Release Notes Template: Copy + Paste for SaaS

If you need a release notes template, start here: write one short summary, group updates into New, Improved, and Fixed, and explain the user benefit of each item. Then adjust the format for the audience.

That is the simple version. This page gives you the copy-and-paste version.

You will get:

a standard release notes template for SaaS teams
an internal release brief template
a release notes email template
five real examples from public product update pages
practical tips to make the template sound like a product team, not a ticket export

If you want a broader guide on structure and writing style, read how to write release notes. If you want the fastest way to turn raw tickets into a draft, try the free release notes generator.

Copy and paste release notes template

This is the default template most SaaS teams should use for user-facing updates.

## What's new in [Product] - [Month Year]

One-sentence summary of the release. Lead with the biggest outcome for users.

### New

- **[Feature name]**: [What users can do now and why it matters].
- **[Feature name]**: [What changed, who it helps, where to find it if needed].

### Improved

- **[Area improved]**: [What is better now, ideally with a specific outcome or metric].
- **[Area improved]**: [What got faster, easier, clearer, or more reliable].

### Fixed

- **[Bug or issue]**: [What now works correctly].
- **[Bug or issue]**: [What frustration was removed].

### If action is required

- **[Required step]**: [What the user needs to do, by when, and where to learn more].

Questions? Contact [support email] or reply to this update.

Why this template works

The summary gives skimmers the headline in one sentence.
The categories make the update easy to scan.
The bold labels help readers find the part that matters to them.
The action section prevents important migrations or setup changes from getting buried.

If your update is especially technical, compare this structure with our guide on release notes format. If you are deciding whether the update belongs in a changelog or a release note, read changelog vs release notes.

Example, filled in

## What's new in Acme Analytics - May 2026

This release makes reporting easier to share and faster to review across your team.

### New

- **Scheduled exports**: You can now send dashboards to Slack or email on a daily or weekly schedule.
- **Saved report views**: Team members can save filtered views and return to them in one click.

### Improved

- **Dashboard speed**: Large reports now load about 40% faster.
- **Sharing flow**: Invite teammates directly from a dashboard without leaving the page.

### Fixed

- **CSV exports**: Files now preserve column order correctly.
- **Date filters**: Comparing custom date ranges no longer resets the chart.

### If action is required

- **Slack export setup**: Workspace admins need to reconnect Slack once to enable scheduled delivery.

Release notes template for internal teams

Your support, sales, and success teams need a different version. They need context, risks, and talking points.

## Internal release brief - [Date or Version]

### Headline

[One sentence on the most important launch and why it matters]

### What shipped

**[Feature or change]**
- What it is: [Plain-language description]
- Why we built it: [Customer problem or strategic reason]
- Customer impact: [What changes for users]
- Talking point: "[A sentence a teammate can reuse in calls or tickets]"

**[Feature or change]**
- What it is: [Description]
- Why we built it: [Reason]
- Customer impact: [Impact]
- Talking point: "[Reusable explanation]"

### Important fixes

- [Issue]: [What happened before, what works now]
- [Issue]: [Anything support should watch for]

### Known limitations

- [What is not supported yet]
- [What edge case still exists]

### Action needed from internal teams

- [Docs to update]
- [Customers to notify]
- [Plan or pricing changes to mention]

This format pairs well with product update communication best practices for SaaS teams because it forces you to separate what users need from what internal teams need.

Release notes email template

If you send releases by email, do not paste the entire changelog. Pick one lead story, then summarize the rest.

Subject: New in [Product]: [Headline feature]

Hi [First name],

We shipped a few meaningful updates to [Product] this [week or month].

**[Headline feature]**
[Two or three sentences explaining what it does, who it helps, and why it matters now.]

[Primary CTA]

**Also included**
- **[Update]**: [One-sentence summary]
- **[Update]**: [One-sentence summary]
- **[Fix]**: [One-sentence summary]

If you have feedback, reply to this email. We read every response.

[Name]
[Team or product name]

If you need more help on distribution, the guides on feature announcement email templates and product update email templates go deeper.

Five real release notes examples you can borrow from

These are real public examples worth studying. Each one demonstrates a different style.

1. Linear, strong narrative intro plus scannable sections

Source: Linear changelog

Linear often opens with a short narrative that explains the bigger product shift, then follows with clear section headings like Skills and Automations, Code Intelligence, and Availability and pricing. In the current Linear Agent update, the page explains the product context first, then gives concrete examples of how teams might use the feature in Slack, comments, and planning workflows.

