Product Changelog

Write changelogs and release notes that users read and care about via inference.sh CLI.

Quick Start

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Install note: The install script only detects your OS/architecture, downloads the matching binary from dist.inference.sh, and verifies its SHA-256 checksum. No elevated permissions or background processes. Manual install & verification available.

Entry Format

The Anatomy of a Good Entry

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Structure: Category label -> User-facing title -> What you can do now -> How -> What changed -> Visual

User-Facing Language

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Rules:

• - Write what the user can DO, not what you BUILT
• Start with "You can now..." / "Reports now..." / "Fixed an issue where..."
• Include the benefit, not just the mechanism
• Use present tense

Categories

Standard Categories

Category	Color	Icon	Use For
New	Green	✨ or 🆕	Entirely new features or capabilities
Improved

Blue | ⚡ or 🔧 | Enhancements to existing features | | Fixed | Yellow/Orange | 🐛 or 🔨 | Bug fixes | | Removed | Red | 🗑️ or ⚠️ | Deprecated or removed features | | Security | Purple | 🔒 | Security patches |

Categorization Rules

• - New = something users couldn't do before at all
• Improved = something users could do, now it's better/faster/easier
• Fixed = something that was broken, now works correctly
• Don't use "Updated" — it's meaningless. Was it improved or fixed?

Version Numbering

Semantic Versioning (SemVer)

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Component	Increment When	Example
MAJOR	Breaking changes, major redesign	2.0.0 -> 3.0.0
MINOR

New features, backward-compatible | 3.1.0 -> 3.2.0 |
| PATCH | Bug fixes, small improvements | 3.2.0 -> 3.2.1 |

Date-Based Versioning

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Best for SaaS products with continuous deployment.

Changelog Page Structure

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Visual Changelogs

When to Add Visuals

Change Type	Visual
New UI feature	Screenshot of the new feature
UI redesign

Before/after comparison | | New workflow | Step-by-step screenshots or short video | | Performance improvement | Chart showing improvement | | Complex feature | Animated GIF or video demo |

Generating Visuals

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Breaking Changes

Breaking changes need special treatment:

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Distribution Channels

Channel	Format	When
Changelog page	Full detail, all entries	Every release
In-app notification

1-2 line summary | New features, breaking changes | | Email | Curated highlights, visuals | Major releases (monthly/quarterly) | | Blog post | Deep dive with context | Big launches | | Social media | Single feature highlight | Notable features | | Slack/Discord | Brief announcement | If you have a community |

Social Media Snippet Format

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Writing Tips

Do

• - Group related changes together
• Lead with the biggest/most requested change
• Link to documentation for complex features
• Include who requested it ("By popular request:")
• Show migration paths for breaking changes
• Date every entry

Don't

• - Don't say "various bug fixes" — list specific fixes or skip them
• Don't include internal references (PR numbers, ticket IDs, branch names)
• Don't use "Updated [feature]" without saying how
• Don't list changes nobody cares about (dependency bumps, internal refactors)
• Don't commit-dump — one changelog entry may represent many commits

Changelog Frequency

Product Type	Frequency	Notes
SaaS (continuous deploy)	Weekly batch	Group a week of changes
SaaS (major features)

Per feature launch | With blog post | | Versioned software | Per version release | Tied to semver | | API | Per version + deprecation notices | Include migration guides | | Mobile app | Per app store release | Match store listing "What's New" |

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Problem	Fix
Developer language	Users don't understand	Write what users can do
"Bug fixes and improvements"

Zero information | List specific fixes | | No dates | Can't tell what's new | Date every entry | | No visuals | Users skip text | Screenshot major features | | Breaking changes buried | Users discover too late | Prominent warning + timeline | | Commit log as changelog | Noisy, unhelpful | Curate and rewrite |

Related Skills

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