diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/new-stack.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/new-stack.yml
index b0a7c59..bdc6bb7 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/new-stack.yml
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/new-stack.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name: New stack
-description: Propose a stack before opening a PR
+description: Propose a stack. Pull requests are accepted only from collaborators.
 title: "New stack: <your-id>"
 labels: ["new-stack"]
 body:
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 6e5c3c6..cc0d498 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -2,17 +2,27 @@
 
 [中文](CONTRIBUTING_ZH.md)
 
+Issues and discussion are welcome. For now, pull requests for code,
+documentation, and stacks are accepted only from repository collaborators.
+If you are not a collaborator, [open an issue](https://github.com/MiniMax-AI/mcode-stack/issues/new/choose)
+to discuss first.
+
+The steps below are for collaborators who add or change a stack.
+
 ## What we accept
 
 - **A stack = one person's or one team's real daily practice**: a
   `WORKFLOW.md` plus at least one skill or checklist.
 - **Not accepted**: pure prompt collections, "ideal" processes nobody runs,
   and anything tied to a private system that others cannot run.
-- Improvements to existing skills are welcome too. Explain what went wrong
+- Collaborators can also improve an existing skill. Explain what went wrong
   without the change.
 
 ## How to submit a stack
 
+Collaborators follow every step. If you are not a collaborator, do step 1
+only.
+
 1. **Open a "New stack" issue first.** In a few sentences: who you are, how
    you use agents, and which pieces you plan to include.
 2. **Copy the template** to `community/<id>/`. The `id` uses only lowercase
@@ -66,8 +76,8 @@ into an existing skill.
 
 ## After it is merged
 
-- The author maintains their stack under `community/` and sends changes as
-  PRs.
+- The author maintains their stack under `community/`. Later changes are
+  pull requests from collaborators.
 - Stacks that go unmaintained or stop matching current MiniMax Code may be
   marked and later moved to an archive area.
 - Stacks that are well written and widely used may be featured in the
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING_ZH.md b/CONTRIBUTING_ZH.md
index 8fd0973..ce0d9e0 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING_ZH.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING_ZH.md
@@ -2,14 +2,20 @@
 
 [English](CONTRIBUTING.md)
 
+欢迎开 issue 讨论。代码、文档和 stack 的 PR，目前只收仓库协作者的。还不是协作者的话，先[开一个 issue](https://github.com/MiniMax-AI/mcode-stack/issues/new/choose) 把想法说清楚。
+
+下面是给协作者加 stack、改 stack 用的。
+
 ## 我们收什么
 
 - **一份 stack = 一个人或一个团队真实的日常用法**：一份 `WORKFLOW.md`，加上至少一个 Skill 或清单。
 - **不收**：纯 prompt 合集、没人在用的「理想流程」、和某个内部系统强绑定、别人没法跑的东西。
-- 也欢迎改进已有的 Skill，请说清楚不改的话 agent 会在哪儿出错。
+- 协作者也可以改已有的 Skill，请说清楚不改的话 agent 会在哪儿出错。
 
 ## 提交流程
 
+协作者走完全部步骤。还不是协作者的，只做第 1 步。
+
 1. **先开一个「New stack」issue**，用几句话说清楚你是谁、怎么用 agent、打算放哪几样东西。
 2. **从模板复制**到 `community/<id>/`。`id` 只用小写字母、数字和连字符，并且要和 `.minimax-plugin/plugin.json` 里的 `name` 一致。
 3. **登记到插件市场**：在 `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` 里加一条，`"name"` 填 id，`"source"` 填 `"./community/<id>"`，`description` 和 `plugin.json` 里的保持一致。不要写 `skills` 等组件字段，这些由 `plugin.json` 定义。
@@ -40,7 +46,7 @@ PR 只要改了某份 stack 里的文件，就要同时调高它 `.minimax-plugi
 
