diff --git a/.github/workflows/fork-release.yml b/.github/workflows/fork-release.yml
index bb8be20795e7b..1485635ed18bb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/fork-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/fork-release.yml
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ jobs:
           if [[ -n "$last" ]]; then
             body=$(gh release view "$last" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json body --jq .body)
           fi
-          if [[ "$FORCE" != "true" && "$body" == *"Fork: $FORK_SHA"* && "$body" == *"Upstream: $UPSTREAM_SHA"* ]]; then
+          if [[ "$FORCE" != "true" && "$body" == *"fork=$FORK_SHA upstream=$UPSTREAM_SHA "* ]]; then
             echo "$last already has fork $FORK_SHA and upstream $UPSTREAM_SHA."
             echo "due=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           else
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ jobs:
           if [[ -n "$last" ]]; then
             body=$(gh release view "$last" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json body --jq .body)
           fi
-          if [[ "$body" == *"upstream $UPSTREAM_TAG "* ]]; then
+          if [[ "$body" == *"upstream-tag=$UPSTREAM_TAG "* ]]; then
             echo "$UPSTREAM_TAG is already released."
             exit 0
           fi
@@ -459,11 +459,16 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           ls -la publish
-          notes=$(printf '%s\n' \
-            "Windows x64 and Linux x64 builds of upstream $UPSTREAM_TAG with the fork's features (see FORK.md). Unsigned." \
-            "" \
-            "Fork: $FORK_SHA" \
-            "Upstream: $UPSTREAM_SHA")
+          # Missing notes must not hold back a build; the marker alone still records it.
+          marker="<!-- fork-release fork=$FORK_SHA upstream=$UPSTREAM_SHA upstream-tag=$UPSTREAM_TAG -->"
+          previous=$(gh release list --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --limit 1 --json tagName --jq '.[0].tagName // ""')
+          if ! { gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/contents/fork/release-notes.sh?ref=$GITHUB_SHA" \
+              -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.raw" > "$RUNNER_TEMP/release-notes.sh" &&
+            notes=$(REPO="$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" TARGET="$FORK_SHA" PREVIOUS_TAG="$previous" \
+              bash "$RUNNER_TEMP/release-notes.sh"); }; then
+            echo "::warning::release notes failed; publishing without them"
+            notes="$marker"
+          fi
           gh release create "$TAG" publish/* \
             --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" \
             --target "$FORK_BRANCH" \
diff --git a/FORK.md b/FORK.md
index 8b9792b0252eb..0447a3df6832d 100644
--- a/FORK.md
+++ b/FORK.md
@@ -82,8 +82,10 @@ check.
 - T3 Connect needs the public relay and Clerk values that upstream bakes in. They are repository
   variables here: `T3CODE_RELAY_URL`, `T3CODE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY`, `T3CODE_CLERK_JWT_TEMPLATE`,
   `T3CODE_CLERK_CLI_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID`. Upstream's telemetry tokens are deliberately not copied.
-- The tag sits on the `collin/main` commit; the release notes name the fork and upstream commits
-  the build merged.
+- The tag sits on the `collin/main` commit. The release notes (`fork/release-notes.sh`) are
+  upstream's notes for every nightly since the previous fork build, then the fork's pull
+  requests since then; the update popup shows them. A hidden comment at the end records the fork
+  and upstream commits, which the skip check, the watcher and the watchdog read.
 
 ## Keeping changes mergeable
 
diff --git a/fork/release-notes.sh b/fork/release-notes.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000000..f4b1a61778d62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fork/release-notes.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Release notes of a fork build: the notes of every upstream nightly since the previous fork
+# release, then the fork's own pull requests since then. The app's update popup and the GitHub
+# release page both show this body. A trailing HTML comment, invisible in both, records what was
+# built for fork-release.yml and the watcher.
+#
+# Env: REPO (owner/name), TAG (new release tag), TARGET (fork commit), UPSTREAM_TAG,
+# UPSTREAM_SHA, PREVIOUS_TAG (the fork's latest release before this one, may be empty).
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Only the bullet list of a GitHub "What's Changed" body; the app stops reading at
+# "New Contributors" and "Full Changelog", so neither may appear before the fork's list.
+changes() {
+  sed -e '/^## New Contributors/,$d' -e '/^\*\*Full Changelog\*\*/,$d' | grep -E '^[*-] ' || true
+}
+
+previous_upstream=""
+if [[ -n "$PREVIOUS_TAG" ]]; then
+  previous_body=$(gh release view "$PREVIOUS_TAG" --repo "$REPO" --json body --jq .body)
+  previous_upstream=$(grep -oE 'upstream-tag=[^ ]+|builds of upstream [^ ]+' <<<"$previous_body" | head -n 1 | sed -E 's/.*[= ]//' || true)
+fi
+
+# Upstream nightlies after the previous build's, up to this build's, oldest first: the app
+# shows the last items of a body first, so the newest nightly sits right above the fork's list.
+nightlies=$(gh release list --repo pingdotgg/t3code --limit 50 --exclude-drafts --json tagName,publishedAt \
+  --jq "[.[] | select(.tagName | contains(\"-nightly.\"))] | sort_by(.publishedAt) | map(.tagName)
+    | (index(\"$UPSTREAM_TAG\")) as \$to | (index(\"$previous_upstream\") // ((\$to // 0) - 1)) as \$from
+    | if \$to == null then [\"$UPSTREAM_TAG\"] else .[(\$from + 1):(\$to + 1)] end | .[]")
+
+upstream_changes=""
+for nightly in $nightlies; do
+  upstream_changes+=$(gh release view "$nightly" --repo pingdotgg/t3code --json body --jq .body | changes)
+  upstream_changes+=$'\n'
+done
+
+fork_changes=""
+if [[ -n "$PREVIOUS_TAG" ]]; then
+  fork_changes=$(gh api "repos/$REPO/releases/generate-notes" -f tag_name="$TAG" \
+    -f target_commitish="$TARGET" -f previous_tag_name="$PREVIOUS_TAG" --jq .body | changes)
+fi
+
+if [[ -n "${upstream_changes//[[:space:]]/}" ]]; then
+  printf '## T3 Code\n%s\n' "$upstream_changes"
+fi
+if [[ -n "$fork_changes" ]]; then
+  printf '## Fork\n%s\n\n' "$fork_changes"
+fi
+printf '<!-- fork-release fork=%s upstream=%s upstream-tag=%s -->\n' "$TARGET" "$UPSTREAM_SHA" "$UPSTREAM_TAG"
diff --git a/fork/upstream-nightly-watcher/worker.js b/fork/upstream-nightly-watcher/worker.js
index b7dd10c44ce73..11f8059f5ec22 100644
--- a/fork/upstream-nightly-watcher/worker.js
+++ b/fork/upstream-nightly-watcher/worker.js
@@ -64,8 +64,8 @@ async function check(env) {
   if (!nightly) return "no upstream nightly";
   const tag = nightly.tagName;
 
-  // fork-release.yml writes "builds of upstream <tag> with" into each release.
-  if (latest?.description?.includes(`upstream ${tag} `)) return `${tag} already released`;
+  // fork/release-notes.sh ends each release with a hidden "upstream-tag=<tag> " marker.
+  if (latest?.description?.includes(`upstream-tag=${tag} `)) return `${tag} already released`;
 
   // A failed build must not be redispatched every minute; the workflow's cron retries it.
   const workflow = `repos/${env.FORK}/actions/workflows/fork-release.yml`;