Release Notes Newsletter
A newsletter for release notes is a recurring email that tells your users what shipped. Shipstar writes each issue from the commits and merged pull requests in the period, holds it in a review queue, and on approval sends it to your project's mailing lists: up to 20 lists per project and 500 active recipients per list, every address double opted in, a one-click unsubscribe link on every message (RFC 8058). GitHub is the source; no separate email tool is involved. The Free plan is $0 with no card, one project and 1,000 credits a month. Generating a release notes email costs 100 credits, so about ten issues a month are free, and sending is unmetered. Solo is $25/month or $240/year.
A Newsletter for Release Notes, from Commit to Inbox
Install the Shipstar GitHub App on your organization (or connect with a legacy OAuth token) and pick the repositories to track. Run a release notes email once, or schedule a series: daily, weekly or monthly. A manual run reads the last seven days of commits and merged pull requests; a scheduled issue covers the gap since the previous one, capped at 31 days, so nothing is announced twice and nothing is skipped. The draft lands in review, where you can switch the voice preset (technical, business or mixed), add focus and exclusions in plain text, and regenerate. Approve, and it sends to the mailing lists you chose. Scheduled issues that are already approved go out on their own when their time arrives. Teams that automate everything can drive the same steps over the REST API or the MCP tools.
Release Notes Email vs. Release Notes Newsletter
They are the same content type at two cadences. One release, one email: a release notes email announcing what a single deploy changed. A cadence, a newsletter: the same generation on a schedule, each issue covering the period since the last. Two audiences sit alongside each other. Changelog subscribers double opted in from your hosted changelog page and are emailed when a new changelog period is published. Mailing lists are the recipients your team manages in the dashboard or over the API, and they are who the release notes email goes to. Neither is a general-purpose marketing list, and neither needs an export to another tool. For what a good issue contains, section by section, the release notes examples post on the blog has the format and a real generated example.
Product Update Emails Written for You
Every issue of your newsletter starts as an AI draft built from what actually shipped — features, improvements, and fixes pulled from your commits and merged pull requests, written in your configured voice. You edit and approve rather than compose. The newsletter that used to consume an afternoon per issue becomes a ten-minute review, which is the difference between a newsletter that exists and one that used to.
Subscriber Lists Without a Separate Email Tool
Shipstar manages recipients natively: mailing lists per project that you keep in sync from your own user base over the API (idempotent upsert keyed by your user id, soft remove) or load and back up as CSV in the dashboard, a double-opt-in subscribe flow on the hosted changelog for readers who find you there, and unsubscribes that are honored permanently. No copying subscribers into a general-purpose newsletter platform, no second subscription to pay for.
Deliverability and Compliance by Default
Update emails live or die on trust. Every message Shipstar sends carries a per-recipient one-click unsubscribe link (RFC 8058 compliant), and unsubscribes are permanent — re-adding an address can never resurrect an opt-out. Sends are claimed once per release, so a retry or a double-click never emails your list twice. The compliance details you'd otherwise learn the hard way are simply handled.
One Pipeline with the Rest of Your Release Comms
The newsletter isn't a separate workflow — it's another destination for the release notes you already approved. The same content that updates your changelog page and posts to Slack also lands in subscriber inboxes, so email never lags the changelog and nothing gets announced in one place but not the other. Changelog followers can subscribe to email notifications, growing the list from the page itself.
Why teams choose Shipstar
- Each newsletter issue drafted automatically from shipped changes
- Native mailing lists synced from your own users — no external email tool
- One-click unsubscribe and duplicate-send protection built in
- Email stays in sync with your changelog and other channels automatically
Frequently asked questions
How does the release notes newsletter get written?
Shipstar generates each issue from the commits and pull requests that shipped since your last send, in the voice you configure. The draft waits in review — edit it, approve it, and it goes to your mailing lists.
Do I need Mailchimp or another email tool alongside Shipstar?
No. Shipstar includes mailing list management (API sync, CSV import and export), a double-opt-in subscribe flow on the hosted changelog, sending, and unsubscribe handling. It's product update email software and the content pipeline in one.
How are unsubscribes handled?
Every email includes a per-recipient one-click unsubscribe link that works instantly, per RFC 8058. Unsubscribed recipients are deactivated permanently — re-importing or re-adding their address cannot opt them back in.
Can users subscribe to updates themselves?
Yes. Your hosted changelog offers a double-opt-in email subscription, so readers can follow releases directly from the page. For an existing customer base, sync a mailing list from your own system over the API (add on signup, remove on account deletion, update on email change) or import a CSV in the dashboard — with opt-out always honored.
How do I send release notes by email?
Four steps. Connect GitHub and pick the repositories to track. Generate a release notes email, once or on a schedule; the draft is written from the commits and merged pull requests in the window. Edit and approve it in the review queue. On approval it is sent to the mailing lists you selected, with a one-click unsubscribe link on every message. Generation costs 100 credits; sending is free.
How many subscribers can a release notes newsletter have?
Each project can have up to 20 mailing lists with up to 500 active recipients per list. Removed recipients can be restored or re-synced; unsubscribed addresses are kept on record and never re-added, so re-importing a list cannot resurrect an opt-out. Neither counts toward the active limit.
Is there a release notes email template?
There is no blank template to fill in: Shipstar writes the email from the release itself, in your project's voice, and you edit the draft before it goes out. For the sections a good release notes email carries, and a real generated example, see the release notes examples post on the blog.
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