 ## 收录之后
 
-- 进了 `community/`，作者就是这份 stack 的维护人，后续改动由作者自己提 PR。
+- 进了 `community/`，作者就是这份 stack 的维护人。后续改动同样由协作者提 PR。
 - 长期没人维护、和新版 MiniMax Code 对不上的，会先标记，再移到归档区。
 - 写得好、用的人多的，会在工程笔记或官方渠道里介绍。
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 382c474..e32466e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ checklist that installs straight into
 - [How it works](#how-it-works)
 - [Articles](#articles)
 - [Stacks](#stacks)
-- [Contribute your own stack](#contribute-your-own-stack)
+- [Contributing](#contributing)
 
 ## Quick start
 
@@ -170,8 +170,9 @@ skills and checklists. They pair with our *MCode Engineering Notes* column:
 the article explains the idea, this repository makes it runnable.
 
 We also believe harness engineering is a craft that moves forward by
-experiment. Everything here will keep changing as we learn. Take it, change
-it, and send your version back.
+experiment. Everything here will keep changing as we learn. Take it and
+change it. To suggest a change here, open an issue; see
+[Contributing](#contributing).
 
 ## Articles
 
@@ -190,18 +191,23 @@ stacks/ronny/               Ronny's stack (MiniMax Code R&D lead), the first and
 stacks/jiachen/             Jiachen's stack: getting out of the agent loop, and turning notes into posts and videos
 stacks/<name>/              One directory per team member; teammates are welcome to add theirs
 notes/                      Which runnable piece goes with each Engineering Notes article
-community/                  Stacks contributed by developers outside the team
-templates/stack-template/   Start here to write your own stack
+community/                  Stacks from outside the team, added by collaborators
+templates/stack-template/   Template for a new stack
 ```
 
 Every stack is also a MiniMax Code plugin package. See
 [`stacks/ronny`](stacks/ronny/) and [`stacks/jiachen`](stacks/jiachen/) for
 what each one contains.
 
-## Contribute your own stack
+## Contributing
 
-What we most want to see is how you actually work with MiniMax Code, or with
-any other agent, day to day.
+Issues and discussion are welcome. For now, pull requests for code,
+documentation, and stacks are accepted only from repository collaborators.
+If you are not a collaborator, [open an issue](https://github.com/MiniMax-AI/mcode-stack/issues/new/choose)
+to discuss first.
+
+We still want to hear how you work with MiniMax Code, or any other agent,
+day to day. Share that in an issue. Collaborators adding a stack:
 
 1. Copy `templates/stack-template/` to `community/<your-id>/`.
 2. Write a `WORKFLOW.md`: how you use the agent every day, what you hand to it
diff --git a/README_ZH.md b/README_ZH.md
index 496818d..a709566 100644
--- a/README_ZH.md
+++ b/README_ZH.md
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 - [怎么用起来](#怎么用起来)
 - [工程笔记](#工程笔记)
 - [Stacks](#stacks)
-- [贡献你自己的 stack](#贡献你自己的-stack)
+- [参与贡献](#参与贡献)
 
 ## 快速开始
 
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ MiniMax Code 会自动发现这几个目录里的 Skill（每个 Skill 一个子
 
 AI 写代码越来越快，真正拉开差距的，是围绕 agent 的那一圈工程习惯：什么时候让它停下来自查，review 交给谁，状态记在哪，实验怎么做才算数。这些东西写在文章里很难照着做，所以我们把它们做成了 Skill 和清单，和「MCode 工程笔记」专栏对应：文章把道理讲清楚，仓库负责落地。
 
-我们也相信，harness 工程是一门靠实验推进的手艺。这里的每一份东西都会随着我们的实践继续改。欢迎拿去用、拿去改，再把你的版本提回来。
+我们也相信，harness 工程是一门靠实验推进的手艺。这里的每一份东西都会随着我们的实践继续改。欢迎拿去用、拿去改。想改仓库里的内容，先开 issue，见[参与贡献](#参与贡献)。
 
 ## 工程笔记
 
@@ -151,15 +151,17 @@ stacks/ronny/               MiniMax Code 研发负责人 Ronny 的日常工作
 stacks/jiachen/             Jiachen 的工作流：把自己从 agent 的循环里解放出来，以及把笔记做成图文和短视频
 stacks/<name>/              每位成员一个目录，欢迎团队同事把自己的也放进来
 notes/                      「MCode 工程笔记」每一篇对应哪一份能跑的东西
-community/                  外部开发者提交的 stack
-templates/stack-template/   写你自己的 stack，从这里开始
+community/                  团队外的 stack，由协作者加进来
+templates/stack-template/   新增 stack 用的模板
 ```
 
