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In this guide, you’ll learn how to automatically generate Markdown-based release notes for your .NET Web API application and publish them to an Azure DevOps Wiki. By integrating the Generate Release Notes (Crossplatform) extension into your CI pipeline, you can maintain an up-to-date, code-based wiki—no manual steps required. We’ll use a sample project called TestWeb and demonstrate:
  • Installing the release-notes extension
  • Creating and configuring an Azure Pipelines YAML
  • Generating, copying, and committing the release notes
The image shows a README file in an Azure DevOps Wiki, detailing a .NET Web API application called TestWeb, with sections on description, installation, usage, contributing, and licensing.

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1. Install the “Generate Release Notes (Crossplatform)” Extension

  1. Go to the Visual Studio Marketplace.
  2. Search for Generate Release Notes (Crossplatform) by Richard Fennell.
  3. Click Get it Free and select your Azure DevOps organization.
The image shows a webpage from the Visual Studio Marketplace for a tool called "Generate Release Notes (Crossplatform)" by Richard Fennell. It includes an overview, installation details, and documentation for generating Markdown release notes.
If you’re running Azure DevOps Server (on-prem), download the extension package directly from its Marketplace page and upload it to your server.
The image shows a Visual Studio Marketplace page for downloading the "Generate Release Notes (Crossplatform)" extension, with options to select an Azure DevOps organization.

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2. Create a Starter Pipeline

  1. In Azure DevOps, navigate to Pipelines → Create Pipeline.
  2. Choose Azure Repos → your TestWeb repository.
  3. Select Starter pipeline to scaffold a basic azure-pipelines.yml.
# azure-pipelines.yml (Starter)
trigger:
  - master

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

steps:
  - script: echo Hello, world!
    displayName: 'Run a one-line script'
Replace the sample scripts with .NET build and test steps: 
# azure-pipelines.yml (Build + Test)
trigger:
  - master

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

steps:
  - task: UseDotNet@2
    inputs:
      packageType: 'sdk'
      version: '1.0.x'
      installationPath: '$(Agent.ToolsDirectory)/dotnet'

  - script: dotnet --version
    displayName: 'Check .NET Version'

  - script: dotnet restore
    displayName: 'Restore dependencies'

  - script: dotnet build --configuration Release --no-restore
    displayName: 'Build project'

  - script: dotnet test --no-build --verbosity normal
    displayName: 'Run tests'
Save and run the pipeline. After it succeeds, you’ll see a successful build run:
The image shows an Azure DevOps pipeline interface with a successful job run for a project named "TestWeb." The pipeline was triggered by a user and completed in 16 seconds.

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3. Add the Generate Release Notes Task

Extend your YAML to generate and publish release notes in four steps: 
# azure-pipelines.yml (Generate & Publish Release Notes)
trigger:
  - master

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

steps:
  # Build and Test (from previous section)
  - task: UseDotNet@2
    inputs:
      packageType: 'sdk'
      version: '1.0.x'
      installationPath: '$(Agent.ToolsDirectory)/dotnet'
  - script: dotnet restore; dotnet build --configuration Release --no-restore; dotnet test --no-build
    displayName: 'Restore, Build, and Test'

  # 1. Generate release notes in repo root
  - task: XplatGenerateReleaseNotes@4
    inputs:
      outputFile: '$(Build.Repository.LocalPath)\releasenotes_$(Build.BuildId).md'
      templateLocation: 'Inline'
      inlineTemplate: |
        ## Build {{buildDetails.buildNumber}}
        **Branch:** {{buildDetails.sourceBranch}}
        **Author:** {{buildDetails.requestedFor.displayName}}
        **Commit:** {{buildDetails.sourceVersion}}
      dumpPayloadToConsole: false
      replaceFile: true

  # 2. Copy to wiki folder
  - task: CopyFiles@2
    displayName: 'Copy Release Notes to Wiki Folder'
    inputs:
      SourceFolder: '$(Build.Repository.LocalPath)'
      Contents: 'releasenotes_$(Build.BuildId).md'
      TargetFolder: '$(Build.Repository.LocalPath)/wiki'
      CleanTargetFolder: true
      OverWrite: true

  # 3. Clean up temporary file
  - script: del "$(Build.Repository.LocalPath)\releasenotes_$(Build.BuildId).md"
    displayName: 'Delete Temporary Release Notes File'

  # 4. Commit back to wiki (skip CI)
  - task: CmdLine@2
    displayName: 'Commit Release Notes to Wiki'
    inputs:
      script: |
        git checkout master
        git pull
        git config --global user.email "[email protected]"
        git config --global user.name "Your Name"
        git add wiki/releasenotes_$(Build.BuildId).md
        git commit -m "[skip ci] Update release notes for build $(Build.BuildId)"
        git push origin HEAD:master
Run the updated pipeline and inspect the release-notes generation logs:
The image shows an Azure DevOps pipeline interface with a list of jobs and their statuses on the left, and detailed log output of a task called "XplatGenerateReleaseNotes" on the right.

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4. Edit and View in Visual Studio Code

For easier editing, clone the repo locally and open azure-pipelines.yml in VS Code. You’ll find all tasks, including the release-notes steps, in one file.
The image shows a Visual Studio Code interface with a file explorer on the left, highlighting the "azure-pipelines.yml" file, and the file's content displayed on the right.

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5. Review Logs and Verify the Wiki

After another run, confirm the copy step output:
The image shows an Azure DevOps pipeline interface with a list of jobs and their statuses on the left, and detailed log output for a specific job, "XplatGenerateReleaseNotes," on the right.
Cleaning target folder: C:\agent_work\7\s\wiki Copying C:\agent_work\7\releasenotes_1216.md to C:\agent_work\7\s\wiki\releasenotes_1216.md Finally, navigate to your Azure DevOps Wiki—each build now publishes a new releasenotes_<BuildId>.md page:
The image shows a README file in an Azure DevOps Wiki, detailing a .NET Web API application called TestWeb, with sections on description, installation, usage, contributing, and licensing.
This template shows build number, branch, author, and commit. Extend the Handlebars template to include work items, pull requests, changelogs, or custom fields from Azure Boards.
With this setup, every commit to master triggers a pipeline that generates and publishes release notes to your Azure DevOps Wiki—fully automated, CI-safe, and effortless to maintain.

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