diff --git a/packages/agents/content/skills/_data/work-types.json b/packages/agents/content/skills/_data/work-types.json
index 340dc40f..e08f9670 100644
--- a/packages/agents/content/skills/_data/work-types.json
+++ b/packages/agents/content/skills/_data/work-types.json
@@ -1,127 +1,133 @@
 {
-  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "markers": {
+    "breaking": {
+      "emoji": "🚨",
+      "label": "Breaking"
+    }
+  },
   "tiers": ["public", "internal", "process"],
   "types": [
     {
-      "key": "feat",
       "aliases": ["feature"],
-      "tier": "public",
+      "breakingPolicy": "optional",
       "emoji": "🎉",
+      "key": "feat",
       "label": "Features",
-      "breakingPolicy": "optional"
+      "tier": "public"
     },
     {
-      "key": "drop",
       "aliases": [],
-      "tier": "public",
-      "emoji": "🗑️",
-      "label": "Removals",
-      "breakingPolicy": "required"
+      "breakingPolicy": "required",
+      "emoji": "🪦",
+      "key": "drop",
+      "label": "Removed",
+      "tier": "public"
     },
     {
-      "key": "deprecate",
       "aliases": [],
-      "tier": "public",
-      "emoji": "⚠️",
-      "label": "Deprecations",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
+      "emoji": "🗑️",
+      "key": "deprecate",
+      "label": "Deprecated",
+      "tier": "public"
     },
     {
-      "key": "fix",
       "aliases": ["bugfix"],
-      "tier": "public",
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
       "emoji": "🐛",
-      "label": "Fixes",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "key": "fix",
+      "label": "Bug fixes",
+      "tier": "public"
     },
     {
-      "key": "sec",
       "aliases": ["security"],
-      "tier": "public",
+      "breakingPolicy": "optional",
       "emoji": "🔒",
+      "key": "sec",
       "label": "Security",
-      "breakingPolicy": "optional"
+      "tier": "public"
     },
     {
-      "key": "perf",
       "aliases": ["performance"],
-      "tier": "public",
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
       "emoji": "⚡",
+      "key": "perf",
       "label": "Performance",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "tier": "public"
     },
     {
-      "key": "internal",
       "aliases": ["utility"],
-      "tier": "internal",
-      "emoji": "🔧",
-      "label": "Internal functionality",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
+      "emoji": "🏗️",
+      "key": "internal",
+      "label": "Internal features",
+      "tier": "internal"
     },
     {
-      "key": "refactor",
       "aliases": [],
-      "tier": "internal",
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
       "emoji": "♻️",
+      "key": "refactor",
       "label": "Refactoring",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "tier": "internal"
     },
     {
-      "key": "tests",
       "aliases": ["test"],
-      "tier": "internal",
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
       "emoji": "🧪",
+      "key": "tests",
       "label": "Tests",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "tier": "internal"
     },
     {
-      "key": "tooling",
       "aliases": [],
-      "tier": "process",
-      "emoji": "🛠️",
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
+      "emoji": "⚙️",
+      "key": "tooling",
       "label": "Tooling",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "tier": "process"
     },
     {
-      "key": "ci",
       "aliases": [],
-      "tier": "process",
-      "emoji": "🤖",
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
+      "emoji": "👷",
+      "key": "ci",
       "label": "CI",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "tier": "process"
     },
     {
-      "key": "deps",
       "aliases": ["dep"],
-      "tier": "process",
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
       "emoji": "📦",
+      "key": "deps",
       "label": "Dependencies",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "tier": "process"
     },
     {
-      "key": "ai",
       "aliases": [],
-      "tier": "process",
-      "emoji": "🧠",
-      "label": "AI",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
+      "emoji": "🤖",
+      "key": "ai",
+      "label": "Agentic support",
+      "tier": "process"
     },
     {
-      "key": "docs",
       "aliases": ["doc"],
-      "tier": "process",
+      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
       "emoji": "📚",
+      "key": "docs",
       "label": "Documentation",
-      "breakingPolicy": "forbidden"
+      "tier": "process"
     },
     {
-      "key": "fmt",
       "aliases": [],
-      "tier": "process",
-      "emoji": "💅",
-      "label": "Formatting",
       "breakingPolicy": "forbidden",
-      "excludedFromChangelog": true
+      "emoji": "🎨",
+      "excludedFromChangelog": true,
+      "key": "fmt",
+      "label": "Formatting",
+      "tier": "process"
     }
-  ]
+  ],
+  "version": "1.0.0"
 }
diff --git a/packages/agents/content/skills/summarize-change/SKILL.md b/packages/agents/content/skills/summarize-change/SKILL.md
index 2f5db85e..e5a73639 100644
--- a/packages/agents/content/skills/summarize-change/SKILL.md
+++ b/packages/agents/content/skills/summarize-change/SKILL.md
@@ -61,23 +61,23 @@ Good: "Heavy-upload sessions were intermittently failing as users hit the upstre
 
