diff --git a/.github/scripts/agenthits-next-release.sh b/.github/scripts/agenthits-next-release.sh
index 240d277861f..f6e7c5ac494 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/agenthits-next-release.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/agenthits-next-release.sh
@@ -4,12 +4,19 @@
 # not only the PR of this push, keeps a change in the next release when a run
 # was dropped from the concurrency queue or failed before publishing.
 #
+# The owner wants one version per batch of work, not one per merged PR: a push
+# releases only once RELEASE_EVERY changes (first-parent commits, one per merged
+# PR) have piled up since the previous tag, and earlier pushes get an image
+# without a release. A manual run releases whatever is pending.
+#
 # Outputs (GITHUB_OUTPUT): build, tag, previous, title, notes.
 set -euo pipefail
 
 : "${REPO:?REPO (owner/name) is required}"
 : "${GITHUB_OUTPUT:?}"
 bump="${BUMP:-auto}"
+event="${EVENT:-push}"
+release_every="${RELEASE_EVERY:-20}"
 base_branch="${BASE_BRANCH:-AgentHits-Dev}"
 image="${IMAGE:-ghcr.io/agenthits/dokploy}"
 work_dir="$(mktemp -d)"
@@ -23,12 +30,23 @@ if [ -z "$previous" ]; then
 	exit 0
 fi
 
-if [ "$(git rev-list --count "${previous}..HEAD")" = 0 ]; then
+pending="$(git rev-list --count --first-parent "${previous}..HEAD")"
+if [ "$pending" = 0 ]; then
 	echo "Nothing to release: HEAD has no commits after ${previous}."
 	echo "build=false" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 	exit 0
 fi
 
+if [ "$event" = push ] && [ "$pending" -lt "$release_every" ]; then
+	waiting="${pending} of ${release_every} changes since ${previous}: image only, the release waits for a full batch or a manual run."
+	echo "$waiting"
+	if [ -n "${GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY:-}" ]; then
+		echo "$waiting" >>"$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+	fi
+	echo "build=true" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+	exit 0
+fi
+
 : >"${work_dir}/prs.jsonl"
 : >"${work_dir}/direct.jsonl"
 while read -r sha; do
diff --git a/.github/workflows/agenthits-image.yml b/.github/workflows/agenthits-image.yml
index e59456ad76b..0335e11cc02 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/agenthits-image.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/agenthits-image.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 name: AgentHits Dokploy Image
 
 # Pushes to AgentHits-Dev build through agenthits-release.yml, which calls this
-# workflow with the release tag. A manual run builds the selected branch, or,
+# workflow with a release tag when the push completes a batch and without one
+# otherwise. A manual run builds the selected branch, or,
 # with release-tag set to a published release, rebuilds that release's image.
 on:
   workflow_call:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/agenthits-release.yml b/.github/workflows/agenthits-release.yml
index 52ecdbd5636..10e1fbd9efd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/agenthits-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/agenthits-release.yml
@@ -14,6 +14,11 @@ on:
 permissions:
   contents: read
 
+# Every push builds the image; a push cuts a release only once this many PRs
+# have been merged since the previous one (see agenthits-next-release.sh).
+env:
+  RELEASE_EVERY: 20
+
 # The next version is counted from the newest tag, so runs must not overlap.
 # A queued run that GitHub replaces loses nothing: the next run collects every
 # PR merged since the newest tag.
@@ -44,6 +49,7 @@ jobs:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
           REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
           BUMP: ${{ inputs.bump || 'auto' }}
+          EVENT: ${{ github.event_name }}
         run: bash .github/scripts/agenthits-next-release.sh
 
   image:
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index e9f4bfa0094..9b2cc91aa21 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ Every pull request targets `AgentHits-Dev`, including a PR that builds on anothe
 
 ## Releases
 
-Every push to `AgentHits-Dev` (every merged PR) gets a GitHub release `agenthits-vX.Y.Z` from `.github/workflows/agenthits-release.yml`. The `agenthits-` prefix keeps fork tags apart from upstream Dokploy `v0.x` tags. The version goes up by patch, by minor when a merged PR title starts with `feat`, and by major only through a manual run with `bump: major`. The release notes are the merged PR's title and body, so write the PR description for someone reading the release. The image of a release is `ghcr.io/agenthits/dokploy:agenthits-vX.Y.Z` and panels show that tag as the fork version; `agenthits-dev` always points at the newest build. `.github/workflows/agenthits-ghcr-retention.yml` deletes old GHCR versions weekly but never a release tag, `agenthits-dev` or `buildcache`.
+One GitHub release `agenthits-vX.Y.Z` covers a batch of work, not a single PR (owner's decision 2026-10-27). Every push to `AgentHits-Dev` builds the image through `.github/workflows/agenthits-release.yml` (`agenthits-dev`, `agenthits-dev-<sha12>`), and panels show such a build as `agenthits-vX.Y.Z-N-g<sha12>`: the previous release plus N commits. A push cuts the release once 20 PRs (`RELEASE_EVERY`, first-parent commits) have been merged since the previous release; to release a finished batch sooner, run `gh workflow run agenthits-release.yml --repo TaskFlow-Systems/dokploy --ref AgentHits-Dev`. Several PRs that belong together can also be merged as one combined PR. The `agenthits-` prefix keeps fork tags apart from upstream Dokploy `v0.x` tags. The version goes up by patch, by minor when a PR title in the batch starts with `feat`, and by major only through a manual run with `bump: major`. The release notes are the title and body of every PR merged since the previous release, so write each PR description for someone reading the release. The image of a release is `ghcr.io/agenthits/dokploy:agenthits-vX.Y.Z` and panels show that tag as the fork version; `agenthits-dev` always points at the newest build. `.github/workflows/agenthits-ghcr-retention.yml` deletes old GHCR versions weekly but never a release tag, `agenthits-dev` or `buildcache`.
 
 ## Dependencies