Release Announcement Writer

What this skill does

Reads a release changelog (markdown or JSON) and generates three coordinated announcements: a Twitter/X post under 280 characters, a LinkedIn post (around 1300 chars), and a Slack #announcements message with bullet detail. Each variant emphasizes a single hero feature.

Inputs

• changelog_path: a markdown changelog or JSON release notes.
• version: the version being announced.
• Optional hero_pick: explicit hero feature; otherwise inferred from the changelog's "Highlights" or first feature item.
• Optional cta_url: link for "Try it" calls to action.

Steps

1. Parse the changelog. Find the section matching version (e.g., ## 1.2.0).
2. Extract grouped lists: Features, Improvements, Fixes. Capture each item's text.
3. Pick the hero: explicit > the first bullet under "Highlights" > the longest feature bullet.
4. Compose Twitter copy:
   • Lead: <verb> <hero> in <product> (e.g., "Ship feature flags 3x faster in ").
   • Body: 1 secondary improvement.
   • CTA: short URL.
   • Constraint: <= 280 chars including the URL (count it as 23 per Twitter's t.co rules).
5. Compose LinkedIn copy:
   • Hook line.
   • 1 paragraph framing the user pain.
   • 3 bullet improvements.
   • Soft CTA.
   • Constraint: 1000-1300 chars; one paragraph break for "see more" expansion.
6. Compose Slack copy:
   • Heading: :mega: <product> <version>.
   • 5-bullet detail (one per group).
   • Link to the full changelog.
7. Validate each variant's character count.
8. Save the three variants to release-announce-<version>.md with H2 per platform.

Output

release-announce-<version>.md with three platform sections plus a tiny CSV release-announce-<version>.csv for scheduling tools. Stdout prints character counts.

Verification

Render each variant in a simple HTML preview that approximates the platform layout (e.g., 1300-char LinkedIn boundary). Confirm each variant: contains the version number, contains the CTA URL, stays within the platform's character limit. Read aloud and check no platform-specific jargon ends up on the wrong platform (e.g., a Slack emoji in the LinkedIn variant).

Edge cases

• Changelog with no version section matching version: refuse to fabricate; abort with a clear error.
• Changelog that's mostly internal/refactor changes (no user-facing features): produce a "smaller release" variant that focuses on stability rather than new features.
• Changelog with no group headers: treat all bullets as features and pick the first as hero.
• Patch releases: skip LinkedIn (too large for a patch); produce only Twitter and Slack.