Updating Changelog

SkillDocs & knowledge

Updates changelog documentation for contract developers and node operators by analyzing branch changes relative to 'next'. Use when preparing a PR, updating migration notes, documenting breaking changes, or when asked to update changelog/release notes.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Updating Changelog skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by aztec-labs-eng/aztec-node in .claude/skills/updating-changelog/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Steps

1. Determine Target Files

Read .release-please-manifest.json to get the version (e.g., {"." : "4.0.0"} → edit v4.md).

Target files:

  • Aztec contract developers: docs/docs-developers/docs/resources/migration_notes.md
  • Node operators and Ethereum contract developers: docs/docs-operate/operators/reference/changelog/v{major}.md

2. Analyze Branch Changes

Run git diff next...HEAD --stat for overview, then git diff next...HEAD for details.

Categorize changes:

  • Breaking changes (API modifications, removals, renames)
  • New features (APIs, CLI flags, configuration)
  • Deprecations
  • Configuration changes (CLI flags, environment variables)

3. Generate Draft Entries

Present draft entries for review BEFORE editing files. Match the formatting conventions by reading existing entries in each file.

4. Edit Documentation

After approval, add entries to the appropriate files.

Migration Notes Format

File: docs/docs-developers/docs/resources/migration_notes.md

Add entries under ## TBD section:

### [Component] Brief description

Explanation of what changed.

**Migration:**

```diff
- old code
+ new code
```

Impact: Effect on existing code.

Component tags: [Aztec.nr], [Aztec.js], [PXE], [Aztec Node], [AVM], [L1 Contracts], [CLI]

Node Operator Changelog Format

File: docs/docs-operate/operators/reference/changelog/v{major}.md

Breaking changes:

### Feature Name

**v{previous}:**
```bash
--old-flag <value>                    ($OLD_ENV_VAR)
```

**v{current}:**
```bash
--new-flag <value>                    ($NEW_ENV_VAR)
```

**Migration**: How to migrate.

New features:

### Feature Name

```bash
--new-flag <value>                    ($ENV_VAR)
```

Description of the feature.

Changed defaults: Use table format with Flag, Environment Variable, Previous, New columns.

Signals

GitHub stars
23
Forks
4
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
updating-changelog
Source
github.com/aztec-labs-eng/aztec-node