diff --git a/.agents/skills/rea-changelog-update/SKILL.md b/.agents/skills/rea-changelog-update/SKILL.md
index 7da966bce..027682cfa 100644
--- a/.agents/skills/rea-changelog-update/SKILL.md
+++ b/.agents/skills/rea-changelog-update/SKILL.md
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ node scripts/release-notes.mjs inventory \
   --manifest /tmp/rea-VERSION.contributions.json
 node scripts/release-notes.mjs record \
   --manifest /tmp/rea-VERSION.contributions.json \
+  --summary \
   --output /tmp/rea-VERSION.record.md
 ```
 
@@ -56,25 +57,31 @@ version/date/link heading. Use single-line Markdown list items under:
   PR/commit references required by the existing checkpoint validator.
 
 Group related work by analyst workflow or user impact. Explain the resulting
-behavior; internal cleanup, tests, CI, and routine documentation generally
-belong only in the contribution record. Read ambiguous PRs/diffs before making
+behavior in short, concrete entries. Highlights summarize the release; avoid
+repeating their full descriptions in Changes. Internal cleanup, tests, CI, and
+routine documentation generally belong only in the provenance file. Read ambiguous PRs/diffs before making
 claims. Distinguish simulated-provider checks from real-provider verification.
 
-Each bullet covering a PR carries its link and `Thanks @...` for its verified
-human author, known co-authors, and confirmed closing-issue reporters. Grouping
-must preserve **all** those credits in the same bullet. Include the issue
-links. Direct-commit bullets carry the commit link and known human credit.
+Credit each represented contribution once in the public notes with its link
+and `Thanks @...` for its verified human author, known co-authors, and confirmed
+closing-issue reporters. Grouping preserves all those credits in one line.
+When Highlights, detailed entries or migrations reference the same work,
+put its thanks in one of those entries, not all of them. Include issue links.
+Direct-commit bullets carry the commit link and known human credit.
 Exclude GitHub bots and known agent accounts. REA's observed Anthropic and
 Cursor co-author trailers resolve to `@claude` and `@cursoragent` with GitHub
 type `User`; the credit policy excludes them while retaining their metadata.
-Do not copy OpenClaw's maintainer-specific exclusions.
+At the REA maintainer's request, omit `@morluto` self-thanks while preserving
+authorship in the inventory. Other human contributors remain eligible.
 Use explicit GitHub links for cross-repository references to avoid ambiguous
 `#NNN` numbers. Unknown handles stay unknown; they are not fabricated credit.
 
-Append the generated `### Complete contribution record` verbatim as the last
-section of this release. It accounts for every discovered in-range PR and
-direct contribution, including internal work omitted from the prose. Do not
-hand-edit generated credits to make validation pass. Refresh the inventory
+Append the generated `record --summary` provenance link verbatim at the end
+of this release. The linked inventory accounts for every discovered in-range
+PR and direct contribution, including internal work omitted from the prose.
+Do not paste the full `record` output into public notes: it duplicates thanks
+and obscures the user-facing changes. Full records remain available for review.
+Do not hand-edit generated credits to make validation pass. Refresh the inventory
 when product history changes; a prose-only correction can reuse the snapshot.
 
 ## Finalize with Release Please
diff --git a/docs/releasing.md b/docs/releasing.md
index fbe8ca5c1..37a28d532 100644
--- a/docs/releasing.md
+++ b/docs/releasing.md
@@ -21,7 +21,11 @@ Use [the rea-changelog-update skill](https://github.com/morluto/rea/blob/main/.a
 to turn the bot draft into grouped Highlights, Changes, and Fixes with inline
 `Thanks @...` credit. `npm run release:notes -- inventory` collects the full
 selected Git range and paginated GitHub PR/author/closing-issue metadata;
-`record` produces the complete contribution record, `check` validates credits
+`record --summary` produces a compact provenance link for public notes, while
+`record` produces the full record for review. Credit a contribution once even
+when it appears in highlights, details and migrations; omit maintainer
+`@morluto` self-thanks. Keep complete authorship metadata in the inventory
+instead of duplicating a credit ledger in the release body. `check` validates credits
 and optional PR-body equality, and `render` writes the verified release section.
 Run a subcommand without its required options to see its usage. GitHub reads
 require an authenticated `gh`; record/check/render work offline from the saved
diff --git a/scripts/lib/release-notes.mjs b/scripts/lib/release-notes.mjs
index 5078cbb07..1fd5edc4b 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/release-notes.mjs
+++ b/scripts/lib/release-notes.mjs
@@ -101,10 +101,13 @@ export async function readReleaseHistory(run, base, target) {
 // REA history maps Anthropic and Cursor's agent trailers to ordinary User actors.
