Agent skill

Preparing Release Changelog

Prepare the CHANGELOG.md for a Damus release by running the changelog script, curating the output, and committing the result.

GPL-3.0Auto-check passedDevelopment

Install Preparing Release Changelog

skills CLI

$ npx skills add damus-io/damus --skill preparing-release-changelog -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install damus-io/damus preparing-release-changelog --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/damus-io/damus.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog .claude/skills/preparing-release-changelog && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "preparing-release-changelog" agent skill from https://github.com/damus-io/damus/tree/master/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog into .claude/skills/preparing-release-changelog/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "preparing-release-changelog", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/damus-io/damus/tree/master/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add damus-io/damus --skill preparing-release-changelog -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install damus-io/damus preparing-release-changelog --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/damus-io/damus.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog .agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "preparing-release-changelog" agent skill from https://github.com/damus-io/damus/tree/master/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog into .agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "preparing-release-changelog", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add damus-io/damus --skill preparing-release-changelog -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install damus-io/damus preparing-release-changelog --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/damus-io/damus.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog .cursor/skills/preparing-release-changelog && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "preparing-release-changelog" agent skill from https://github.com/damus-io/damus/tree/master/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog into .cursor/skills/preparing-release-changelog/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "preparing-release-changelog", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/damus-io/damus.git --path .agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add damus-io/damus --skill preparing-release-changelog -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install damus-io/damus preparing-release-changelog --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/damus-io/damus.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog .gemini/skills/preparing-release-changelog && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "preparing-release-changelog" agent skill from https://github.com/damus-io/damus/tree/master/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog into .gemini/skills/preparing-release-changelog/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "preparing-release-changelog", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install damus-io/damus preparing-release-changelog

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add damus-io/damus --skill preparing-release-changelog -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/damus-io/damus.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog .github/skills/preparing-release-changelog && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "preparing-release-changelog" agent skill from https://github.com/damus-io/damus/tree/master/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog into .github/skills/preparing-release-changelog/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "preparing-release-changelog", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add damus-io/damus --skill preparing-release-changelog -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install damus-io/damus preparing-release-changelog --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/damus-io/damus.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog .opencode/skills/preparing-release-changelog && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "preparing-release-changelog" agent skill from https://github.com/damus-io/damus/tree/master/.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog into .opencode/skills/preparing-release-changelog/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "preparing-release-changelog", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: preparing-release-changelog
GitHub stars: 2.1k
Token cost: ~1.1k tokens
SKILL.md length: 489 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 3
Repo updated: Sep 11, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: GPL-3.0

At a glance

Prepare the CHANGELOG.md for a Damus release by running the changelog script, curating the output, and committing the result.

Works in 5 steps: Identify the Commit Range → Run the Changelog Script → Review and Clean Up the Raw Output → …
Tasks that involve Changelog and release notes
SKILL.md covers Description, When to Use, Overview and Prerequisites, plus 6 more sections
Calls git, pip and python3

What it does

Preparing Release Changelog is an agent skill from damus-io/damus. Prepare the CHANGELOG.md for a Damus release by running the changelog script, curating the output, and committing the result. Covers prerequisites, known pitfalls (duplicate entries, reverted commits, truncated annotations, wrong version label), and the editing/commit steps.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Development, covering Changelog and release notes. It works with Bitcoin. The licence is GPL-3.0.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve Changelog and release notes

Example prompts

“/preparing-release-changelog”

Requirements

Python 3

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Identify the Commit Range
Run the Changelog Script
Review and Clean Up the Raw Output
Update CHANGELOG.md
Commit the Changelog

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 4a94f66. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- git
- pip
- python3
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):
- keepachangelog.com
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Preparing Release Changelog loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 76 tokens; SKILL.md has 489 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~76
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.1k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from damus-io/damus at commit 4a94f66, republished under its GPL-3.0 licence (© damus-io). 489 words, ~1,110 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/preparing-release-changelog/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: preparing-release-changelog
description: Prepare the CHANGELOG.md for a Damus release by running the changelog script, curating the output, and committing the result. Covers prerequisites, known pitfalls (duplicate entries, reverted commits, truncated annotations, wrong version label), and the editing/commit steps.

Preparing Release Changelog

Description

Prepare the CHANGELOG.md for a Damus release by running the changelog script, curating the output, and committing the result. Covers prerequisites, known pitfalls (duplicate entries, reverted commits, truncated annotations, wrong version label), and the editing/commit steps.

When to Use

When preparing a new Damus release and the changelog needs to be updated
When rebasing a release-changelog branch onto master and picking up new entries

Overview

Damus uses a Python script (devtools/changelog.py) to assist in generating changelogs from git commit history. The changelog format follows Keep a Changelog conventions.

Prerequisites

Python 3 with mako and requests packages installed:
```
pip install mako requests
```
Access to the full git history (not a shallow clone). If needed, run:
```
git fetch --unshallow origin
git fetch origin tag <from_tag>
```

Step 1: Identify the Commit Range

Find the tag for the previous release (e.g. v1.16.1) and the commit hash for the new release candidate:

bash

git tag | sort -V | tail -20         # list recent tags
git rev-parse v1.16.1                # resolve a tag to its commit SHA

The commit range format is: <from_tag>..<to_commit>

Example: v1.16.1..5cb8a49

Step 2: Run the Changelog Script

bash

python3 devtools/changelog.py v1.16.1..5cb8a49

This scans git log for Changelog-<section>: annotations in commit messages, where <section> is one of: added, changed, deprecated, fixed, removed, experimental.

