Fixes" },
    { message = "^perf",       group = "Performance" },
    { message = "^refactor",   group = "Refactor" },
    { body    = ".*BREAKING",  group = "Breaking" },
    { message = "^(chore|docs|test|ci|build)", skip = true },
]

Run:

git cliff --tag v1.4.2 --output CHANGELOG.md
git cliff --unreleased --strip header --output RELEASE_NOTES.md

4. release-please (GitHub Actions)

# .github/workflows/release-please.yml
name: release-please
on:
  push: { branches: [main] }
jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
        with:
          release-type: simple
          package-name: awesome-mobile-app

release-please opens a PR that bumps the version and updates CHANGELOG.md; merging it creates a Git tag and GitHub Release.

5. Mapping to Store Release Notes

Stores have tight length limits:

• Play: 500 chars per locale per release.
• App Store: 4000 chars per locale per version.

Extract only feat/fix/perf lines of the latest release:

git cliff --unreleased \
  --strip all \
  | grep -E '^- (feat|fix|perf)' \
  | head -c 480 > store_notes.txt

Or keep a hand-curated store_notes/en-US.txt — automated notes are often too terse or too technical for end users.

6. iOS Store Metadata

Write per-locale under ios/fastlane/metadata/<locale>/release_notes.txt. deliver uploads them automatically.

7. Android Store Metadata

Write under android/fastlane/metadata/android/<locale>/changelogs/<versionCode>.txt. supply uploads them.

8. In-App "What's New"

Ship release notes as a local JSON bundled with the app:

{
  "1.4.2": {
    "title": "April Update",
    "items": [
      "Faster checkout on slow networks",
      "Fixed crash opening PDF attachments"
    ]
  }
}

Compare BuildConfig.VERSION_NAME (or CFBundleShortVersionString) to last-seen version stored in prefs; show the matching entry on first launch.

9. CI Wiring

.github/workflows/release.yml (excerpt):

- name: Generate release notes
  run: |
    git cliff --tag ${{ github.ref_name }} --output CHANGELOG.md
    git cliff --tag ${{ github.ref_name }} --strip all \
      | grep -E '^- (feat|fix|perf)' | head -c 480 > store_notes_en.txt

- name: Commit changelog
  run: |
    git config user.name "release-bot"
    git config user.email "[email protected]"
    git add CHANGELOG.md
    git commit -m "chore: update CHANGELOG for ${{ github.ref_name }}" || true
    git push

10. PR Template

Nudge contributors toward Conventional Commits with a PR template:

## Summary
<!-- feat: / fix: / perf: / refactor: ... -->

## Why
<!-- link the ticket -->

## Risk
<!-- behind a flag? migration? -->

11. Anti-Patterns

• Writing notes by hand on release day — recency bias, missed fixes.
• Dumping raw commit messages into store notes — users don't care about chore(deps): bump foo.
• Using release notes as the changelog and nothing else — keep the full CHANGELOG.md for developers.
• Inconsistent wording between Play and App Store notes.

12. Checklist

• Conventional Commits enforced via commitlint + commit-msg hook.
• A generator (git-cliff / release-please) wired into CI.
• CHANGELOG.md auto-updated on release tags.
• Per-locale store notes generated or curated under fastlane/metadata.
• In-app What's New screen reads from a versioned JSON.
• Release notes identical in spirit across Play, App Store, and in-app.