I understand what to include in ordinary release notes – there are many questions and answers relating to that.
What should I include in the first set of release notes, i.e. for the very first released version? Are release notes needed for the first version?
Best Answer
Release notes (changelogs) are primarily used to notify users of changes between versions. Perhaps a new useful feature is available, or an old feature was deprecated.
The first released version has no changes. The release notes are then quite simple:
Anything else would be confusing, in my experience.
Sometimes, the v1.0 isn't the first release. This is especially the case for open-source projects where v0.x releases are common. In that case, the v1.0 release would have some changes to note. At a minimum, a v1.0 release signifies that the API is now stable, which is a noteworthy change.
For release notes on a website or a mailing list, these should be written less like a technical changelog and more like a press release. The first release is an opportunity to:
If your changelog is embedded into an application, the first release should probably display a “get started” guide in this space.