 每份 stack 本身也是一个 MiniMax Code 插件包，具体内容见 [`stacks/ronny`](stacks/ronny/) 和 [`stacks/jiachen`](stacks/jiachen/)。
 
-## 贡献你自己的 stack
+## 参与贡献
 
-我们最想看到的，是你用 MiniMax Code（或者别的 agent）每天到底怎么干活。
+欢迎开 issue 讨论。代码、文档和 stack 的 PR，目前只收仓库协作者的。还不是协作者的话，先[开一个 issue](https://github.com/MiniMax-AI/mcode-stack/issues/new/choose) 把想法说清楚。
+
+我们很想知道你用 MiniMax Code（或者别的 agent）每天到底怎么干活，写在 issue 里就行。协作者要把一份 stack 放进仓库，按这几步：
 
 1. 从 `templates/stack-template/` 复制一份到 `community/<你的 id>/`
 2. 写一份 `WORKFLOW.md`：你每天怎么用 agent，哪些环节交给它，哪些自己盯着
diff --git a/community/README.md b/community/README.md
index 18d2804..f2ab8d0 100644
--- a/community/README.md
+++ b/community/README.md
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 # Community stacks
 
-Stacks contributed by developers outside the MiniMax Code team. We want to
-see how you actually work with MiniMax Code, or with any agent that supports
-`SKILL.md` skills.
+Stacks from developers outside the MiniMax Code team: how people actually
+work with MiniMax Code, or with any agent that supports `SKILL.md` skills.
+
+Issues and discussion are welcome. For now, pull requests are accepted only
+from repository collaborators. If you are not a collaborator, open an issue
+to discuss first.
 
 ## What we accept
 
@@ -13,6 +16,9 @@ see how you actually work with MiniMax Code, or with any agent that supports
 
 ## How to submit
 
+Collaborators follow every step. If you are not a collaborator, do step 1
+only.
+
 1. Open a **New stack** issue first: who you are, how you use agents, and what
    you plan to include.
 2. Copy `templates/stack-template/` to `community/<your-id>/`.
@@ -31,4 +37,4 @@ Full rules: [CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md).
 
 | Stack | Author | What it covers |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| *Yours could be the first.* | | |
+| *None yet.* | | |
diff --git a/stacks/README.md b/stacks/README.md
index b7c8d8e..1004171 100644
--- a/stacks/README.md
+++ b/stacks/README.md
@@ -29,4 +29,6 @@ Keep it public-safe: no internal hostnames, links, project codenames,
 internal metrics, credentials or customer data. Skills must work for someone
 outside the team.
 
-External contributors: please use [`community/`](../community/) instead.
+Stacks from outside the team go in [`community/`](../community/). Pull
+requests are accepted only from repository collaborators. If you are not a
+collaborator, open an issue first. See [CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md).
diff --git a/templates/stack-template/README.md b/templates/stack-template/README.md
index 157f470..9af41a3 100644
--- a/templates/stack-template/README.md
+++ b/templates/stack-template/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # Stack template
 
-Copy this directory to start your own stack:
+Copy this directory to start a stack. Pull requests that add one are accepted
+only from repository collaborators. If you are not a collaborator, open an
+issue first ([CONTRIBUTING.md](../../CONTRIBUTING.md)).
 
 ```bash
 cp -R templates/stack-template community/<your-id>