 ## Details
 
-### Features
+### 🎉 Features
 
 {Only if applicable}
 
-### Fixes
+### 🐛 Bug fixes
 
 {Only if applicable}
 
-### Refactoring
+### ♻️ Refactoring
 
 {Only if applicable}
 
-### Tests
+### 🧪 Tests
 
 {Only if applicable}
 
-### Dependencies
+### 📦 Dependencies
 
 {Only if applicable}
 ```
@@ -88,7 +88,9 @@ Good: "Heavy-upload sessions were intermittently failing as users hit the upstre
 - The change summary follows **newspaper style** — progressive disclosure from most to least essential: `## What` is the headline (outcome in plain language), `## Why` is the context (motivation and background), `## Details` is the full story (implementation mechanics)
 - Ignore auto-formatter and lint-fix changes
 - Omit inapplicable Details subsections
-- Order Details subsections per `work-types.json` tier order: public → internal → process
+- Subsection headings use `{emoji} {label}` from the matching [work-types.json](../_data/work-types.json) `types[]` entry. For any subsection not enumerated in the example template above, look up the entry by work-type key and use its `emoji` and `label`.
+- Order Details subsections per `work-types.json` tier order: public → internal → process.
+- Prefix any individual `## Details` entry that describes a breaking change with `🚨 **Breaking:** ` (drawn from `markers.breaking` in [work-types.json](../_data/work-types.json), rendered as `{emoji} **{label}:** `). Trigger conditions: a commit with the `!` breaking marker (e.g., `feat!`) or a `BREAKING CHANGE:` footer. The entry stays under its work-type subsection — the prefix tags it inline rather than relocating it to a separate section.
 - `## What` and `## Why` are required; Details subsections are optional
 - Never list automated checks (formatting, linting, typechecking, unit tests) in a test plan. They run automatically in CI.
 
diff --git a/packages/agents/schemas/work-types.schema.json b/packages/agents/schemas/work-types.schema.json
index 81e291df..9b1a2d31 100644
--- a/packages/agents/schemas/work-types.schema.json
+++ b/packages/agents/schemas/work-types.schema.json
@@ -1,77 +1,103 @@
 {
-  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
   "$id": "https://github.com/williamthorsen/codeassembly/raw/agents-v0.1.0/packages/agents/schemas/work-types.schema.json",
-  "title": "Work types",
-  "description": "Canonical work-types taxonomy consumed by skill content and downstream changelog/release-notes tooling. Defines the work-type vocabulary, tier grouping, breaking-change policy, and changelog-eligibility flags.",
-  "type": "object",
+  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
   "additionalProperties": false,
-  "required": ["version", "tiers", "types"],
+  "description": "Canonical work-types taxonomy consumed by skill content and downstream changelog/release-notes tooling. Defines the work-type vocabulary, tier grouping, breaking-change policy, changelog-eligibility flags, and cross-cutting section markers (e.g., the breaking-changes indicator).",
   "properties": {
-    "version": {
-      "type": "string",
-      "description": "Semantic version of the data shape. Bump when the structure changes in a way that breaks downstream consumers.",
-      "pattern": "^\\d+\\.\\d+\\.\\d+$"
+    "markers": {
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "description": "Cross-cutting section markers used in PR descriptions and release-notes rendering. Orthogonal to `types[]` — these are not work types but visual indicators applied inline to individual entries within their work-type subsection. Add new markers as sibling keys under `markers`; each follows the same `{emoji, label}` shape.",
+      "properties": {
+        "breaking": {
+          "additionalProperties": false,
+          "description": "Marker for breaking-change entries. Consumed by `summarize-change` as an inline prefix (`{emoji} **{label}:**`, e.g., `🚨 **Breaking:**`) on individual `## Details` entries that describe a breaking change; the entry stays under its work-type subsection.",
+          "properties": {
+            "emoji": {
+              "description": "Glyph rendered at the start of the inline breaking-change prefix.",
+              "minLength": 1,
+              "type": "string"
+            },
+            "label": {
+              "description": "Bare tag word rendered inside the inline prefix's bold construction (e.g., `**Breaking:**`). Singular — punctuation belongs to the rendering template.",
+              "minLength": 1,
+              "type": "string"
+            }
+          },
+          "required": ["emoji", "label"],
+          "type": "object"
+        }
+      },
+      "required": ["breaking"],
+      "type": "object"
     },
     "tiers": {
-      "type": "array",
       "description": "Canonical tier vocabulary in precedence order (higher tier wins ties). Mirrored at `types[].tier`. Each position is pinned via `prefixItems` so that order is enforced structurally.",
+      "items": false,
+      "maxItems": 3,
+      "minItems": 3,
