r-pkg-news

Drafts a new NEWS.md entry for an R package, matching the package’s existing entry style and format — as opposed to r-pkg-spellcheck, which only spellchecks NEWS.md text that’s already there and never helps author it.

Why this exists: most R packages track user-facing changes in NEWS.md, one entry per release or per notable change, but the exact format (bullet style, whether entries are grouped under a version heading, whether they reference issue/PR numbers) varies package to package. Writing a new entry that doesn’t match the existing style creates visible inconsistency the next release notices.

Procedure

  1. Confirm this is an R package. Check that DESCRIPTION exists at the repo root, and that NEWS.md (or NEWS) exists. If either is missing, skip — this skill doesn’t apply, or the package needs to add NEWS.md first (a one-line file with a version heading and no entries is enough to start).

  2. Read the existing style. Look at the last 2–3 entries in NEWS.md and note:

    • Whether entries sit under a version heading (# pkgname 1.2.3) that’s already there for the in-progress version, or need a new one.
    • Bullet format (*, -), sentence case vs. lowercase lead word, whether entries end with a period.
    • Whether entries cite the author, an issue number, or a PR number (e.g. (#123), (@username)), and where in the sentence that citation goes.

  3. Gather what changed. Pull recent commits since the last tagged release (git log <last-tag>..HEAD --oneline) or the PR description supplied by the user, and identify the user-facing changes worth an entry — skip pure-internal refactors, CI-only changes, and typo fixes that don’t affect behavior unless the project’s own style includes those too (check step 2’s precedent).

  4. Draft the entry matching the style read in step 2, one bullet per user-facing change, in plain, direct language (what changed and why it matters to a user — not an internal implementation narrative). Add it under the current in-progress version heading, creating that heading if this is the first entry for the next version.

  5. Spellcheck the new text — hand off to r-pkg-spellcheck before finishing, since new NEWS.md prose is exactly the case that skill exists to check before git push.

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