Release Notes

Release Notes Skill

Update CHANGELOG.md and/or README.md for an Azure SDK for Java package using a GitHub PR as the source of truth.

Prerequisites

• gh CLI authenticated (gh auth status).
• The current working directory must be the package root (where CHANGELOG.md and README.md live).

Inputs

Ask the user for any missing inputs before proceeding:

| Input | Required | Description |

|-------|----------|-------------|

| PR URL or number | Yes | GitHub PR to use as the source of changes. |

| Package directory | No | Defaults to cwd. Override if the user specifies a different package. |

| Scope | No | changelog, readme, or both (default: both). |

Step 1 — Gather PR information

Use gh to collect the data you need. The diff may be too large for gh pr diff; fall back to the files API.

# PR metadata
gh pr view <number> --json title,body

# File list with status (added/modified/removed/renamed)
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/<number>/files --paginate \
  --jq '.[] | .status + " " + .filename'

# Renamed files (old → new)
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/<number>/files --paginate \
  --jq '.[] | select(.status == "renamed") | "\(.previous_filename) -> \(.filename)"'

# Patch for a specific file (when you need detail)
gh api "repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/<number>/files?per_page=100" \
  --jq '.[] | select(.filename | test("<pattern>")) | .patch'

Collect:

• Added, removed, and renamed model/enum classes.
• Changes to client classes (method renames, new methods, removed methods).
• Changes to *ServiceVersion.java (version string changes).
• Changes to *ClientBuilder.java (base URL, authentication, new builder methods).
• Changes to module-info.java (transitive exports, new requires).
• Changes to customization files.
• New or modified samples.

Step 2 — Check for existing entries

Before writing anything, read the current CHANGELOG.md and README.md (if in scope) in full and compare their content against the changes you collected in Step 1.

2a. Identify overlapping entries

For each change you plan to document, check whether an entry already covers it:

• Exact match — an existing bullet describes the same rename, addition, or removal using the same class/method names.
• Topical overlap — an existing bullet covers the same area (e.g., "tool renames" or "new sub-client") but with different detail, wording, or scope.

2b. Report findings to the user

If any overlap is found, stop and consult the user before editing. Present a summary like:

> The following changes from PR #NNN already appear to be covered in the current files:

>

> CHANGELOG.md

> - _Features Added_ already mentions FooClient addition (line …).

> - _Breaking Changes_ already has a bullet about tool renames that partially overlaps the renames in this PR.

>

> README.md

> - The "Key concepts" section already lists the BarClient sub-client.

>

> Would you like me to:

> 1. Skip the entries that are already covered and only add the new ones?

> 2. Merge/update the overlapping entries (tell me how you'd like them worded)?

> 3. Proceed anyway and add everything as new entries?

Wait for the user's response before continuing to Step 3 or Step 4.

2c. No overlap

If there is no overlap at all, inform the user briefly (e.g., "No existing entries overlap with this PR — proceeding to update.") and continue.

Step 3 — Update CHANGELOG.md

Format rules (CI-enforced)

The CHANGELOG structure is strict. Every version section must contain exactly these headings in this order:

## <version> (date or Unreleased)

### Features Added

### Breaking Changes

### Bugs Fixed

### Other Changes

• Do not add, remove, rename, or reorder these headings.
• Do not delete or modify existing entries — all changes are additive only. Append new bullets below existing ones.
• If Step 2 identified a topical overlap and the user chose to merge/update an existing entry, that is the only case where you may edit an existing bullet — and only as the user directed.
• Only modify the target version section (usually the (Unreleased) one).
• Each entry is a markdown list item starting with - .

