Procedure: Updating Changelog for New Releases

Objective

To standardize the process of updating changelog files (latest.md, preview.md, index.md) based on automated release information.

Inputs

• version: The release version string (e.g., v0.28.0, v0.29.0-preview.2).
• TIME: The release timestamp (e.g., 2026-02-12T20:33:15Z).
• BODY: The raw markdown release notes, containing a "What's Changed" section and a "Full Changelog" link.

Guidelines for latest.md and preview.md Highlights

• Aim for 3-5 key highlight points.
• Each highlight point must start with a bold-typed title that summarizes the change (e.g., **New Feature:** A brief description...).
• Prioritize summarizing new features over other changes like bug fixes or chores.
• Avoid mentioning features that are "experimental" or "in preview" in Stable Releases.
• DO NOT include PR numbers, links, or author names in these highlights.
• Refer to .gemini/skills/docs-changelog/references/highlights_examples.md for the correct style and tone.

Initial Processing

1. Analyze Version: Determine the release path based on the version string.
   • If version contains "nightly", STOP. No changes are made.
   • If version ends in .0, follow the Path A: New Minor Version procedure.
   • If version does not end in .0, follow the Path B: Patch Version procedure.
2. Process Time: Convert the TIME input into two formats for later use: yyyy-mm-dd and Month dd, yyyy.
3. Process Body:
   • Save the incoming BODY content to a temporary file for processing.
   • In the "What's Changed" section of the temporary file, reformat all pull request URLs to be markdown links with the PR number as the text (e.g., [#12345](URL)).
   • If a "New Contributors" section exists, delete it.
   • Preserve the "Full Changelog" link. The processed content of this temporary file will be used in subsequent steps.

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Path A: New Minor Version

Use this path if the version number ends in .0.

Important: Based on the version, you must choose to follow either section A.1 for stable releases or A.2 for preview releases. Do not follow the instructions for the other section.

A.1: Stable Release (e.g., v0.28.0)

For a stable release, you will generate two distinct summaries from the changelog: a concise announcement for the main changelog page, and a more detailed highlights section for the release-specific page.

1. Create the Announcement for index.md:

   • Generate a concise announcement summarizing the most important changes. Each announcement entry must start with a bold-typed title that summarizes the change.
   • Important: The format for this announcement is unique. You must use the existing announcements in docs/changelogs/index.md and the example within .gemini/skills/docs-changelog/references/index_template.md as your guide. This format includes PR links and authors. Stick to 1 or 2 PR links and authors.
   • Add this new announcement to the top of docs/changelogs/index.md.

2. Create Highlights and Update latest.md:

   • Generate a comprehensive "Highlights" section, following the guidelines in the "Guidelines for latest.md and preview.md Highlights" section above.
   • Take the content from .gemini/skills/docs-changelog/references/latest_template.md.
   • Populate the template with the version, release_date, generated highlights, and the processed content from the temporary file.
   • Completely replace the contents of docs/changelogs/latest.md with the populated template.

A.2: Preview Release (e.g., v0.29.0-preview.0)

1. Update preview.md:
   • Generate a comprehensive "Highlights" section, following the highlight guidelines.
   • Take the content from .gemini/skills/docs-changelog/references/preview_template.md.
   • Populate the template with the version, release_date, generated highlights, and the processed content from the temporary file.
   • Completely replace the contents of docs/changelogs/preview.md with the populated template.

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Path B: Patch Version

Use this path if the version number does not end in .0.

Important: Based on the version, you must choose to follow either section B.1 for stable patches or B.2 for preview patches. Do not follow the instructions for the other section.

B.1: Stable Patch (e.g., v0.28.1)

• Target File: docs/changelogs/latest.md
• Perform the following edits on the target file:

  1. Update the version in the main header. The line should read, # Latest stable release: {{version}}

  2. Update the rease date. The line should read, Released: {{release_date_month_dd_yyyy}}

  3. Determine if a "What's Changed" section exists in the temporary file If so, continue to step 4. Otherwise, skip to step 5.

  4. Prepend the processed "What's Changed" list from the temporary file to the existing "What's Changed" list in latest.md. Do not change or replace the existing list, only add to the beginning of it.

  5. In the "Full Changelog", edit only the end of the URL. Identify the last part of the URL that looks like ...{previous_version} and update it to be ...{version}.

     Example: assume the patch version is v0.29.1. Change Full Changelog: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/compare/v0.28.2…v0.29.0 to Full Changelog: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/compare/v0.28.2…v0.29.1

B.2: Preview Patch (e.g., v0.29.0-preview.3)

• Target File: docs/changelogs/preview.md
• Perform the following edits on the target file:

  1. Update the version in the main header. The line should read, # Preview release: {{version}}

  2. Update the rease date. The line should read, Released: {{release_date_month_dd_yyyy}}

  3. Determine if a "What's Changed" section exists in the temporary file If so, continue to step 4. Otherwise, skip to step 5.

  4. Prepend the processed "What's Changed" list from the temporary file to the existing "What's Changed" list in preview.md. Do not change or replace the existing list, only add to the beginning of it.

  5. In the "Full Changelog", edit only the end of the URL. Identify the last part of the URL that looks like ...{previous_version} and update it to be ...{version}.

     Example: assume the patch version is v0.29.0-preview.1. Change Full Changelog: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/compare/v0.28.2…v0.29.0-preview.0 to Full Changelog: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/compare/v0.28.2…v0.29.0-preview.1

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Finalize

• After making changes, if npm run format fails, it may be necessary to run npm install first to ensure all formatting dependencies are available. Then, run npm run format to ensure consistency.
• Delete any temporary files created during the process.