RELEASENOTES

Release notes are documents published with software releases that summarize changes since the previous version, including new features, improvements, bug fixes, and security updates. They help users, administrators, and developers understand what has changed and why.

Release notes typically include the version number, release date, a brief overview, and detailed sections. They may appear as a changelog, a dedicated release notes page, or in-app notices, and are delivered through websites, emails, or update prompts. Many teams align notes with semantic versioning to organize changes by major, minor, and patch releases.

Typical content categories include New features, Improvements or Enhancements, Bug fixes, Security fixes, Performance improvements, Known issues, Deprecations or breaking changes, Compatibility and system requirements, Upgrade or migration instructions, and Documentation updates.

The process usually involves product and engineering teams drafting notes, followed by QA review, localization, and then publishing and archiving. Notes should provide links to issue trackers or tracking IDs, migration guidance, rollback procedures, and contact information. Language should be clear, concise, and user-focused, with important items prioritized.

Best practices include keeping notes concise and targeted, updating with every release, clearly flagging breaking changes, distinguishing external-facing content from internal fixes, and ensuring notes are accurate and timely. Maintaining archives and providing readers a way to report issues also improves usefulness.