diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 37c10b345..3582124ac 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ else:
                             msgid = msgid[0]
                         jscatalog[msgid] = message.string
 
-                with open(js_file, 'wb') as outfile:
+                with open(js_file, 'wt') as outfile:
                     outfile.write('Documentation.addTranslations(')
                     dump(dict(
                         messages=jscatalog,
diff --git a/utils/release-checklist b/utils/release-checklist
index b73a191f9..78e9323b2 100644
--- a/utils/release-checklist
+++ b/utils/release-checklist
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ Release checklist
 * Check `git status`
 * Run `make style-check`
 * Run `tx pull -a -f` in sphinx/locale if final major release
+* Run `python setup.py compile_catalog` in project root after 'tx pull'
 * Update version info in sphinx/__init__.py
 * Update release date in CHANGES
 * `git commit -am 'Bump to x.y.z final'`