diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index a551eb0d1c7..b840dca0ab5 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@
 - Live tests (real keys): `CLAWDBOT_LIVE_TEST=1 pnpm test:live` (OpenClaw-only) or `LIVE=1 pnpm test:live` (includes provider live tests). Docker: `pnpm test:docker:live-models`, `pnpm test:docker:live-gateway`. Onboarding Docker E2E: `pnpm test:docker:onboard`.
 - Full kit + what’s covered: `docs/testing.md`.
 - Changelog: user-facing changes only; no internal/meta notes (version alignment, appcast reminders, release process).
+- Changelog placement: in the active version block, append new entries to the end of the target section (`### Changes` or `### Fixes`); do not insert new entries at the top of a section.
 - Pure test additions/fixes generally do **not** need a changelog entry unless they alter user-facing behavior or the user asks for one.
 - Mobile: before using a simulator, check for connected real devices (iOS + Android) and prefer them when available.
 
diff --git a/scripts/pr b/scripts/pr
index 49055ceac22..93e312f4068 100755
--- a/scripts/pr
+++ b/scripts/pr
@@ -1040,6 +1040,107 @@ validate_changelog_entry_for_pr() {
     exit 1
   fi
 
+  local diff_file
+  diff_file=$(mktemp)
+  git diff --unified=0 origin/main...HEAD -- CHANGELOG.md > "$diff_file"
+
+  if ! awk -v pr_pattern="$pr_pattern" '
+BEGIN {
+  line_no = 0
+  file_line_count = 0
+  issue_count = 0
+}
+FNR == NR {
+  if ($0 ~ /^@@ /) {
+    if (match($0, /\+[0-9]+/)) {
+      line_no = substr($0, RSTART + 1, RLENGTH - 1) + 0
+    } else {
+      line_no = 0
+    }
+    next
+  }
+  if ($0 ~ /^\+\+\+/) {
+    next
+  }
+  if ($0 ~ /^\+/) {
+    if (line_no > 0) {
+      added[line_no] = 1
+      added_text = substr($0, 2)
+      if (added_text ~ pr_pattern) {
+        pr_added_lines[++pr_added_count] = line_no
+        pr_added_text[line_no] = added_text
+      }
+      line_no++
+    }
+    next
+  }
+  if ($0 ~ /^-/) {
+    next
+  }
+  if (line_no > 0) {
+    line_no++
+  }
+  next
+}
+{
+  changelog[FNR] = $0
+  file_line_count = FNR
+}
+END {
+  for (idx = 1; idx <= pr_added_count; idx++) {
+    entry_line = pr_added_lines[idx]
+    section_line = 0
+    for (i = entry_line; i >= 1; i--) {
+      if (changelog[i] ~ /^### /) {
+        section_line = i
+        break
+      }
+      if (changelog[i] ~ /^## /) {
+        break
+      }
+    }
+    if (section_line == 0) {
+      printf "CHANGELOG.md entry must be inside a subsection (### ...): line %d: %s\n", entry_line, pr_added_text[entry_line]
+      issue_count++
+      continue
+    }
+
+    section_name = changelog[section_line]
+    next_heading = file_line_count + 1
+    for (i = entry_line + 1; i <= file_line_count; i++) {
+      if (changelog[i] ~ /^### / || changelog[i] ~ /^## /) {
+        next_heading = i
+        break
+      }
+    }
+
+    for (i = entry_line + 1; i < next_heading; i++) {
+      line_text = changelog[i]
+      if (line_text ~ /^[[:space:]]*$/) {
+        continue
+      }
+      if (i in added) {
+        continue
+      }
+      printf "CHANGELOG.md PR-linked entry must be appended at the end of section %s: line %d: %s\n", section_name, entry_line, pr_added_text[entry_line]
+      printf "Found existing non-added line below it at line %d: %s\n", i, line_text
+      issue_count++
+      break
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (issue_count > 0) {
+    print "Move this PR changelog entry to the end of its section (just before the next heading)."
+    exit 1
+  }
+}
+' "$diff_file" CHANGELOG.md; then
+    rm -f "$diff_file"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  rm -f "$diff_file"
+  echo "changelog placement validated: PR-linked entries are appended at section tail"
+
   if [ -n "$contrib" ] && [ "$contrib" != "null" ]; then
     local with_pr_and_thanks
     with_pr_and_thanks=$(printf '%s\n' "$added_lines" | rg -in "$pr_pattern" | rg -i "thanks @$contrib" || true)
@@ -1541,6 +1642,92 @@ prepare_run() {
   echo "prepare-run complete for PR #$pr"
 }
 
