Store Changelog Standard
Priority: P1
Generate concise, user-benefit-focused release notes compliant with both App Store and Google Play limits.
Always-Apply Rules
- Character limits: App Store ≤ 4000 chars. Google Play ≤ 500 chars — validate before output.
- Benefit language: Write what the user gains, not what code changed. "Faster checkout" not "refactored cart service".
- Bullet-only format: One sentence per bullet. No paragraphs. No headers inside the notes.
- Drop internal commits: Exclude
chore,refactor,ci,build,test, dependency bumps, and config changes — no user impact. - Deduplicate: Merge commits touching the same feature into one bullet.
Workflow
- Collect: Run
git log <last-tag>..HEAD --oneline(or use provided commit list). If no tag exists, use full history. - Triage: Scan commits and touched files. Group by theme:
New,Improved,Fixed. Drop internal-only. - Draft — App Store: Write 5–10 benefit-focused bullets. Optional
What's New in [Version]header. - Draft — Google Play: Compress App Store draft to ≤ 500 chars. Prioritise top 3–5 user-facing changes.
- Validate: Count characters per store. Check every bullet maps to a real commit. Remove jargon.
See Commit-to-Bullet Examples for mapping patterns.
Output Format
App Store (≤ 4000 chars):
What's New in Version X.Y
• [New] <user benefit — one sentence>
• [Improved] <user benefit — one sentence>
• [Fixed] <user benefit — one sentence>
Google Play (≤ 500 chars):
• <highest-impact change>
• <second change>
• <third change>
[Bug fixes and performance improvements.]
Anti-Patterns
- No jargon: Never use
refactor,migrated,deprecated,PR,hotfix, or internal ticket IDs. - No chore bullets:
chore: upgrade Gradle→ drop entirely, never paraphrase as a user feature. - No bundled bullets: "Fixed login and improved search and added dark mode" → three separate bullets.
- No character overrun: Validate Play Store notes ≤ 500 chars before returning — truncate + rewrite if needed.
References
- Commit-to-Bullet Examples — load when mapping specific commits to bullets