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release-prep

Automates the release documentation process, including generating CHANGELOGs and announcement templates.

Install

mkdir -p .claude/skills/release-prep && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/4931" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/release-prep && rm skill.zip

Installs to .claude/skills/release-prep

Activation

This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.

Prepare release documentation including CHANGELOG entry, announcement text, and validation. Run before tagging a new release.
125 charsno explicit “when” trigger
Intermediate

Key capabilities

  • Archives current release documentation
  • Extracts commit/PR history since last tag
  • Formats CHANGELOG entries to Keep-a-Changelog spec
  • Validates doc paths and references

How it works

Executes a series of shell commands to traverse git history and modify documentation files in place.

Inputs & outputs

You give it
New version number
You get back
Updated CHANGELOG and archived documentation

When to use release-prep

  • Generate changelog entry
  • Archive current release announcement
  • Validate release documentation
  • Prepare release announcement text

About this skill

Release Prep Skill

This skill automates release preparation for MassGen, generating CHANGELOG entries, announcement text, and validating documentation.

When to Use

Run this skill when preparing a new release:

  • After merging the release PR to main
  • Before creating the git tag

Usage

/release-prep v0.1.34

What This Skill Does

1. Gather Changes

Read commits and PRs since the last tag:

# Get last tag
git describe --tags --abbrev=0

# Get commits since last tag
git log v0.1.33..HEAD --oneline

# Get merged PRs (if using GitHub)
gh pr list --base main --state merged --search "merged:>2024-01-01"

2. Archive Previous Announcement

If docs/announcements/current-release.md exists:

# Extract version from current-release.md
VERSION=$(grep -m1 "^# MassGen v" docs/announcements/current-release.md | sed 's/# MassGen v\([^ ]*\).*/\1/')

# Archive it
mv docs/announcements/current-release.md docs/announcements/archive/v${VERSION}.md

3. Generate CHANGELOG Entry

Update the Recent Releases section at the top of CHANGELOG.md:

  • Add the new release summary at the top
  • Keep only the 3 newest releases in this section
  • Remove older entries (they remain in the detailed changelog below)

Create a structured entry following Keep a Changelog format:

## [0.1.34] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added
- **Feature Name**: Description
  - Implementation details

### Changed
- **Modified Feature**: What changed

### Fixed
- **Bug #123**: Description of fix

### Documentations, Configurations and Resources
- **Feature Guide**: New `docs/source/user_guide/feature.rst` for feature usage
- **Design Document**: New `docs/dev_notes/feature_design.md` for implementation details
- **Updated Docs**: Updated `docs/source/reference/cli.rst` with new commands
- **Skills**: New `massgen/skills/skill-name/SKILL.md` for automation

Documentation section rules:

  • Reference specific file paths (.rst, .md, .yaml files)
  • Use "New" for newly added files, "Updated" for modified files
  • Run git diff <last-tag>..HEAD --name-only -- "*.md" "*.rst" "*.yaml" to find changed docs

Categorization rules:

  • feat: commits → Added
  • fix: commits → Fixed
  • docs: commits → Documentation
  • refactor:, perf: commits → Changed
  • Breaking changes → highlight with ⚠️

Contributors:

  • Run git shortlog -sn <last-tag>..HEAD to find all contributors
  • List contributors by commit count in the Technical Details section

4. Update Sphinx Documentation

Update docs/source/index.rst Recent Releases section:

# Update Recent Releases section (keep latest 3 releases)
# Add new release at top, remove oldest (v0.1.X-3)

Format:

Recent Releases
---------------

**v0.1.44 (January 28, 2026)** - Execute Mode for Independent Plan Selection

New Execute mode for cycling through Normal → Planning → Execute modes via ``Shift+Tab``. Users can independently browse and select from existing plans with a plan selector popover. Context paths preserved between planning and execution phases. Enhanced case studies page with setup guides and quick start instructions.

**v0.1.43 (January 26, 2026)** - Tool Call Batching & Interactive Case Studies

...

**v0.1.42 (January 23, 2026)** - TUI Visual Redesign

...

Keep only the 3 most recent releases in this section. Older releases remain in the full changelog.

5. Update Configs Documentation

Update massgen/configs/README.md Release History section:

## Release History & Examples

### v0.1.44 - Latest
**New Features:** Execute Mode for Independent Plan Selection, Case Studies UX Enhancements

**Key Features:**
- **Execute Mode Cycling**: Navigate through Normal → Planning → Execute modes via `Shift+Tab`
- **Plan Selector Popover**: Browse and select from up to 10 recent plans with timestamps
- **Context Path Preservation**: Context paths automatically preserved between planning and execution
- **Enhanced Case Studies**: Setup guides and quick start instructions on case studies page

**Example Usage:**
```bash
# Use the TUI with plan mode cycling
massgen --config @examples/basic/multi/three_agents_default

# In the TUI:
# 1. Press Shift+Tab to enter Planning mode
# 2. Create a plan: "Create a Python web scraper for news articles"
# 3. Press Shift+Tab twice to enter Execute mode
# 4. Select your plan from the popover and press Enter to execute

### 6. Update README.md

#### 6.1 Latest Features Section

Update the "🆕 Latest Features" section:

```markdown
## 🆕 Latest Features (v0.1.44)

**🎉 Released: January 28, 2026**

**What's New in v0.1.44:**
- **🔄 Execute Mode** - Cycle through Normal → Planning → Execute modes via `Shift+Tab` to independently browse and execute existing plans
- **📋 Plan Selector** - Browse up to 10 recent plans with timestamps, view full task breakdowns, and execute with preserved context paths
- **📚 Enhanced Case Studies** - Interactive setup guides and quick start instructions on case studies page
- **⚡ TUI Performance** - Optimized timeline rendering with viewport-based scrolling for faster UI responsiveness
- **🔧 Plan Mode Fixes** - Fixed planning instruction injection bug in execute mode, improved tool tracking

