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AI release notes generator

Release notes customers can read, from the PRs that shipped.

Release writer is an AI release notes generator for GitHub releases. Name a release and it reads the pull requests merged since the previous one, writes plain-language notes grouped into New, Improved and Fixed, saves them as a draft Notion page and posts a short summary. Every line traces to a pull request.

Get early accessHow it works ↓
Release writerLive
  1. 10:02web v3.4.0 published
  2. 10:02Found previous: v3.3.2
  3. 10:03Read 7 pull requests
  4. 10:03Saved draft in Notion
  5. 10:04Posted to #releases
The problem

Why do release notes get skipped?

Because writing them means rereading every pull request in the release and translating it into words a customer understands, right after the release is out and everyone has moved on. So the notes come late, list pull request titles nobody outside engineering can read, or never get written at all.

Without it

  • Release notes written days later, or never.
  • Pull request titles pasted in for customers.
  • Fixes nobody remembers to mention.
  • Internal changes leaking into customer notes.

With Release writer

  • A draft for every release, in plain words.
  • Grouped New, Improved and Fixed.
  • Every line traced to a pull request.
  • Internal changes counted, not listed.
What it writes

What goes into customer release notes?

Three groups customers can scan, plus a count of what was left out and why.

  1. 01

    New

    Things customers can do now that they couldn't before, one plain sentence each.

    • Features
    • New pages
  2. 02

    Improved

    Changes to what customers already use: faster, clearer, or working in more cases.

    • Speed
    • Wording
  3. 03

    Fixed

    Bugs customers may have hit, described by what went wrong and what happens now.

    • Errors
    • Edge cases
  4. 04

    Left out

    Refactors, CI and dependency changes, counted in the summary and listed only in the sources.

    • Internal
    • Counted
How it works

How does an AI release notes generator work?

Every run follows the same five steps. GitHub is only read; the notes are written once, as a draft Notion page, then summarised in Slack.

  1. 1

    Finds the release before

    The newest older release of the same component, matched by its tag.

    GitHubReads
  2. 2

    Reads the changelog

    The release's list of pull requests is the source of truth.

    GitHubReads
  3. 3

    Reads each pull request

    Up to about 40. One it can't read is written from its changelog line, and marked.

    GitHubReads
  4. 4

    Saves the draft

    New, Improved and Fixed, under 300 words, with the source pull requests at the bottom.

    NotionDrafts
  5. 5

    Posts the summary

    The counts per group, anything left out, and the link.

    SlackPosts
When it runs
  • WebhookA step in your release workflow calls its webhook with the new tag
  • @mention@release-writer write notes for web-v3.4.0
  • ScheduleFridays at 15:00, for the latest release of the web app
See it in Arclyx

From one sentence to a release notes draft.

Describe the job, let Arclyx draft the agent, test it once on a real release, create it, then read what lands in #releases. The full draft waits in Notion.

Paste the sentence. Arclyx picks the tools it needs and asks what it can't work out.

New agent

What should it do?

When a release is published in our GitHub repository, write customer-facing release notes from the PRs merged since the previous release of the same component, grouped into New, Improved and Fixed, in plain words. Save them as a draft Notion page under Release notes and post a short summary with the link to #releases.

Tools it can use
  • GitHub
  • Notion
  • Slack
How are your releases tagged?
By component, like web-v3.4.0
Answers picked for you

It writes the instructions, and you sign in to each tool once. Nothing runs until you say so.

New agent
  • Reading your description
  • Writing the instructions
  • Picking the tools

Release writer

Draft · ready to test

  • GitHub
  • Notion
  • Slack

Runs When a release ships

Try it once as a dry run. It reads your real tools, and what it would post is shown to you, not posted.

Release writer · Try it
Passed
  1. Round 1Finds the release beforeGitHub · List releases
  2. Round 2Reads the changelogGitHub · Read release
  3. Round 3Reads each pull requestGitHub · Read pull request ×7
  4. Round 4Saves the draftNot sent, dry runNotion · Create page
  5. Round 5Posts the summaryNot sent, dry runSlack · Post

Once it's created, the output lands where you said, with a source for every item.

#releases
Release writerDraft release notes · web v3.4.0 · New 1, Improved 2, Fixed 3
  • New · Exports

    You can now export any report as a CSV file from its menu.

    From #466.

    ↗ example-a.com/pull/466
  • Improved · Search

    Search keeps your filters when you go back, and loads faster in large workspaces.

    From #462 and #471.

    ↗ example-a.com/pull/462
  • Fixed · Schedules

    Saving a weekday schedule failed in some time zones. This now works.

    From #474.

    ↗ example-a.com/pull/474
  • Fixed · Sign-in

    Signing in from an email link no longer opens a blank page on some phones.

    From #479.

    ↗ example-a.com/pull/479

Draft in Notion under Release notes · 7 pull requests read · 1 internal change left out

Who it's for

One draft, four teams.

The same release notes answer a different question for each team that reads them.

  • 01

    Product managers

    A first draft of every release's notes, in customers' words.

  • 02

    Engineering leads

    Notes that trace each line to the pull request behind it.