What goes where

| Heading | Content |

|---------|---------|

| Features Added | New public classes, methods, enums, samples, tools, client capabilities. |

| Breaking Changes | Renamed/removed classes, renamed methods, changed enum values, changed method signatures, service version changes. |

| Bugs Fixed | Fixes to incorrect behavior (e.g., URL construction, serialization bugs). |

| Other Changes | Dependency updates, spec regeneration, module-info changes, internal refactors. |

Writing guidelines

• Summarize, don't enumerate. Group related changes under a single bullet when there is an overarching pattern (e.g., "Methods across sub-clients were renamed to include the resource name" with sub-bullets for each client). Don't list every file touched.
• Consumer perspective. Only mention changes that matter to a user of the library. Internal implementation model renames that are not in the public API can be omitted.
• Use code formatting for class names, method names, and enum values: ClassName .
• Show before → after for renames: OldName → NewName or OldName renamed to NewName .
• Group repetitive renames by pattern. For example, if 10 tool classes were renamed from *AgentTool to *Tool, write one bullet with representative examples rather than 10 bullets.
• Mention service version changes (e.g., date-based to v1) in Breaking Changes.
• Don't over-list new models. If the PR adds dozens of generated models, mention only the notable ones (new tool types, new feature-area models) and say "and related types" or similar.
• Omit trivial internal changes like parameter reordering in generated @HostParam/@QueryParam annotations, checkstyle suppression updates, or whitespace.

Step 4 — Update README.md

Format rules (CI-enforced)

The README structure is also checked by CI. Follow the existing heading hierarchy exactly:

# <Package name> client library for Java
## Documentation
## Getting started
### Prerequisites
### Adding the package to your product
### Authentication
## Key concepts
### <subsections as needed>
## Examples
### <subsections as needed>
### Service API versions
#### Select a service API version
## Troubleshooting
## Next steps
## Contributing
<!-- LINKS -->

• Do not remove or reorder the top-level headings.
• Do not change the [//]: # version-update markers.
• Do not delete or rewrite existing prose or snippets unless they reference renamed APIs from this PR and Step 2 confirmed no conflict (or the user approved the change).
• You may add new ### subsections under ## Key concepts or ## Examples.
• Keep existing code snippets intact unless they reference renamed APIs.

What to update

• Package description (opening paragraph): mention the REST API version if it changed (e.g., "targets the v1 REST API").
• Code snippets: update any code that references renamed methods, classes, or builder patterns. Keep the java com.azure... snippet tags intact.
• Sub-client lists: if new sub-clients were added, add them. Mark preview sub-clients with (preview).
• Preview tools / features: if the package defines Tool subclasses, document which are GA and which are preview (look for Preview in the class name or discriminator value). Use a table.
• Opt-in flags / experimental features: if the package uses FoundryFeaturesOptInKeys, AgentDefinitionFeatureKeys, or Foundry-Features headers, document:
• Which sub-clients auto-set the header (check *Impl.java for hardcoded foundryFeatures strings).
• Which accept it as an optional parameter.
• List known flag values.
• OpenAI direct-usage snippets: if the builder URL construction changed (e.g., /openai → /openai/v1), update the snippet and surrounding prose. Remove references to removed imports like AzureUrlPathMode or AzureOpenAIServiceVersion if they no longer apply.

Determining preview tools

For the azure-ai-agents package, look at classes extending com.azure.ai.agents.models.Tool:

# Read the Tool.java discriminator to find all subtypes
grep -A1 'equals(discriminatorValue)' src/main/java/com/azure/ai/agents/models/Tool.java

Tools whose discriminator value or class name contains preview are preview tools. All others are GA.

Determining preview operation groups

Check which *Impl.java files hardcode a foundryFeatures value:

grep -rl "final String foundryFeatures" src/main/java/*/implementation/*.java

Those operation groups are preview and auto-opt-in. Also check convenience client classes for FoundryFeaturesOptInKeys parameters — those are opt-in by caller.

Notes

• All edits are additive. Never remove or rewrite existing content unless the user explicitly approves it after being consulted in Step 2.
• When the PR diff is too large for gh pr diff (HTTP 406), use gh api .../pulls/<number>/files --paginate instead.
• Paginate with --paginate and page with ?per_page=100&page=N as needed.
• Always read the existing CHANGELOG and README before editing to avoid duplicating entries or breaking structure.
• If the PR title/body provides a summary, use it as a starting point but verify against the actual file changes.