GitHub release notifications that skip the noise

The easiest way to get GitHub release notifications that only flag the releases you need to act on is to describe them to AyeWatch in plain English, for example "major versions of Next.js with breaking changes", and let it alert you with a summary. If you follow a handful of repositories and read every release anyway, GitHub's own Watch setting is free and enough.

This guide covers both: the built-in setting, where it runs out, and how to set up release alerts in AyeWatch.

Step 1: turn on GitHub's built-in release notifications

GitHub lets you watch a repository for releases only:

1. Open the repository on GitHub.
2. Click the Watch drop-down in the upper-right corner.
3. Choose Custom, tick Releases, and apply.

The same option sits under Watch in GitHub Mobile. Notifications land in your GitHub inbox on the web and in the app, and by email if email notifications are switched on in your settings. GitHub adds headers to each email, so you can route release mail into its own folder.

Where the built-in watch runs out

The watch works per repository and treats every release the same. A patch that fixes a typo and a major version that removes an API arrive looking alike. Spread that over thirty dependencies and the release folder fills faster than anyone reads it, which is how a deprecation slips past a whole team.

It also stops at GitHub. Many projects explain breaking changes in a blog post, a migration guide or a changelog page, and the discussion on Hacker News often tells you more about the real impact than the release notes do.

Step 2: set up release alerts in AyeWatch

AyeWatch for developers follows releases, CVEs and new model launches across GitHub, Hacker News and project sites. Setup takes a few minutes:

1. Write the topic. Name the projects and say what counts. Examples: "New releases and breaking changes in React, Next.js and TypeScript" or "Security fixes in the Python packages pip, Poetry and uv".
2. Add the condition. Something like "Only alert me for a major version or a deprecation I need to plan an upgrade for." This is what keeps patch releases out of your feed.
3. Add a page if you want. Paste the URL of a changelog or release notes page to watch it for meaningful changes.
4. Pick the schedule. Choose an interval, or use Auto on a paid plan to check more often while a project is busy.
5. Choose where alerts go. Push and the in-app feed come with every plan. Paid plans add email, Slack, Discord and webhooks.

Each alert opens to a short summary and the sources behind it, so you can read the actual release notes when the summary says it matters.

Step 3: route alerts to the team

On a paid plan, AyeWatch can post each alert to a webhook. Deliveries are signed with a secret, so your endpoint can check they came from AyeWatch, and a webhook only fires when something new is found. Teams use this to open an upgrade ticket or post to an engineering channel. The webhook docs show the payload.

When to stay with GitHub alone

If you maintain the project, or you depend on a few repositories that release rarely, GitHub's Watch setting does the job at no cost. AyeWatch earns its place once the list grows and you want to hear about the releases that change your code, not every tag.

Start a release monitor in AyeWatch with the free preview, and move to a paid plan when you want Slack or webhooks.