writing-changelogs skill (riekelt) for Claude Code: changelog entries and handover summaries

Makes Claude write changelog entries and release notes with the user-visible outcome first, plus known issues and deferred work.

Installs: 20.5K; on skills.sh
Stars: 36; on GitHub
Updated: Sep 2026; last repo commit

writing-changelogs gives Claude rules for changelog entries: one per shipped change, newest first, ISO dates and standard categories such as Added, Fixed and Removed. Breaking changes lead the entry with the migration action. Each entry opens with a bold sentence stating the outcome, then the cause and the fix. It also records known issues, deferred items and deliberate omissions, and has a seven-part handover template. It lists technical-writing as required background.

Good for

Maintainers who ask Claude to summarize what shipped
Teams that keep a newest-first changelog with ISO dates
Anyone handing finished work to a reviewer or operator

Install writing-changelogs

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the writing-changelogs skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

/plugin marketplace add riekelt/technical-writer
/plugin install technical-writer@technical-writer

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Pick one route, not both, or you get every skill twice. The skills CLI route must include technical-writing, which writing-changelogs lists as REQUIRED BACKGROUND in its SKILL.md.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Use when writing a changelog entry, release notes, or a "what shipped" summary after completing work. Encodes the entry shape, the handover template, and the honesty conventions. Use after shipping meaningful work, even if the user just says "summarize what we did".

Sections in SKILL.md

Overview
When to invoke, and not
Rules
Entry shape
Honesty conventions
Handover / completion summary

Key facts

Author: riekelt (owner of the GitHub repo)
License: MIT (LICENSE file and plugin manifest)
Installs on skills.sh: 20,473 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 36 for the whole riekelt/technical-writer repo, 2026-11-02
What is inside: 1 file: SKILL.md
Needs: The technical-writing skill (SKILL.md lists it as REQUIRED BACKGROUND)
Part of: The technical-writer plugin: 11 skills, 2 agents and 2 commands
Last repo commit: 2026-09-13
Works in: Claude Code per the README install section. The repo also ships Codex and Cursor plugin manifests.

What it includes

One entry per shipped change, newest first, ISO dates
Uses Added, Changed, Deprecated, Fixed, Removed and Security where the file uses them. Breaking changes lead with the required migration action. Removals are recorded, and existing entries are never rewritten.
Write · Rules
Bold outcome first, then cause, then fix
Fixed entries explain the failure mode rather than the diff, with exact names inline. SKILL.md sets this bold-lead form as a document-type exception to the core style ban.
Try: “Add a changelog entry for the retry fix we shipped today.”
Write · Entry shape
Known issues, deferred items and deliberate omissions
Three entry types make a changelog citable. Nothing is marked implemented, deployed or verified unless that exact action was completed and checked.
Write · Honesty conventions
Seven sections for handing work to a reviewer
Why the work exists, what shipped, where to point the review, verification status with exact commands, honest caveats, residual risks, and state and what is owed.
Try: “Write a handover summary for the billing migration branch.”
Write · Handover summary

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

Claude edits your changelog, so confirm the entries match what actually shipped.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It edits your changelog
Claude adds entries to the changelog file. The skill tells it never to rewrite old entries, so check the diff for any edit to existing ones. github.com
The plugin route adds 2 agents and 2 commands
The plugin ships agents prose-reviewer and doc-grounder (both with Read, Glob, Grep and Bash tools) and the commands /prose-review and /ground-docs. The plugin folder has no hooks or MCP config. Use the skills command in the install box if you want only this skill. github.com

Technical details

Turning on read-only	No read-only mode. The skill tells Claude to write or edit documents.
Sign-in and keys	SKILL.md names no account or API key.
Data retention	SKILL.md names no logging or telemetry.
Scopes	Claude appends to changelog and release-notes files in your repo

Questions

What does writing-changelogs do?

It makes Claude write changelog entries, release notes and what-shipped summaries that lead with the user impact and record known issues, deferred items and deliberate omissions.

How do I install writing-changelogs?

Use the install box at the top of this page. The plugin route installs the whole set. The skills command route names technical-writing as well, because this skill lists it as required background.

Will it rewrite old changelog entries?

No by its own rule. SKILL.md says the changelog is historical: entries are only appended and existing ones are never rewritten or deleted.

When does it not apply?

SKILL.md says not to use it for trivial edits, roughly three changed files or three commits.

Changelog vs release notes?

SKILL.md says the changelog speaks to engineers and release notes to users of the system. Both draw on the same facts and must not contradict each other.

Is writing-changelogs safe to install?

The skill folder holds only SKILL.md, so it bundles no scripts. It writes into your changelog file. Review the changes it makes to your documents, as you would any edit.

Can I use writing-changelogs in the Claude app or Cursor?

The README documents Claude Code, and the repo also ships Codex and Cursor plugin manifests. It does not mention the Claude app. Our advice: this page offers no Claude app upload because the skill works on documents inside a repository, so use Claude Code or Codex.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: riekelt/technical-writer
Folder: plugins/technical-writer/skills/writing-changelogs

riekelt/technical-writer skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 5

README · github.com
marketplace.json · github.com
writing-changelogs on skills.sh · skills.sh
SKILL.md · github.com
LICENSE · github.com