       "prefixItems": [
-        { "type": "string", "const": "public" },
-        { "type": "string", "const": "internal" },
-        { "type": "string", "const": "process" }
+        { "const": "public", "type": "string" },
+        { "const": "internal", "type": "string" },
+        { "const": "process", "type": "string" }
       ],
-      "minItems": 3,
-      "maxItems": 3,
-      "items": false
+      "type": "array"
     },
     "types": {
-      "type": "array",
       "description": "The work-type records, in canonical render order. Order is meaningful: when ranking applicable types within a tier, earlier entries win.",
       "items": {
-        "type": "object",
         "additionalProperties": false,
-        "required": ["key", "aliases", "tier", "emoji", "label", "breakingPolicy"],
         "properties": {
-          "key": {
-            "type": "string",
-            "description": "Canonical short identifier used in commit messages (e.g., `feat`, `fix`).",
-            "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$"
-          },
           "aliases": {
-            "type": "array",
             "description": "Alternative identifiers that resolve to the same `key`. Globally unique across all types (asserted in test).",
             "items": {
-              "type": "string",
-              "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$"
+              "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$",
+              "type": "string"
             },
+            "type": "array",
             "uniqueItems": true
           },
-          "tier": {
-            "type": "string",
-            "description": "Which tier this type belongs to. Drives precedence and grouping in skill content.",
-            "enum": ["public", "internal", "process"]
+          "breakingPolicy": {
+            "description": "Whether a breaking-change marker (`!`) is forbidden, optional, or required for this type.",
+            "enum": ["forbidden", "optional", "required"],
+            "type": "string"
           },
           "emoji": {
-            "type": "string",
             "description": "Single-character (or short) emoji used in section headers and changelog rendering.",
-            "minLength": 1
+            "minLength": 1,
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "excludedFromChangelog": {
+            "description": "When true, commits of this type are omitted from the generated changelog (e.g., `fmt`).",
+            "type": "boolean"
+          },
+          "key": {
+            "description": "Canonical short identifier used in commit messages (e.g., `feat`, `fix`).",
+            "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$",
+            "type": "string"
           },
           "label": {
-            "type": "string",
             "description": "Human-readable category label used in section headings (e.g., `Features`, `Fixes`).",
-            "minLength": 1
-          },
-          "breakingPolicy": {
-            "type": "string",
-            "description": "Whether a breaking-change marker (`!`) is forbidden, optional, or required for this type.",
-            "enum": ["forbidden", "optional", "required"]
+            "minLength": 1,
+            "type": "string"
           },
-          "excludedFromChangelog": {
-            "type": "boolean",
-            "description": "When true, commits of this type are omitted from the generated changelog (e.g., `fmt`)."
+          "tier": {
+            "description": "Which tier this type belongs to. Drives precedence and grouping in skill content.",
+            "enum": ["public", "internal", "process"],
+            "type": "string"
           }
-        }
-      }
+        },
+        "required": ["aliases", "breakingPolicy", "emoji", "key", "label", "tier"],
+        "type": "object"
+      },
+      "type": "array"
+    },
+    "version": {
+      "description": "Semantic version of the data shape. Bump when the structure changes in a way that breaks downstream consumers.",
+      "pattern": "^\\d+\\.\\d+\\.\\d+$",
+      "type": "string"
     }
-  }
+  },
+  "required": ["markers", "tiers", "types", "version"],
+  "title": "Work types",
+  "type": "object"
 }
diff --git a/packages/agents/src/lib/__tests__/work-types-schema.test.ts b/packages/agents/src/lib/__tests__/work-types-schema.test.ts
index c57363e4..8899ac98 100644
--- a/packages/agents/src/lib/__tests__/work-types-schema.test.ts
+++ b/packages/agents/src/lib/__tests__/work-types-schema.test.ts
@@ -15,20 +15,32 @@ type JsonValue = string | number | boolean | null | { [key: string]: JsonValue }
 
 /** Shape of a single record under `types[]` — used to type the live JSON for cross-element checks. */
 interface WorkTypeRecord {
-  key: string;
   aliases: string[];
+  breakingPolicy: string;
+  emoji: string;
+  excludedFromChangelog?: boolean;
+  key: string;
+  label: string;
   tier: string;
+}
+
+/** Shape of a single marker record (cross-cutting section indicator). */
+interface MarkerRecord {