+is_mainline_drift_critical_path_for_merge() {
+  local path="$1"
+  case "$path" in
+    package.json|pnpm-lock.yaml|pnpm-workspace.yaml|.npmrc|.oxlintrc.json|.oxfmtrc.json|tsconfig.json|tsconfig.*.json|vitest.config.ts|vitest.*.config.ts|scripts/*|.github/workflows/*)
+      return 0
+      ;;
+  esac
+  return 1
+}
+
+print_file_list_with_limit() {
+  local label="$1"
+  local file_path="$2"
+  local limit="${3:-12}"
+
+  if [ ! -s "$file_path" ]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  local count
+  count=$(wc -l < "$file_path" | tr -d ' ')
+  echo "$label ($count):"
+  sed -n "1,${limit}p" "$file_path" | sed 's/^/  - /'
+  if [ "$count" -gt "$limit" ]; then
+    echo "  ... +$((count - limit)) more"
+  fi
+}
+
+mainline_drift_requires_sync() {
+  local prep_head_sha="$1"
+
+  require_artifact .local/pr-meta.json
+
+  if ! git cat-file -e "${prep_head_sha}^{commit}" 2>/dev/null; then
+    echo "Mainline drift relevance: prep head $prep_head_sha is missing locally; require sync."
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  local delta_file
+  local pr_files_file
+  local overlap_file
+  local critical_file
+  delta_file=$(mktemp)
+  pr_files_file=$(mktemp)
+  overlap_file=$(mktemp)
+  critical_file=$(mktemp)
+
+  git diff --name-only "${prep_head_sha}..origin/main" | sed '/^$/d' | sort -u > "$delta_file"
+  jq -r '.files[]?.path // empty' .local/pr-meta.json | sed '/^$/d' | sort -u > "$pr_files_file"
+  comm -12 "$delta_file" "$pr_files_file" > "$overlap_file" || true
+
+  local path
+  while IFS= read -r path; do
+    [ -n "$path" ] || continue
+    if is_mainline_drift_critical_path_for_merge "$path"; then
+      printf '%s\n' "$path" >> "$critical_file"
+    fi
+  done < "$delta_file"
+
+  local delta_count
+  local overlap_count
+  local critical_count
+  delta_count=$(wc -l < "$delta_file" | tr -d ' ')
+  overlap_count=$(wc -l < "$overlap_file" | tr -d ' ')
+  critical_count=$(wc -l < "$critical_file" | tr -d ' ')
+
+  if [ "$delta_count" -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo "Mainline drift relevance: unable to enumerate drift files; require sync."
+    rm -f "$delta_file" "$pr_files_file" "$overlap_file" "$critical_file"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if [ "$overlap_count" -gt 0 ] || [ "$critical_count" -gt 0 ]; then
+    echo "Mainline drift relevance: sync required before merge."
+    print_file_list_with_limit "Mainline files overlapping PR touched files" "$overlap_file"
+    print_file_list_with_limit "Mainline files touching merge-critical infrastructure" "$critical_file"
+    rm -f "$delta_file" "$pr_files_file" "$overlap_file" "$critical_file"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  echo "Mainline drift relevance: no overlap with PR files and no critical infra drift."
+  print_file_list_with_limit "Mainline-only drift files" "$delta_file"
+  rm -f "$delta_file" "$pr_files_file" "$overlap_file" "$critical_file"
+  return 1
+}
+
 merge_verify() {
   local pr="$1"
   enter_worktree "$pr" false
@@ -1608,10 +1795,14 @@ merge_verify() {
 
   git fetch origin main
   git fetch origin "pull/$pr/head:pr-$pr" --force
-  git merge-base --is-ancestor origin/main "pr-$pr" || {
+  if ! git merge-base --is-ancestor origin/main "pr-$pr"; then
     echo "PR branch is behind main."
-    exit 1
-  }
+    if mainline_drift_requires_sync "$PREP_HEAD_SHA"; then
+      echo "Merge verify failed: mainline drift is relevant to this PR; refresh prep head before merge."
+      exit 1
+    fi
+    echo "Merge verify: continuing without prep-head sync because behind-main drift is unrelated."
+  fi
 
   echo "merge-verify passed for PR #$pr"
 }