diff --git a/scripts/aggregate_changelog.py b/scripts/aggregate_changelog.py
index 190ef29..91928f2 100644
--- a/scripts/aggregate_changelog.py
+++ b/scripts/aggregate_changelog.py
@@ -24,11 +24,38 @@ def fetch_releases(github_slug, per_page=5):
         return []
     return [
         {"tag": r["tag_name"], "date": r["published_at"][:10],
-         "url": r["html_url"], "body": (r.get("body") or "").strip()[:200]}
+         "url": r["html_url"], "body": (r.get("body") or "").strip()[:400]}
         for r in resp.json() if not r.get("draft")
     ]
 
 
+def summarize_body(body, tag=""):
+    """Return a one-line, heading-free summary of a release body.
+
+    GitHub release bodies frequently open with a heading that only restates the
+    version (for example ``## v1.7.1 (2026-07-19)``). Injected verbatim, that
+    line duplicates the tag we already print and its leading ``#`` corrupts the
+    changelog page's heading hierarchy. Skip such redundant leading headings and
+    return the first real line of notes as inline (heading-free) text. Returns
+    an empty string when the body carries no notes beyond the version header.
+    """
+    tag_norm = tag.lstrip("vV").strip()
+    for raw in body.splitlines():
+        line = raw.strip()
+        if not line:
+            continue
+        text = line.lstrip("#").strip()
+        if not text:
+            continue
+        if line.startswith("#"):
+            heading = text.lstrip("vV").strip()
+            # A leading heading that merely restates the version is noise.
+            if tag and (tag in text or (tag_norm and heading.startswith(tag_norm))):
+                continue
+        return text
+    return ""
+
+
 def aggregate(repos=None, docs_dir=None):
     repos = repos or load_repos()
     docs_dir = pathlib.Path(docs_dir or DOCS_DIR)
@@ -44,8 +71,8 @@ def aggregate(repos=None, docs_dir=None):
         lines.append(f"\n## {repo['name']}\n")
         for r in releases:
             lines.append(f"- **[{r['tag']}]({r['url']})** ({r['date']})")
-            if r["body"]:
-                summary = r["body"].split("\n")[0]
+            summary = summarize_body(r["body"], r["tag"])
+            if summary:
                 lines.append(f"  {summary}")
 
     out_path = docs_dir / "changelog.md"
diff --git a/tests/test_aggregate_changelog.py b/tests/test_aggregate_changelog.py
index 9e99139..59f04b5 100644
--- a/tests/test_aggregate_changelog.py
+++ b/tests/test_aggregate_changelog.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 sys.path.insert(0, str(pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "scripts"))
 
-from aggregate_changelog import aggregate, fetch_releases
+from aggregate_changelog import aggregate, fetch_releases, summarize_body
 
 
 def test_aggregate_writes_changelog(tmp_path, mocker):
@@ -70,6 +70,46 @@ def test_aggregate_handles_no_releases(tmp_path, mocker):
     assert (tmp_path / "changelog.md").exists()
 
 
+def test_summarize_body_skips_redundant_version_heading():
+    """A leading heading that only restates the version is dropped, and the
+    first real note is returned as heading-free inline text."""
+    body = "## v1.7.1 (2026-07-19)\n\nFixed halt-on-drift regression"
+    assert summarize_body(body, "v1.7.1") == "Fixed halt-on-drift regression"
+
+
+def test_summarize_body_version_only_returns_empty():
+    """When the body is nothing but the version header, there is no note to
+    render, so aggregate should append nothing rather than echo the heading."""
+    assert summarize_body("## v1.7.1 (2026-07-19)", "v1.7.1") == ""
+
+
+def test_summarize_body_strips_leading_hash_from_first_note():
+    """A real leading heading (not a version restatement) is rendered inline so
+    it does not disrupt the changelog page's heading hierarchy."""
+    assert summarize_body("# Highlights\nStuff", "v2.0.0") == "Highlights"
+
+
+def test_aggregate_drops_duplicate_version_heading(tmp_path, mocker):
+    """End-to-end: the changelog must not contain an echoed `## vX` heading
+    line, which previously duplicated the tag and broke heading hierarchy."""
+    mock_releases = [
+        {"tag_name": "v1.7.1", "published_at": "2026-07-19T00:00:00Z",
+         "html_url": "https://github.com/OpenAdaptAI/test/releases/v1.7.1",
+         "body": "## v1.7.1 (2026-07-19)\n\nHalt-on-drift fix", "draft": False},
+    ]
+    mock_resp = mocker.Mock()
+    mock_resp.status_code = 200
+    mock_resp.json.return_value = mock_releases
+    mocker.patch("aggregate_changelog.requests.get", return_value=mock_resp)
+
+    repos = [{"name": "test-pkg", "github": "OpenAdaptAI/test-pkg", "changelog": True}]
+    aggregate(repos=repos, docs_dir=tmp_path)
+    content = (tmp_path / "changelog.md").read_text()
+
+    assert "## v1.7.1 (2026-07-19)" not in content
+    assert "Halt-on-drift fix" in content
+
+
 def test_fetch_releases_handles_http_error(mocker):
     mock_resp = mocker.Mock()
     mock_resp.status_code = 500