asc-whats-new-writer

asc What's New Writer

Generate engaging, localized release notes from flexible input. Optionally pair with promotional text updates.

Preconditions

• Metadata pulled locally into canonical files via asc metadata pull --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --dir "./metadata". OR: user provides keywords manually.

• Auth configured for upload (asc auth login or ASC_* env vars).

• The primary locale is en-US unless the user specifies otherwise.

Before You Start

• Read references/release_notes_guidelines.md for tone, structure, and examples.

• Identify the latest version directory under metadata/version/ (highest semver). Use this for all metadata reads.

• Enumerate existing locales by listing the JSON files in that version directory.

Phase 1: Gather Input

Accept one of three input modes (auto-detect):

Git Log

Parse commits since the last tag:

# Find latest tag
git describe --tags --abbrev=0

# List commits since that tag
git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --oneline --no-merges

Filter out noise: merge commits, dependency bumps, CI changes, formatting-only commits. Extract user-facing changes.

Bullet Points

User provides rough bullets like:

• "improved search"

• "fixed crash on launch"

• "added sleep timer"

Free Text

User describes changes conversationally:

"We made search faster, fixed that annoying crash when you open the app, and added a sleep timer feature"

The skill extracts and structures the changes from the text.

No Input Provided

Prompt the user: "What changed in this release? You can paste git log output, bullet points, or just describe the changes."

Phase 2: Draft Notes (Primary Locale)

Step 1: Classify Changes

Group changes into sections per the guidelines:

• New — new features or capabilities

• Improved — enhancements to existing features

• Fixed — bug fixes users would notice

Omit empty sections. If all changes are fixes, only show "Fixed."

Step 2: Write Benefit-Focused Copy

Follow the tone rules from references/release_notes_guidelines.md:

• Describe user impact, not implementation details

• Use direct address ("you") and action verbs

• Be specific — mention concrete improvements

Step 3: Front-Load the Hook

The first ~170 characters are the only visible part before "more." Lead with the single most impactful change in a complete, compelling sentence.

Step 4: Echo Keywords for Conversion

• Read keywords from metadata/version/{latest}/{primary-locale}.json

These canonical files are also what asc metadata keywords ... reads and writes.

• If the field is empty or missing, skip this step

• Identify keywords relevant to the changes being described

• Weave them naturally into the notes — never force or stuff

Step 5: Respect Character Limits

• Keep total length between 500-1500 characters in the primary locale

• This leaves room for localized expansions (some languages expand 30-40%)

• Hard limit: 4,000 characters

Step 6: Optionally Draft Promotional Text

If the user wants it, draft a 170-char promotional text that:

• Summarizes the update's theme in one punchy line

• Can reference seasonal events

• Is updatable without a new submission

Present Draft

Show the draft to the user with character count. Wait for approval before localizing.

Phase 3: Localize

Translate the approved notes to all existing locales.

Translation Rules

• Use formal register and formal "you" forms (Russian: вы, German: Sie, French: vous, Spanish: usted, Dutch: u, Italian: Lei)

• Adapt tone to local market — playful English may need adjustment for formal markets (ja, de-DE)

• Do NOT literally translate idioms — adapt them to local equivalents

• A playful tone in English may need to be more respectful or formal in other cultures

Locale-Specific Keyword Echo

For each locale:

• Read keywords from metadata/version/{latest}/{locale}.json

• Echo locale-specific keywords naturally in the translated notes

• If keywords field is empty, skip echo for that locale

Validate

• All translations must be ≤ 4,000 characters

• Promotional text must be ≤ 170 characters per locale

• If a translation exceeds the limit, shorten it — never truncate mid-sentence

Phase 4: Review & Upload

Step 1: Present Summary

Show a table of all locales with their notes and character counts:

| Locale | What's New (first 80 chars...) | Chars | Promo Text | Chars |
|--------|-------------------------------|-------|------------|-------|
| en-US  | Search just got faster — ...   | 847   | New sleep… | 142   |
| ar-SA  | البحث أصبح أسرع — ...           | 923   | نوم جديد…  | 138   |
| ...    | ...                           | ...   | ...        | ...   |

Step 2: Wait for Approval

Do not upload without user confirmation.

Step 3: Upload

Upload via asc (verify exact syntax with asc --help):

# Individual locale direct update
asc apps info edit --app "APP_ID" --version-id "VERSION_ID" --locale "en-US" --whats-new "Your release notes here"

# Bulk canonical-metadata push after writing ./metadata/version/<version>/<locale>.json
asc metadata push --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --dir "./metadata" --dry-run
asc metadata push --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --dir "./metadata"

If promotional text was drafted, either include --promotional-text "..." in the direct update command or write promotionalText into the canonical JSON before asc metadata push.

Step 4: Handle Failures

On partial upload failure:

• Report which locales succeeded and which failed

• Offer to retry failed locales

Metadata File Paths

• Keywords: metadata/version/{latest-version}/{locale}.json → keywords field

• Current What's New: metadata/version/{latest-version}/{locale}.json → whatsNew field

• Latest version: highest semver directory under metadata/version/

• The canonical ./metadata tree is what asc metadata pull, asc metadata push, and asc metadata keywords ... operate on.

• Follows the same metadata resolution conventions as asc-aso-audit

Notes

• What's New is not indexed for App Store search — write for humans, not algorithms.

• Promotional text is the only metadata field updatable without a new submission.

• The 170-char visible window is the most important part of your release notes.

• Each app update triggers algorithm re-evaluation — the act of updating matters, even if the text doesn't affect ranking.

• Ideal update cadence: every 2-4 weeks.

• For full metadata translation (all fields), use asc-localize-metadata instead.

• For keyword research and optimization, use asc-aso-audit first.

• If the local keyword field is stale before drafting, refresh it with asc metadata pull or inspect planned keyword changes with asc metadata keywords diff.

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