Write Release Notes

Overview

Generate a CMS-user-facing release page from the official Wagtail developer release notes. The output is a Markdown file ready for review and screenshot insertion, following the release notes guidance in the style guide.

Usage:

• /write-release-notes for v7.4
• /write-release-notes for the latest release

Methodology

Goals

• Produce a single Markdown file at prompts/content/en/releases/new-in-wagtail-<X-Y>.md, following the page template, structure, exclusion rules, and tone defined in the style guide.
• Translate the developer release notes into plain language for content editors, moderators, and administrators who use Wagtail but don't write code for it.
• Suggest other documentation changes and internal links to existing or newly-introduced docs.

Guardrails

• Don't invent feature names, version numbers, contributors, release dates, or screenshot URLs — pull them from the developer release notes or leave a <!-- TODO: screenshot - alt: ... --> placeholder for the user to fill in.
• Don't open a PR or commit. The skill ends with a file on disk for the user to review and add screenshots to.

Inputs

To detect from the context or request from the user if unclear:

• Target version as X.Y (e.g. 7.4). Default: ask the user, or resolve "latest" via the release schedule.
• Existing draft. If the output file already exists, read it first and treat it as a starting point — preserve human edits (custom phrasing, screenshot URLs already filled in) rather than overwriting blindly.

Reference data sources

Always fetch the latest information from the canonical sources rather than relying on local caches.

• Style guide: Release notes guidance — the source of truth for page structure, tone, what to include/exclude, and how to translate developer jargon.
• Developer release notes: https://docs.wagtail.org/en/latest/releases/<X.Y>.html.md.
• Recent precedents: prompts/content/en/releases/new-in-wagtail-<previous>.md — read at least the two most recent for tone calibration.
• User guide pages worth linking to: search prompts/content/en/ for destinations matching each new feature. Feel free to suggest documentation changes to link to.

Reporting

After writing the file, report:

• The output path and the release notes URL fetched.
• Each headline feature included, with one-line rationale.
• Each developer-notes item that was deliberately excluded, grouped by reason (security / maintenance / deprecation / developer-only API / unclear user value).
• Every <!-- TODO: screenshot --> marker, with suggested alt text.
• Every internal link suggestion to documentation that needs to be created.
• Suggested follow-ups: user guide pages under prompts/content/en/ that may need updates to acknowledge the new features.

Steps

1. Resolve the target version and gather sources

• Confirm the target version with the user, or resolve "latest" via the release schedule.
• Compute the output filename: prompts/content/en/releases/new-in-wagtail-<X-Y>.md (dash separator, not dot). Read it if it already exists.
• Fetch the developer release notes Markdown source. Detect LTS designation by looking for "(LTS)" in the page title.
• Read the Release notes guidance section of the style guide and the two most recent precedent files.

2. Categorize every item from the developer release notes

For each entry under "What's new", "Other features", and "Bug fixes", apply the include/exclude rules from the style guide:

• Headline section: significant features with CMS-user value, each becoming an H2.
• Other-improvements bullet: smaller user-visible changes.
• Excluded: record the reason for the report.

3. Draft the page

• Follow the guidance from the style guide. Preserve the closing call-to-action paragraph wording from past release pages as a starter.

• For each headline H2, write 1–2 sentences from the user's perspective, translating developer wording per the Content style guidance.

• Include a screenshot placeholder near the top of every headline section:

  <!-- TODO: screenshot - suggested alt: "<long descriptive alt text>" -->
  

• Build "Other UI improvements" as a short bullet list ordered by user impact.

• Add "Feedback requests" only if the developer notes link to an active discussion or feedback channel.

• For LTS releases, add a single sentence to the opening paragraph noting LTS status.

4. Write the file and report

• Save to the output path. Preserve any pre-existing human edits when merging.
• Lint the file by reading it back: H1 appears once, every H2 has at least one paragraph, every screenshot placeholder has suggested alt text, the closing call-to-action paragraph matches the established wording, and <X.Y> placeholders are all replaced.
• Report per the "Reporting" section above.