 // Keep those source identities in the inventory while excluding automation credit.
 const AGENT_ACCOUNTS = new Set(["claude", "cursoragent"]);
+// REA's maintainer requested external-contributor thanks without self-credit.
+const MAINTAINER_ACCOUNTS = new Set(["morluto"]);
 const human = (value) =>
   value?.__typename === "User" &&
   !value.login.endsWith("[bot]") &&
-  !AGENT_ACCOUNTS.has(value.login.toLowerCase())
+  !AGENT_ACCOUNTS.has(value.login.toLowerCase()) &&
+  !MAINTAINER_ACCOUNTS.has(value.login.toLowerCase())
     ? value.login
     : undefined;
 const unique = (values) =>
@@ -163,6 +166,12 @@ export function contributionRecord(raw) {
   return `${lines.join("\n")}\n`;
 }
 
+/** Keep the full authorship snapshot available without duplicating public thanks. */
+export function contributionSummary(raw) {
+  const inventory = releaseInventorySchema.parse(raw);
+  return `Full contribution record: [${inventory.commits.length} commits and ${inventory.pullRequests.length} merged PR${inventory.pullRequests.length === 1 ? "" : "s"}](https://github.com/${inventory.repository}/blob/rea-agents-${inventory.version}/docs/releases/${inventory.version}.contributions.json).\n`;
+}
+
 export function selectedReleaseNotes(text, version) {
   const headings = [...text.matchAll(/^## \[([^\]]+)\].*$/gmu)];
   if (headings[0]?.[1] !== version)
@@ -236,7 +245,8 @@ function requiredCredits(inventory, bullet, references) {
     if (matches[0].parents.length > 1) continue;
     for (const identity of matches[0].authors) {
       const handle = human(identity.user);
-      if (handle) required.push({ handle, context: `commit ${match[2]}` });
+      if (handle)
+        required.push({ handle, context: `commit ${matches[0].sha}` });
     }
   }
   return required;
@@ -264,6 +274,8 @@ function verifyEditorialCredits(inventory, prose) {
     ]).map((handle) => handle.toLowerCase()),
   );
   const errors = [];
+  const requiredByContext = new Map();
+  const thankedByContext = new Map();
   for (const bullet of proseBullets(prose)) {
     const references = bulletPrs(bullet, inventory.repository);
     const start = bullet.indexOf("Thanks ");
@@ -282,13 +294,21 @@ function verifyEditorialCredits(inventory, prose) {
       bullet,
       references,
     )) {
-      if (!thanked.has(handle.toLowerCase()))
-        errors.push(`Missing Thanks @${handle} in bullet for ${context}`);
+      const required = requiredByContext.get(context) ?? new Set();
+      required.add(handle);
+      requiredByContext.set(context, required);
+      const credited = thankedByContext.get(context) ?? new Set();
+      for (const login of thanked) credited.add(login);
+      thankedByContext.set(context, credited);
     }
     for (const handle of thanked)
       if (!eligible.has(handle))
         errors.push(`Unverified human credit @${handle}`);
   }
+  for (const [context, required] of requiredByContext)
+    for (const handle of required)
+      if (!thankedByContext.get(context)?.has(handle.toLowerCase()))
+        errors.push(`Missing Thanks @${handle} for ${context}`);
   return errors;
 }
 
@@ -305,8 +325,15 @@ export function verifyReleaseNotes(raw, text, body) {
       "Release notes exceed GitHub's body budget; shorten prose without dropping credit",
     );
   const record = contributionRecord(inventory).trim();
-  const start = notes.indexOf("### Complete contribution record");
-  if (start < 0 || notes.slice(start).trim() !== record)
+  const summary = contributionSummary(inventory).trim();
+  const start = notes.endsWith(summary)
+    ? notes.length - summary.length
+    : notes.indexOf("### Complete contribution record");
+  if (
+    start < 0 ||
+    (notes.slice(start).trim() !== record &&
+      notes.slice(start).trim() !== summary)
+  )
     throw new Error(
       "Contribution record differs from inventory; regenerate it with release-notes record",
     );
diff --git a/scripts/release-notes.mjs b/scripts/release-notes.mjs
index 2893559e2..3eea0e529 100644
--- a/scripts/release-notes.mjs
+++ b/scripts/release-notes.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { collectGitHubCredits } from "./lib/release-notes-github.mjs";
 import { verifyNotesPublication } from "./lib/release-notes-publication.mjs";
 import {
   contributionRecord,