  • 03

    Support

    What changed in each release, before customers ask.

  • 04

    Marketing

    The New items worth announcing, already in plain words.

Set it up

How do you write release notes with AI?

Start from what actually shipped: the pull requests in the release. Give an AI agent the release, let it read each pull request and rewrite the customer-visible changes in plain words, grouped New, Improved and Fixed, as a draft a person reviews. In Arclyx that's five steps, starting with one sentence.

The sentence that built it
“When a release is published in our GitHub repository, write customer-facing release notes from the PRs merged since the previous release of the same component, grouped into New, Improved and Fixed, in plain words. Save them as a draft Notion page under Release notes and post a short summary with the link to #releases.”
Webhook · When a release ships
  1. 1

    Describe the job

    One sentence: which repository, which Notion page the drafts go under, and where the summary goes.

  2. 2

    Connect GitHub and Notion

    The agent gets GitHub tools that list and read releases, and a Notion tool that only creates new pages.

  3. 3

    Name the parent page

    Every draft lands under that page, and the agent checks its title before writing.

  4. 4

    Try it on a past release

    Optional. A dry run holds the page and shows the summary, so you can read the notes first.

  5. 5

    Choose its trigger

    A webhook call from your release workflow, or @mention it with a tag.

Or start from one of these sentences

  • Weekly roundup

    “Every Friday at 3, write one set of customer release notes for every release this week, grouped by product, as a draft Notion page.”

  • Support briefing

    “When a release is published, list the fixes in it that customers may have reported, in plain words, and post them to #support.”

  • Announcement draft

    “When a release is published, pick the New items worth announcing and draft a short changelog post in Notion.”

  • Internal notes

    “When a release is published, write internal notes for the team: every pull request in the release, one line each, posted to #eng.”

Compared

AI release notes vs GitHub's generated notes.

Writing them by hand and GitHub's generated notes each cover part of the job. Here is what each one does, and doesn't, do.

What you needWritten by handGitHub generated notesRelease writer
Written forWhoever writes themDevelopers: pull request titlesCustomers, in plain words
GroupingWhatever fitsBy labels you configureNew, Improved and Fixed
Traced to pull requestsRarelyYes, the list is the pull requestsYes, sources listed at the bottom
Internal changesJudged by handListed unless excluded by labelLeft out and counted
Where it landsA docThe GitHub releaseA draft Notion page and one Slack message

Source: GitHub docs: automatically generated release notes, checked 24 October 2026.

Safe by design

Is it safe to give an AI agent your releases and Notion?

It reads your releases and pull requests, creates one draft page under the Notion page you choose and writes one message. Every run is recorded and has a spend ceiling by default.

Every run is recorded

  • Every step, in order

    Every run records the tools it called, with a short preview of each result. Only the person who started a run can open its content.

  • Every line, traced

    Its instructions say to write only what a merged pull request or its changelog line shows, and to list the sources on the page.

  • What each run cost

    Tokens and cost are recorded per run and per agent, next to your plan's limits.

  • A spend ceiling, on by default

    Each run has a dollar ceiling unless you remove it. A run stops before it goes over it, and tells you.

It can

  • List and read releases and the pull requests in them
  • Create draft Notion pages, under the page you name
  • Post to one Slack channel you name, message you, or email you

It can't

  • Edit a release, comment, merge or push
  • Publish the notes anywhere
  • Edit, move or delete a Notion page
  • Email anyone but you
Questions

AI release notes, answered.

What is a release notes generator?

A tool that writes release notes from what went into a release instead of from memory. Release writer reads the pull requests behind a GitHub release and writes notes for customers, not a list of pull request titles for developers.

How is it different from GitHub's generated release notes?

GitHub can list a release's merged pull requests, its contributors and a link to the full changelog, grouped by labels you configure. Release writer reads each pull request and rewrites the change in plain words for customers, grouped New, Improved and Fixed.

Does it publish the notes?

No. It saves a draft page in Notion, marked as a draft at the top, and posts a summary with the link. A person reads, edits and publishes the notes wherever your customers see them.

Can it make up features?

Its instructions say every line must trace to a merged pull request or its changelog line, and the page lists the source pull requests at the bottom. A pull request it couldn't read is marked 'from changelog only' in the summary.

What does it leave out?

Purely internal changes, such as refactors, CI changes and dependency bumps, unless a customer would notice them. The summary says how many it left out, so nothing disappears silently. Pull request numbers and author names stay out of the customer text.

Which releases does it work with?

GitHub releases whose notes list their pull requests, such as the ones Release Please writes, tagged by component like web-v3.4.0. It finds the previous release with the same component name, so a repository with several components works.

Does it change anything in GitHub?

No. It's given only GitHub tools that list and read releases and pull requests. It can't edit a release, comment, merge or push.

Do I need to write code?

No. Describe the job in one sentence. Arclyx drafts the agent, you sign in to GitHub, Notion and Slack once, and you choose whether a webhook, a schedule or an @mention starts it.

More agents

AI for engineering teams →

Last updated 24 October 2026

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One sentence in, a working agent out. Join the beta and we'll set you up.

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