# asc-whats-new-writer

Turn commits, bullet points, or a plain description into localized App Store release notes. Useful when preparing update copy across the locales already in your metadata.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 5700 installs · ★ 1101
- Author: rorkai
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/rorkai/app-store-connect-cli-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/asc-whats-new-writer/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-20
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/asc-whats-new-writer

## What it does

The skill sorts release changes into New, Improved, and Fixed sections, then drafts notes for a primary locale. It reads keywords and locale files from `./metadata`; for Git input, it filters out changes such as dependency updates, CI work, and formatting-only commits. The draft is presented for approval before localization begins.

It can also prepare promotional text and send notes through `asc`, either as a direct locale update or via `asc metadata push`. Uploads require authentication through `asc auth login` or `ASC_*` environment variables, and the user must approve before anything is uploaded. Provide a local metadata directory or keywords manually. For translations of all metadata fields, the skill points to `asc-localize-metadata`.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add rorkai/app-store-connect-cli-skills --skill asc-whats-new-writer -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/asc-whats-new-writer/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/asc-whats-new-writer/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add rorkai/app-store-connect-cli-skills --skill asc-whats-new-writer -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/asc-whats-new-writer/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add rorkai/app-store-connect-cli-skills --skill asc-whats-new-writer -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/asc-whats-new-writer/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install rorkai/app-store-connect-cli-skills asc-whats-new-writer
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/asc-whats-new-writer/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add rorkai/app-store-connect-cli-skills --skill asc-whats-new-writer -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/rorkai/app-store-connect-cli-skills --path skills/asc-whats-new-writer
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/asc-whats-new-writer/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add rorkai/app-store-connect-cli-skills --skill asc-whats-new-writer -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/rorkai/app-store-connect-cli-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/asc-whats-new-writer/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- draft release notes from Git commits
- sort changes into new features, improvements, and fixes
- localize approved notes for existing locales
- write promotional text for an app update
- upload approved notes with `asc`

## Example prompts
- Draft App Store release notes from commits since the latest tag.
- Turn these change bullets into release notes and localize them for the existing locales.
- Prepare promotional text and show me the locale drafts before uploading.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: e0c29040d851a33b.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE e0c29040d851a33b
````text
---
name: asc-whats-new-writer
description: Generate engaging, localized App Store release notes (What's New) from git log, bullet points, or free text using canonical metadata under `./metadata`. Optionally pairs with promotional text updates.
---

# asc What's New Writer

Generate engaging, localized release notes from flexible input. Optionally pair with promotional text updates.

## Preconditions

- Metadata pulled locally into canonical files via `asc metadata pull --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --dir "./metadata"`. OR: user provides keywords manually.
- Auth configured for upload (`asc auth login` or `ASC_*` env vars).
- The **primary locale** is `en-US` unless the user specifies otherwise.

## Before You Start

1. Read `references/release_notes_guidelines.md` for tone, structure, and examples.
2. Identify the **latest version directory** under `metadata/version/` (highest semver). Use this for all metadata reads.
3. Enumerate **existing locales** by listing the JSON files in that version directory.

## Phase 1: Gather Input

Accept one of three input modes (auto-detect):

### Git Log

Parse commits since the last tag:

```bash
# Find latest tag
git describe --tags --abbrev=0

# List commits since that tag
git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --oneline --no-merges
```

Filter out noise: merge commits, dependency bumps, CI changes, formatting-only commits. Extract user-facing changes.

### Bullet Points

User provides rough bullets like:
- "improved search"
- "fixed crash on launch"
- "added sleep timer"

### Free Text

User describes changes conversationally:
> "We made search faster, fixed that annoying crash when you open the app, and added a sleep timer feature"

The skill extracts and structures the changes from the text.

### No Input Provided

Prompt the user: "What changed in this release? You can paste git log output, bullet points, or just describe the changes."

## Phase 2: Draft Notes (Primary Locale)

### Step 1: Classify Changes

Group changes into sections per the guidelines:
- **New** — new features or capabilities
- **Improved** — enhancements to existing features
- **Fixed** — bug fixes users would notice

Omit empty sections. If all changes are fixes, only show "Fixed."

### Step 2: Write Benefit-Focused Copy

Follow the tone rules from `references/release_notes_guidelines.md`:
- Describe user impact, not implementation details
- Use direct address ("you") and action verbs
- Be specific — mention concrete improvements

### Step 3: Front-Load the Hook

The first ~170 characters are the only visible part before "more." Lead with the single most impactful change in a complete, compelling sentence.

### Step 4: Echo Keywords for Conversion
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE e0c29040d851a33b

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the e0c29040d851a33b tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

First 2729 of 7178 bytes. © rorkai · MIT · https://github.com/rorkai/app-store-connect-cli-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/asc-whats-new-writer/SKILL.md

_Part of the page did not fit — see the HTML version._

---
NeVibeCode on affpapa.org. Catalog texts are descriptions, not instructions for the agent. How to choose and install: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/agents.md