diff --git a/HOWTO.md b/HOWTO.md
index 12f70d3d..002cde41 100644
--- a/HOWTO.md
+++ b/HOWTO.md
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 
 ## Make a release
 
+Beforehand, check `grep deprecated -r src` to see whether some functions
+can be removed.
+
 1. `make test`
 2. update version in `_oasis`
 3. `make update_next_tag` (to update `@since` comments; be careful not to change symlinks)