README Release Sync
Use this skill whenever a task touches README copy, release notes, changelogs, product screenshots/GIFs, or bilingual product documentation.
The goal is to reduce maintainer review burden: docs should match the real product state before reviewers have to catch stale names, screenshots, feature descriptions, or English/Japanese mismatches.
Core Rule
Do not edit product-facing docs from the existing docs alone. First identify the current source of truth: app code, UI strings, screenshots/GIFs, release branch, version files, package metadata, or a user-provided latest screenshot/video.
Workflow
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Anchor the target state
- Confirm the product/app name, branch, version, binary name, and platform scope from repo files or explicit user instructions.
- Inspect the relevant implementation or UI strings for features being described.
- Treat user-provided latest screenshots/videos as authoritative visual evidence unless code or branch context clearly contradicts them.
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Update docs and media together
- Replace stale screenshots/GIFs when the UI changed.
- Verify every image reference exists and points to the intended file.
- Check screenshots do not visibly contradict the current product name, menu labels, version, or UI state.
- Remove old media references when they describe removed behavior.
- For a public release fed by a private repository, update public README
files in the public repository on
release/vX.Y.Zafter the scrubbed snapshot has been copied there. Do not rely on the private README as the final public source of truth. - Treat public
CHANGELOG, release draft notes, install docs, and public development logs as part of the same release-facing doc set. They should use the same product names, version, asset names, privacy claims, and user-facing wording as the README.
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Keep bilingual docs equivalent
- Compare English and Japanese sections claim by claim.
- Preserve the same product facts, feature order, caveats, and setup requirements in both languages.
- Do not leave important behavior explained in only one language.
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Write readable public README copy
- Make first-read sections scannable: short paragraphs, one idea per paragraph, and blank lines where they improve readability.
- Lead with what the product does and what the user can see or do. Put implementation mechanics later only when they matter to setup, safety, or troubleshooting.
- Prefer clear behavior lines over packed feature sentences. A good shape is a one-sentence overview followed by 2-4 concise capability lines.
- For UI behavior, describe the visible result: drag to move, resize from an edge or corner, double-click to reset. Avoid internal framework details such as hit bands, cursor rects, scaling internals, or exact default percentages unless the user needs them.
- Keep detailed information where it is genuinely useful, but do not make the public README carry maintainer-only implementation explanation.
- Apply the same readability rule to release notes and changelog entries: avoid internal precision such as exact default percentages, hit-band wording, cursor-rect mechanics, or build-system trivia unless it affects a user-visible fix, install step, or troubleshooting path.
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Make Japanese reader-friendly
- Prefer ordinary Japanese UI terms when natural:
タブ,詳細パネル,マウスオーバー,最小表示,フローティングタブ. - Keep technical literals such as commands, paths, package names, app names, URLs, and code identifiers in English.
- Remove redundant feature lists and repeated paragraphs; make the main feature set quickly scannable for a general Japanese reader.
- Prefer ordinary Japanese UI terms when natural:
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Scan for stale product drift
- Old product names, old app names, old binary names, and old repository names.
- Old version numbers outside historical changelog entries.
- Obsolete UI labels, removed platform notes, and screenshots from older behavior.
- Claims that imply a dependency must be running when only an installed CLI or package is required.
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Validate before closing
- Run relevant doc lint/check commands when available.
- Run a bounded
rgscan for stale names/versions/labels. - Run the stale/private/too-internal wording scan across README files, changelogs, release notes, and any public docs shipped in the release, not only the top-level README.
- Check README image links exist.
- For release PRs, provide maintainers the GitHub-rendered README URLs for the branch/PR and wait for explicit visual approval. This must match the GitHub display users will actually see; local previews, raw Markdown, static screenshots, or automated checks are only supporting evidence.
- Inspect the public repository
git diffso README claims, version metadata, release asset names, and copied implementation changes agree. - For public releases, prefer
release/vX.Y.Zbranch -> PR -> CI -> merge before tag or GitHub Release creation. Directmainpushes should be used only when the maintainer explicitly asks to skip the PR gate. - If code changed, run the relevant tests or build.
- Summarize the source-of-truth checks, not just edited files.
Output Checklist
Before finishing, report:
- product name/version/branch checked;
- media references checked;
- Japanese/English parity checked;
- GitHub-rendered README visual approval received, or explicitly still pending;
- stale wording scan result;
- tests/build/doc checks run, or why they were not run.