   emoji: string;
   label: string;
-  breakingPolicy: string;
-  excludedFromChangelog?: boolean;
+}
+
+/** Shape of the top-level `markers` block. */
+interface MarkersBlock {
+  breaking: MarkerRecord;
 }
 
 /** Shape of the live `work-types.json` document — used to type the live JSON for cross-element checks. */
 interface WorkTypesDocument {
-  version: string;
+  markers: MarkersBlock;
   tiers: string[];
   types: WorkTypeRecord[];
+  version: string;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -95,16 +107,16 @@ describe('work-types.schema.json', () => {
     },
     {
       description: 'rejects a type record missing a required field',
-      // Guards `types[].required: ["key", "aliases", "tier", "emoji", "label", "breakingPolicy"]`.
+      // Guards `types[].required: ["aliases", "breakingPolicy", "emoji", "key", "label", "tier"]`.
       // Builds a record without `breakingPolicy`.
       input: buildMinimalDoc({
         types: [
           {
-            key: 'feat',
             aliases: ['feature'],
-            tier: 'public',
             emoji: '🎉',
+            key: 'feat',
             label: 'Features',
+            tier: 'public',
           },
         ],
       }),
@@ -142,6 +154,48 @@ describe('work-types.schema.json', () => {
       // catch; if the constraint were widened, this rejection test would fail loudly.
       input: buildMinimalDoc({ version: 'v1.0.0' }),
     },
+    {
+      description: 'rejects a document missing the `markers` top-level field',
+      // Guards top-level `required: ["markers", "tiers", "types", "version"]`. Constructed inline
+      // because `buildMinimalDoc` always supplies `markers`.
+      input: {
+        tiers: ['public', 'internal', 'process'],
+        types: [],
+        version: '1.0.0',
+      },
+    },
+    {
+      description: 'rejects a `markers` block missing the `breaking` field',
+      // Guards `markers.required: ["breaking"]`.
+      input: buildMinimalDoc({ markers: {} }),
+    },
+    {
+      description: 'rejects a `markers.breaking` record missing the `emoji` field',
+      // Guards `markers.breaking.required: ["emoji", "label"]`.
+      input: buildMinimalDoc({ markers: { breaking: { label: 'Breaking' } } }),
+    },
+    {
+      description: 'rejects a `markers.breaking` record missing the `label` field',
+      // Guards `markers.breaking.required: ["emoji", "label"]`.
+      input: buildMinimalDoc({ markers: { breaking: { emoji: '🚨' } } }),
+    },
+    {
+      description: 'rejects a `markers.breaking.emoji` that is an empty string',
+      // Guards `markers.breaking.properties.emoji.minLength: 1`.
+      input: buildMinimalDoc({ markers: { breaking: { emoji: '', label: 'Breaking' } } }),
+    },
+    {
+      description: 'rejects a `markers.breaking.label` that is an empty string',
+      // Guards `markers.breaking.properties.label.minLength: 1`.
+      input: buildMinimalDoc({ markers: { breaking: { emoji: '🚨', label: '' } } }),
+    },
+    {
+      description: 'rejects an unknown field on `markers.breaking`',
+      // Guards `markers.breaking.additionalProperties: false`.
+      input: buildMinimalDoc({
+        markers: { breaking: { emoji: '🚨', extra: 'nope', label: 'Breaking' } },
+      }),
+    },
   ])('$description', async ({ input }) => {
     const output = await validate(schemaId, input, FLAG);
     expect(output).toMatchObject({ valid: false });
@@ -198,6 +252,15 @@ describe('work-types.schema.json', () => {
     // schema is ever weakened, this assertion still catches a misordered live file.
     expect(liveData.tiers).toEqual(['public', 'internal', 'process']);
   });
+
+  it('exposes `markers.breaking` with the canonical glyph and label', () => {
+    // The `summarize-change` skill template prefixes breaking-change entries with
+    // `{emoji} **{label}:**` (e.g., `🚨 **Breaking:**`) using these values directly.
+    // A silent rename of either field would still pass schema validation but break the
+    // downstream consumer; assert the values explicitly.
+    expect(liveData.markers.breaking.emoji).toBe('🚨');
+    expect(liveData.markers.breaking.label).toBe('Breaking');
+  });
 });
 
 // region | Helpers
@@ -209,9 +272,15 @@ describe('work-types.schema.json', () => {
  */
 function buildMinimalDoc(overrides: Record<string, JsonValue> = {}): JsonValue {
   return {
-    version: '1.0.0',
+    markers: {
+      breaking: {
+        emoji: '🚨',
+        label: 'Breaking',
+      },
+    },
     tiers: ['public', 'internal', 'process'],
     types: [],
+    version: '1.0.0',
     ...overrides,
   };
 }
@@ -222,12 +291,12 @@ function buildMinimalDoc(overrides: Record<string, JsonValue> = {}): JsonValue {
  */
 function buildTypeRecord(overrides: Record<string, JsonValue> = {}): JsonValue {
   return {
-    key: 'feat',
     aliases: [],
-    tier: 'public',
+    breakingPolicy: 'optional',
     emoji: '🎉',
+    key: 'feat',
     label: 'Features',
-    breakingPolicy: 'optional',
+    tier: 'public',
     ...overrides,
   };
 }