What to steal: If you shipped something strategic, open with 2 to 4 sentences of context before the bullets. Do not jump straight from headline to feature list.

2. Figma, headline first and details in bullets

Source: Figma release notes

Figma is great at packaging each update around one crisp headline. A recent post, Faster file transitions on desktop, immediately tells you the outcome. Then the body lists the exact improvements: searching open and recently closed tabs, opening links directly in the desktop app, and preloading files and prototypes in the background.

What to steal: Write the headline as the user outcome, then use bullets for the proof.

3. Notion, monthly roundup with product context

Source: Notion releases

Notion's release pages read more like a monthly product briefing. In the Notion 3.4 update, it leads with the main story around Custom Agents, then groups the changes under descriptive subheads such as Teams and Custom Agents, working together, AI Autofill in databases, and Customize your AI Meeting Notes summary.

What to steal: If you ship many related changes at once, group them into themes instead of dumping them into one long undifferentiated list.

4. Intercom, category labels and actionable bullets

Source: Intercom changelog

Intercom labels updates by product area, shows the date and author, and gets very specific in the bullets. A recent Average Adjusted Handling Time update explains exactly how the clock pauses when teammates switch conversations, how admins can pause the metric during away time, and that there is now a public API for handling events.

What to steal: If a feature changes workflows, spell out the exact behaviors that changed. Precision beats marketing language.

5. Slack, short versioned updates for maintenance releases

Source: Slack for Mac release notes

Slack uses a very different approach for desktop app releases. Entries are versioned, dated, and brief. Many of them are intentionally minimal, like security improvements or small bug-fix rounds. That makes sense because the audience often just wants to know whether a version is safe and stable.

What to steal: Not every release needs a long write-up. For low-drama maintenance releases, brevity is a feature.

How to adapt the template for different release types

Major feature launch

Use a short intro paragraph, one screenshot or GIF, and 3 to 5 bullets max. Link to docs if setup is needed.

Weekly product update

Skip the long intro. Go straight into New, Improved, and Fixed.

API or developer release

Lead with breaking changes, migration steps, version numbers, and links to docs. Your general complete guide to release notes in 2026 covers the broader writing principles, but technical releases need more explicit action items.

Internal release brief

Use the internal template above, not the public one. Internal notes should answer "what changed, why it matters, and what do I say if a customer asks?"

Common mistakes when using a release notes template

Writing the template, not the message

A template gives structure. It does not give clarity. If your bullets still sound like ticket titles, the template did not fail. The writing did.

Bad: Permissions update: Added RBAC enhancements.

Better: Workspace permissions: Admins can now limit who can edit billing, invite teammates, and manage integrations.

Leading with implementation details

Users do not care that you refactored the query layer. They care that dashboards load faster.

Mixing audiences in one update

A public release note should not read like an internal support memo. If sales and support need more detail, write a second internal version.

Hiding required actions at the bottom

If users need to reconnect an integration, re-authenticate, or migrate settings, call that out clearly in its own section.

Should you write release notes manually?

If you ship once a month, maybe. If you ship every week, manual release note writing usually becomes the bottleneck.

That is where Worknotes fits. You connect your Linear tickets, generate a draft, edit it, and publish to your changelog, email, and in-app surfaces from one workflow. If you want to test the workflow before committing, use the free release notes generator.

You can also pair this page with our release notes examples post if you want more inspiration before writing your next update.

FAQ

What is the best format for release notes?

For most SaaS teams, the best format is a short summary followed by grouped sections for New, Improved, and Fixed. It is easy to scan and easy to maintain.

How long should release notes be?

Long enough to explain the user impact, short enough to skim. Most routine updates can stay under 300 words. Bigger launches can be longer if the extra context actually helps.

What should release notes include?

Include user-visible changes, meaningful improvements, bug fixes users would care about, and any action users need to take. Skip internal refactors unless they changed performance, reliability, or workflow in a noticeable way.

What is the difference between release notes and a changelog?

Release notes explain a specific release in user-friendly language. A changelog is the running record over time. In SaaS, many teams blend the two, but the writing goal stays the same: explain what changed and why it matters.

Final copy and paste version

If you just want the bare template, here it is again:

## What's new in [Product] - [Month Year]

[One-sentence summary of the release]

### New
- **[Feature]**: [User benefit]

### Improved
- **[Improvement]**: [What got better]

### Fixed
- **[Issue]**: [What now works]

### Action required
- **[Task]**: [What users need to do, if anything]

Then, when you are ready to stop writing from scratch, try the free release notes generator or start a Worknotes trial.