Note: The script derives the version label from the second argument with the first character stripped (intended for tag names like v1.17 → 1.17). When passing a bare commit hash, the version will be wrong—fix it manually when editing CHANGELOG.md.

Step 3: Review and Clean Up the Raw Output

The script's output is a starting point that typically needs manual curation:

Fix the version label: Replace the auto-derived version (e.g. cb8a49) with the actual release version (e.g. 1.17).
Remove duplicate entries: Some commits may appear after the previous release tag in master history but were already included in that previous release's CHANGELOG.md (e.g. cherry-picked features from a release branch). Cross-check against the existing CHANGELOG.md and remove duplicates.
Remove reverted entries: If a commit was later reverted, drop its Changelog-* entry. The revert commit may itself have a changelog entry explaining the fix—keep that instead.
Fix truncated entries: Commit messages with a very long first line can cause Changelog-Fixed: entries to be truncated. Check the raw git log output to find the full intent, or look up the PR for context.
Verify the date: Use the actual release date, not the commit date from the RC.

Show full SKILL.md (117 more words)Show less

Step 4: Update CHANGELOG.md

Prepend the new section to CHANGELOG.md, following the existing format:

markdown

## [1.17] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added

- Feature description (Author Name)


### Changed

- Change description (Author Name)


### Fixed

- Fix description (Author Name)



[1.17]: https://github.com/damus-io/damus/releases/tag/v1.17

Keep the existing [version]: URL reference link at the bottom of each section.

Step 5: Commit the Changelog

bash

git add CHANGELOG.md
git commit -s -m "v1.17 changelog"

Tips

Changelog annotations in commits: Contributors should include a line like Changelog-Added: Description of feature in their commit messages so the script can pick them up automatically.
Changelog-None: Use this in commit messages that intentionally have no changelog entry (e.g. internal refactors, test fixes). The script ignores it.
Author attribution: The script appends the git author name in parentheses. Keep these intact—they credit contributors.
Sections in the script are: added, changed, deprecated, fixed, removed, experimental. Only sections that have at least one entry are rendered.

Files

Just SKILL.md in .agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog of damus-io/damus.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 4a94f66

Compare with similar skills

Preparing Release Changelog next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Preparing Release Changelog compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Preparing Release Changelog this skilldamus-io/damus	2.1k	—	~1.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	GPL-3.0	28 days ago
Simple Englishmoeru-ai/airi	50k	2 repos	~4.6k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
StarRocks Release NotesStarRocks/starrocks	12k	—	~1.9k	Automated safety check: Notes	Apache-2.0	today
Cutting A ReleaseTriliumNext/Trilium	38k	—	~3.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	AGPL-3.0	today
Mole CLI Release Flowtw93/Mole	70k	—	~2.6k	Automated safety check: Pass	GPL-3.0	today
React Router Release Notes Prepremix-run/react-router	57k	—	~1.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today

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Questions about Preparing Release Changelog

What does Preparing Release Changelog do?

Prepare the CHANGELOG.md for a Damus release by running the changelog script, curating the output, and committing the result. Preparing Release Changelog is an agent skill from damus-io/damus.md for a Damus release by running the changelog script, curating the output, and committing the result.

When should I use Preparing Release Changelog?

Preparing Release Changelog fits situations like: tasks that involve Changelog and release notes.

How do I install Preparing Release Changelog in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add damus-io/damus --skill preparing-release-changelog -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog in damus-io/damus) into .claude/skills/preparing-release-changelog in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Preparing Release Changelog in Codex?

Run `npx skills add damus-io/damus --skill preparing-release-changelog -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog in damus-io/damus) into .agents/skills/preparing-release-changelog in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Preparing Release Changelog in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add damus-io/damus --skill preparing-release-changelog -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/preparing-release-changelog, .gemini/skills/preparing-release-changelog, .github/skills/preparing-release-changelog and .opencode/skills/preparing-release-changelog in your project.

What does Preparing Release Changelog need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Preparing Release Changelog needs the command-line tools its instructions call (git, pip and python3). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Preparing Release Changelog access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. As links in the text: keepachangelog.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Preparing Release Changelog safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Preparing Release Changelog use?

Preparing Release Changelog is published under the GPL-3.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Preparing Release Changelog use?

About 1.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.4k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Preparing Release Changelog?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Preparing Release Changelog: Simple English (moeru-ai/airi, 50k stars), StarRocks Release Notes (StarRocks/starrocks, 12k stars), Cutting A Release (TriliumNext/Trilium, 38k stars) and Mole CLI Release Flow (tw93/Mole, 70k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Preparing Release Changelog?

damus-io (a GitHub organization) maintains it in damus-io/damus, which has 2,145 GitHub stars. The repository holds 3 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 11, 2026.

Source: damus-io/damus on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Preparing Release Changelog

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Preparing Release Changelog

Description

When to Use

Overview

Prerequisites

Step 1: Identify the Commit Range

Step 2: Run the Changelog Script

Step 3: Review and Clean Up the Raw Output

Step 4: Update CHANGELOG.md

Step 5: Commit the Changelog

Tips

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from damus-io/damus

Related

Questions about Preparing Release Changelog