# screenshotting-changelog

Builds a visual changelog for a pull request: captures pages before and after your UI edits and drops the image pairs into the PR body.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 401 installs · ★ 866
- Author: spencerpauly
- License: CC0-1.0 · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills/tree/HEAD/resources/screenshotting-changelog/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-08-02
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/screenshotting-changelog

## What it does

The skill kicks in when you are preparing a pull request that touches the interface. The agent opens the affected pages in Cursor's built-in browser, takes full-page screenshots and saves them to the workspace. The before state comes first: stash your work with `git stash` or check out the base branch, start the dev server, then call `browser_navigate` and `browser_take_screenshot` with `fullPage: true`.

Then the changes come back (`git stash pop` or a switch to the feature branch), the server reloads, and the same pages are captured again as `after-homepage.png`. Those pairs turn into a markdown block with before and after images plus a short list of what changed, pasted straight into the PR description.

There are variations for trickier cases. `browser_resize` gives you a comparison at mobile, tablet and desktop widths, and you can capture dark mode, hover states, open modals and forms with errors. Screenshots land in the workspace, so you can reference them in markdown or upload them to the PR. Backend-only changes are a waste of time here — there is nothing for a reviewer to look at.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --skill screenshotting-changelog -a claude-code
```

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

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --skill screenshotting-changelog -a codex
```

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

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --skill screenshotting-changelog -a cursor
```

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

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills screenshotting-changelog
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/screenshotting-changelog/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --skill screenshotting-changelog -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --path resources/screenshotting-changelog
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

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

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --skill screenshotting-changelog -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/spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills/tree/HEAD/resources/screenshotting-changelog/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- show a reviewer how a page looked before and after the edits
- assemble a visual changelog for a UI pull request
- compare layout at mobile, tablet and desktop widths
- capture hover states, modals and forms with errors
- screenshot a single component from a Storybook URL

## Example prompts
- Take before and after screenshots of the pages I changed and build a visual changelog into the PR description
- Capture the homepage at 375, 768 and 1280 widths and show me the difference
- Screenshot the modal and the error form in dark mode, before and after

## Source text · SKILL.md · CC0-1.0

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: d47f942c1ca5168d.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE d47f942c1ca5168d
````text
---
name: screenshotting-changelog
description: Generate a visual changelog or PR description by taking before/after screenshots of UI changes using Cursor's built-in browser. Use when preparing a PR with visual changes.
---

# Screenshot Changelog

Use this skill when preparing a pull request that includes visual/UI changes. Capture before and after screenshots to create a visual changelog that reviewers can quickly scan.

## Steps

1. **Capture the "before" state** — before making changes (or on the base branch), start the dev server and screenshot the affected pages:

   ```bash
   git stash  # or checkout the base branch
   ```

   Start the dev server, then:

   ```
   Tool: browser_navigate
   Arguments: { "url": "http://localhost:3000/affected-page", "take_screenshot_afterwards": true }
   ```

   ```
   Tool: browser_take_screenshot
   Arguments: { "fullPage": true, "filename": "before-homepage.png" }
   ```

   Repeat for each affected page or component state.

2. **Switch to the feature branch** — apply your changes:

   ```bash
   git stash pop  # or checkout the feature branch
   ```

   Wait for the dev server to hot-reload (or restart it).

3. **Capture the "after" state** — screenshot the same pages:

   ```
   Tool: browser_take_screenshot
   Arguments: { "fullPage": true, "filename": "after-homepage.png" }
   ```

4. **Generate the changelog** — create a summary describing what changed visually:

   ```markdown
   ## Visual Changes

   ### Homepage
   **Before:**
   ![before](before-homepage.png)

   **After:**
   ![after](after-homepage.png)

   Changes: Updated hero section layout, new CTA button color, added testimonials section.
   ```

5. **Include in the PR description** — paste the visual changelog into the PR body so reviewers can see the changes at a glance without running the app locally.

## Variations

- **Responsive comparison**: use `browser_resize` to capture screenshots at mobile (375px), tablet (768px), and desktop (1280px) widths.
- **Dark mode comparison**: if the app has a dark mode toggle, capture both themes.
- **Interactive states**: capture hover states, open modals, filled forms, and error states.

## Notes
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE d47f942c1ca5168d

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the d47f942c1ca5168d 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 2197 of 2478 bytes. © spencerpauly · CC0-1.0 · https://github.com/spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills/tree/HEAD/resources/screenshotting-changelog/SKILL.md

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---
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