**Try v0.1.44 Features:**
```bash
# Install or upgrade
pip install --upgrade massgen

# Experience Execute mode with plan cycling
uv run massgen --display textual

# In the TUI:
# 1. Press Shift+Tab to enter Planning mode
# 2. Create a plan: "Build a Python web scraper"
# 3. Press Shift+Tab twice to enter Execute mode
# 4. Select your plan and press Enter to execute

Also update the table of contents link from v0.1.43 → v0.1.44.

#### 6.2 Recent Achievements Section

Move the current "Recent Achievements" to "Previous Achievements" and add new release:

```markdown
### Recent Achievements (v0.1.44)

**🎉 Released: January 28, 2026**

#### Execute Mode for Independent Plan Selection
- **Mode Cycling**: Navigate through Normal → Planning → Execute modes via `Shift+Tab` or mode bar click
- **Plan Selector Popover**: Browse up to 10 recent plans with timestamps and original prompts
- **View Full Plan**: Modal displays complete task breakdown from selected plan
- **Empty Submission**: Press Enter to execute selected plan without additional input
- **Context Path Preservation**: Context paths (`@/path/to/file`) automatically restored from planning to execution phase

...

### Previous Achievements (v0.0.3 - v0.1.43)

✅ **Tool Call Batching & Interactive Case Studies (v0.1.43)**: Consecutive MCP tool calls grouped into collapsible tree views...

Also update roadmap TOC links:

  • [Recent Achievements (v0.1.43)][Recent Achievements (v0.1.44)]
  • [Previous Achievements (v0.0.3 - v0.1.42)][Previous Achievements (v0.0.3 - v0.1.43)]
  • [v0.1.44 Roadmap][v0.1.45 Roadmap]

Update the roadmap section at bottom to reference next version (v0.1.45).

7. Update ROADMAP.md

Update the main roadmap file:

7.1 Version and Date

**Current Version:** v0.1.44

**Last Updated:** January 28, 2026

7.2 Release Table

Shift all releases down and add new next release:

| Release | Target | Feature | Owner | Use Case |
|---------|--------|---------|-------|----------|
| **v0.1.45** | 01/30/26 | Improve Subagent Display in TUI | @ncrispino | Stream and view subagents with full timeline in TUI ([#821](...)) |
| **v0.1.46** | 02/02/26 | Next feature | @owner | Use case |

7.3 Add Completed Section

Add the just-released version as COMPLETED:

## ✅ v0.1.44 - Execute Mode & Case Studies Enhancement (COMPLETED)

**Released: January 28, 2026**

### Features

- **Execute Mode**: Independent mode for browsing and executing existing plans ([#819](...))
  - Cycle through Normal → Planning → Execute modes via `Shift+Tab`
  - Plan selector popover shows up to 10 recent plans with timestamps
  - "View Full Plan" button opens modal with all tasks
  - Empty submission executes selected plan
  - Context paths preserved from planning to execution phase

...

### Bug Fixes
- Fixed planning instruction injection during execute mode
- Improved tool call spacing in TUI
- Enhanced timeline performance with viewport optimization

7.4 Update Next Release Section

Change the header for the upcoming release:

## 📋 v0.1.45 - Improve Subagent Display in TUI

### Features

**1. Subagent TUI Streaming** (@ncrispino)
- Issue: [#821](...)
- Stream and display subagents almost identically to main process in TUI
...

8. Create Next Release Roadmap

Create ROADMAP_v0.1.X+1.md with detailed milestones:

# MassGen v0.1.45 Roadmap

## Overview

Version 0.1.45 focuses on [MAIN THEME].

- **Feature 1** (Required): Description
- **Feature 2** (Required): Description

## Key Technical Priorities

1. **Feature 1**: Details
   **Use Case**: Why this matters

2. **Feature 2**: Details
   **Use Case**: Why this matters

## Key Milestones

### Milestone 1: [Feature Name] (REQUIRED)

**Goal**: What we're building

**Owner**: @username (discord)

**Issue**: [#XXX](...)

#### 1.1 Research & Design
- [ ] Task 1
- [ ] Task 2

#### 1.2 Implementation
- [ ] Task 1
- [ ] Task 2

...

**Success Criteria**:
- Criteria 1
- Criteria 2

Look at the GitHub issues, especially those tagged with the next milestone, to populate the roadmap.

9. Build Sphinx Documentation

Build and verify the Sphinx docs:

cd docs
make clean
make html

Check for:

  • ❌ No build errors
  • ❌ No broken links
  • ⚠️ Minimal warnings (document unavoidable ones)
  • ✅ New content renders correctly

Optional: Run link checker:

cd docs
make linkcheck

10. Write Release Notes

Create RELEASE_NOTES_v0.1.X.md following the established format from previous releases.

Format reference: Check the previous release on GitHub:

gh release view v0.1.43

Template structure:

# 🚀 Release Hi

---

*Content truncated.*

When not to use it

  • Development branches that are not ready for release
  • Repositories not using Git

Prerequisites

gitGitHub CLI

Limitations

  • Dependent on strict changelog formatting
  • Requires clean git history

How it compares

It automates the full prep lifecycle including documentation archival rather than just summarizing logs.

Compared to similar skills

release-prep side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.

SkillInstallsUpdatedSafetyDifficulty
release-prep (this skill)16moReviewIntermediate
higress-daily-report16moReviewIntermediate
codex-cli-bridge99moReviewIntermediate
openspec-archive-change46moReviewIntermediate

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