+  contributionSummary,
   readReleaseHistory,
   releaseInventorySchema,
   selectedReleaseNotes,
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ async function main() {
       "pr-body": { type: "string" },
       source: { type: "string" },
       output: { type: "string" },
+      summary: { type: "boolean", default: false },
     },
   });
   const [command] = positionals;
@@ -92,7 +94,7 @@ async function main() {
     !values.manifest
   )
     throw new Error(
-      "Usage: release-notes inventory|record|check|render --manifest FILE [--repository OWNER/REPO --base TAG --target SHA --version VERSION] [--notes FILE --pr-body FILE --source SHA --output FILE]",
+      "Usage: release-notes inventory|record|check|render --manifest FILE [--repository OWNER/REPO --base TAG --target SHA --version VERSION] [--notes FILE --pr-body FILE --source SHA --output FILE] [--summary for record]",
     );
   if (command === "inventory") {
     await createInventory(values);
@@ -103,11 +105,14 @@ async function main() {
   );
   await verifyInventoryHistory(run, inventory, values.source);
   if (command === "record") {
+    const record = values.summary
+      ? contributionSummary(inventory)
+      : contributionRecord(inventory);
     if (values.output)
-      await writeFile(values.output, contributionRecord(inventory), {
+      await writeFile(values.output, record, {
         flag: "wx",
       });
-    else process.stdout.write(contributionRecord(inventory));
+    else process.stdout.write(record);
     return;
   }
   const notes = await readFile(values.notes, "utf8");
diff --git a/tests/boundary/filesystem/releaseNotes.test.ts b/tests/boundary/filesystem/releaseNotes.test.ts
index cbbe2b1ec..deae92b55 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/filesystem/releaseNotes.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/filesystem/releaseNotes.test.ts
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ async function fixture() {
           author("platformbot", "Bot"),
           author("claude"),
           author("cursoragent"),
+          author("morluto"),
         ]),
         associatedPullRequests: page([]),
       },
@@ -186,7 +187,7 @@ it("inventories side branches and paginated credits, then checks and renders syn
   );
   expect(f.record).toContain("Thanks @dana.");
   expect(f.record).not.toMatch(
-    /@(?:merger|automation|platformbot|claude|cursoragent)/u,
+    /@(?:merger|automation|platformbot|claude|cursoragent|morluto)/u,
   );
   const body = join(f.directory, "body.md");
   await writeFile(
@@ -211,6 +212,37 @@ it("inventories side branches and paginated credits, then checks and renders syn
   await expect(
     f.invoke(["render", "--manifest", f.manifest, "--output", output]),
   ).rejects.toMatchObject({ stderr: expect.stringContaining("EEXIST") });
+  const { stdout: summary } = await f.invoke([
+    "record",
+    "--manifest",
+    f.manifest,
+    "--summary",
+  ]);
+  expect(summary).toContain("3 commits and 1 merged PR]");
+  expect(summary).toContain(
+    "/blob/rea-agents-6.4.0/docs/releases/6.4.0.contributions.json",
+  );
+  expect(summary).not.toContain("Thanks");
+  const conciseNotes = f.notes
+    .replace(f.record, summary)
+    .replace(
+      "### Changes\n",
+      "### Changes\n\n- Capability details (#101).\n- Related migration (#51).\n",
+    );
+  await writeFile(join(f.directory, "CHANGELOG.md"), conciseNotes);
+  await f.invoke(["check", "--manifest", f.manifest]);
+  await writeFile(
+    join(f.directory, "CHANGELOG.md"),
+    conciseNotes.replace(
+      "6.4.0.contributions.json",
+      "6.3.0.contributions.json",
+    ),
+  );
+  await expect(
+    f.invoke(["check", "--manifest", f.manifest]),
+  ).rejects.toMatchObject({
+    stderr: expect.stringContaining("Contribution record differs"),
+  });
   await expect(
     f.invoke([
       "inventory",
@@ -245,10 +277,6 @@ it("rejects lost grouped credits, fabricated references, bots, and stale PR bodi
       f.bullet + `\n- Fixed direct behavior (${directLink}).`,
       "Missing Thanks @dana",
     ],
-    [
-      f.bullet + "\n- Fixed the reported problem (#51).",
-      "Missing Thanks @reporter",
-    ],
     [
       f.bullet + " Thanks @automation[bot].",
       "Unverified human credit @automation[bot]",