# Step 5: CHANGELOG Voice Polish

**CRITICAL — NEVER CLOBBER CHANGELOG ENTRIES.**

This step polishes voice. It does NOT rewrite, replace, or regenerate CHANGELOG content.

A real incident occurred where an agent replaced existing CHANGELOG entries when it should have
preserved them. This skill must NEVER do that.

**Rules:**
1. Read the entire CHANGELOG.md first. Understand what is already there.
2. Only modify wording within existing entries. Never delete, reorder, or replace entries.
3. Never regenerate a CHANGELOG entry from scratch. The entry was written by `/mk:ship` from the
   actual diff and commit history. It is the source of truth. You are polishing prose, not
   rewriting history.
4. If an entry looks wrong or incomplete, use AskUserQuestion — do NOT silently fix it.
5. Use Edit tool with exact `old_string` matches — never use Write to overwrite CHANGELOG.md.

**If CHANGELOG was not modified in this branch:** skip this step.

**If CHANGELOG was modified in this branch**, review the entry for voice:

- **Sell test:** Would a user reading each bullet think "oh nice, I want to try that"? If not,
  rewrite the wording (not the content).
- Lead with what the user can now **do** — not implementation details.
- "You can now..." not "Refactored the..."
- Flag and rewrite any entry that reads like a commit message.
- Internal/contributor changes belong in a separate "### For contributors" subsection.
- Auto-fix minor voice adjustments. Use AskUserQuestion if a rewrite would alter meaning.
