Release Notes Loop
Draft a changelog or release notes from merged PRs and commits, grouped and human-reviewed before publishing.
What this Loop Engineering template does
Draft release notes from the merged PRs and commits since the last release, grouped by type, for a human to review and publish.
Work only from the actual git history and merged PRs since the last tag. Do not invent entries. Group by Added / Changed / Fixed.
When to use it
When not to use it
Validation checks
Boundaries & stop rule
Copy the loop prompt
/goal Draft release notes from the merged PRs and commits since the last release, grouped by type, for a human to review and publish.Task type: CustomTarget tool: Claude CodeWork toward this goal until all validation checks pass or the stop rule is reached.Design hypothesis:This release notes loop can produce a safer result if the scope stays narrow, validation is explicit, and a checker can reject shortcut work.Smallest useful run:Run one bounded pass on the newest relevant signal before expanding scope or adding a schedule.Loop cycle:1. Discovery — Read the latest signal for this template before acting: CI output, issue detail, review comment, dataset report, or content brief.2. Handoff — Hand the work to one agent in an isolated branch, worktree, or clearly scoped session. Keep final approval with a human.3. Verification — Use an independent review pass to confirm the result, inspect the diff or artifact, and reject shortcut work.4. Persistence — Save a short run note with the signal reviewed, actions taken, validation result, and next recommended step.5. Scheduling — Run manually until the loop is reliable; only then consider a scheduled or event-triggered run.Context:Work only from the actual git history and merged PRs since the last tag. Do not invent entries. Group by Added / Changed / Fixed.Validation:Every entry maps to a real commit or PREntries are grouped by type (Added / Changed / Fixed)Breaking changes are called outNo entries are inventedValidation evidence:Record the original signal, checks run, final result, changed files or artifacts, and any checker rejection.Independent checker:Use an independent review pass to confirm the result, inspect the diff or artifact, and reject shortcut work.Boundaries:Do not publish or tag a release without human approvalDo not invent changes that are not in the historyDo not omit breaking changesDo not edit codeStop rule:Stop when the draft covers all changes since the last release and is ready for human review.Maximum iterations: 2Budget:Example only: stop before exceeding the agreed per-run token budget.Human approval:Required before merge, deploy, delete, purchase, or external communication.Fallback:If a change cannot be traced to a commit or PR, flag it as unverified instead of including it.Loop Validation Log:- Hypothesis: This release notes loop can produce a safer result if the scope stays narrow, validation is explicit, and a checker can reject shortcut work.- Smallest useful run: Run one bounded pass on the newest relevant signal before expanding scope or adding a schedule.- Expected evidence: Record the original signal, checks run, final result, changed files or artifacts, and any checker rejection.- Actual evidence: [fill in after the run]- Passed? [yes / no / partial]- Feedback: After the run, note what the loop learned, what failed, and what should change before the next pass.- Next step: [stop / adjust the loop / run the next pass]Do not delete tests, bypass checks, or modify unrelated files just to satisfy the validation condition. If blocked, stop and summarize the blocker, attempted fixes, and recommended next action.
Failure modes to watch
Review receipt
This is a bounded review exercise for the template, not a claim about a production deployment.
Scenario
A release contains a new lab-notes section, route consolidations, and an internal advertising pause but no user-account changes.
Baseline evidence
The writer compares the release range, issue decisions, route map, user-visible pages, known limitations, and deployment status instead of relying on commit titles alone.
Validation result
The notes distinguish additions, changed URLs, and operational changes, include migration implications, omit internal-only noise, and do not claim deployment before the live check succeeds.
Shortcut rejected
Publishing a raw commit list or calling every internal refactor a feature is rejected because it obscures what users and site operators must know.
Human gate
The release owner confirms scope, wording, known issues, and actual deployment state before the notes become public.
Loop Engineering FAQ
Every entry must map to a real commit or PR, and inventing entries is a forbidden action. Anything that cannot be traced is flagged as unverified.