Changelog Formatting Skill

This skill helps you format changelog content according to Replit's template structure.

Overview

Convert raw changelog content into properly structured documentation following:

1. Correct frontmatter with date and metadata
2. Proper section organization ("What's new" TOC, then "Platform" and "Teams and Enterprise" sections)
3. Correct media path formatting and Frame wrappers
4. Consistent formatting and style
5. No Slack links in final output (remove all Slack announcement links)

Quick Start

1. Add Frontmatter

Use the add_changelog_frontmatter tool - don't write frontmatter manually:

# The tool will create:
---
title: October 30, 2025
description: 2 min read
---

2. Create "What's new" TOC

Immediately after frontmatter, add a "## What's new" section with anchor-linked bullet points for ALL updates (both Platform and Teams/Enterprise):

## What's new

* [Feature One](#feature-one)
* [Feature Two](#feature-two)
* [Enterprise Feature](#enterprise-feature)

Anchor format: Convert feature name to lowercase, replace spaces with hyphens.

3. Categorize Updates into Sections

After the TOC, organize content into two main sections:

• ## Platform: General features, tools, improvements
• ## Teams and Enterprise: SSO, SAML, SCIM, Identity, Access Management, Viewer Seats, Groups, Permissions

4. Structure Content

Each section should have ### subsections for each feature:

## Platform

### Feature One

Description of the feature.

### Feature Two

Description of the feature.

## Teams and Enterprise

### Enterprise Feature

Description of the feature.

5. Format Media (CRITICAL)

Process for each media reference:

1. Verify the file exists first:

   • Check if ./docs/updates/media/YYYY-MM-DD/filename exists on the filesystem
   • If the file doesn't exist, REMOVE the reference from the markdown
   • Only process media that actually exists

2. Convert local paths to public CDN paths:

   ./media/YYYY-MM-DD/filename → /images/changelog/YYYY-MM-DD/filename
   

3. Wrap in <Frame> tags with proper syntax:

   For Images (.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .webp):

   <Frame>
     <img src="/images/changelog/2025-01-15/feature.png" alt="Descriptive alt text" />
   </Frame>
   

   For Videos (.mp4, .mov, .webm):

   <Frame>
     <video src="/images/changelog/2025-01-15/demo.mp4" controls />
   </Frame>
   

4. Preserve descriptive alt text from the original markdown

Common Path Mistakes:

• ❌ ./media/2025-01-15/file.png (local path - wrong in final output)
• ❌ ./docs/updates/media/2025-01-15/file.png (full local path - wrong)
• ❌ /media/2025-01-15/file.png (missing "images/changelog" - wrong)
• ✅ /images/changelog/2025-01-15/file.png (correct CDN path)

6. Remove Slack Links

CRITICAL: Remove all Slack announcement links from the final output. These are for internal tracking only and should not appear in the published changelog.

Remove lines like:

[Slack announcement](https://replit.slack.com/archives/...)

Before/After Examples

Example: Raw Input (from changelog_writer)

<!-- slack_timestamps: 123,456,789 -->

# Changelog: January 15, 2025

## Updates for this week

We shipped a new dashboard!

![New dashboard interface](./media/2025-01-15/dashboard.png)

Also fixed some bugs in the editor.

[Slack announcement](https://replit.slack.com/archives/C123/p456)

### SAML improvements

SSO setup is now easier with better error messages.

[Slack announcement](https://replit.slack.com/archives/C123/p789)

Example: Correctly Formatted Output (from template_formatter)

<!-- slack_timestamps: 123,456,789 -->

---
title: January 15, 2025
description: 2 min read
---

## What's new

* [New dashboard](#new-dashboard)
* [Editor bug fixes](#editor-bug-fixes)
* [SAML improvements](#saml-improvements)

## Platform

### New dashboard

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/changelog/2025-01-15/dashboard.png" alt="New dashboard interface" />
</Frame>

We shipped a new dashboard with improved metrics visibility.

### Editor bug fixes

Fixed several bugs in the editor for a smoother experience.

## Teams and Enterprise

### SAML improvements

SSO setup is now easier with better error messages.

Example: Handling Missing Media

Input with reference to non-existent file:

### Feature X

![Screenshot](./media/2025-01-15/missing-file.png)

Description of feature X.

Output (missing file removed):

### Feature X

Description of feature X.

Formatting Checklist

Before completing the formatting task, verify:

Structure

• Frontmatter uses add_changelog_frontmatter tool (not manually written)
• Title format is "Month DD, YYYY" (e.g., "January 15, 2025")
• No H1 heading after frontmatter (no # Changelog:...)
• "## What's new" section with anchor-linked TOC appears first (after frontmatter)
• "## Platform" section appears after What's new
• "## Teams and Enterprise" section appears after Platform (only if relevant content exists)
• Features use ### headings under their respective sections
• No duplicate section headers
• No horizontal rules (---) between sections

Bullet Lists (in What's new section)

• Use * for bullets (not - or +)
• Each bullet links to anchor: * [Feature Name](#feature-name)
• Anchor format: lowercase, hyphens for spaces
• One blank line after section header, before first bullet
• No blank lines between bullet items

Media

• All media wrapped in <Frame> tags
• Images use: <Frame><img src="..." alt="..." /></Frame>
• Videos use: <Frame><video src="..." controls /></Frame>
• All paths use CDN format: /images/changelog/YYYY-MM-DD/filename
• No markdown image syntax remains (![alt](path))
• All referenced media files verified to exist
• Non-existent media references removed entirely

Content

• Alt text is descriptive (not "image" or "screenshot")
• No typos in section headers
• Consistent capitalization per DOCS_STYLE_GUIDE.md
• No Slack announcement links in final output

For Complete Reference

• CHANGELOG_TEMPLATE.md - Full template structure
• DOCS_STYLE_GUIDE.md - Complete documentation style guidelines

Key Reminders

• Only edit when content actually changes
• Preserve brand voice and style from original content
• Ensure all media has descriptive alt text
• Keep formatting consistent throughout
• Remove all Slack links from final output
• Preserve the slack_timestamps HTML comment at the top (needed for idempotency)