diff --git a/gh-cli/merge-pull-requests-by-title.sh b/gh-cli/merge-pull-requests-by-title.sh
index b6bdd1c..c99920b 100755
--- a/gh-cli/merge-pull-requests-by-title.sh
+++ b/gh-cli/merge-pull-requests-by-title.sh
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 #   repo_list_file    - File with repository URLs (one per line)
 #   pr_title_pattern  - Title pattern to match (exact match or use * for wildcard)
 #   merge_method      - Optional: merge method (merge, squash, rebase) - defaults to squash
-#   commit_title      - Optional: custom commit title for all merged PRs
+#   commit_title      - Optional: custom commit title for all merged PRs (PR number is auto-appended)
 #   --dry-run         - Optional: preview what would be merged without actually merging
 #
 # Examples:
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ if [ $# -lt 2 ]; then
   echo "  repo_list_file    - File with repository URLs (one per line)"
   echo "  pr_title_pattern  - Title pattern to match (use * for wildcard)"
   echo "  merge_method      - Optional: merge, squash, or rebase (default: squash)"
-  echo "  commit_title      - Optional: custom commit title for merged PRs"
+  echo "  commit_title      - Optional: custom commit title for merged PRs (PR number is auto-appended)"
   echo "  --dry-run         - Preview what would be merged without actually merging"
   exit 1
 fi
@@ -153,9 +153,13 @@ while IFS= read -r repo_url || [ -n "$repo_url" ]; do
     # Build the merge command
     merge_args=("--$merge_method")
 
-    # Apply custom commit title if provided
-    if [ -n "$commit_title" ] && [ "$merge_method" != "rebase" ]; then
-      merge_args+=("--subject" "$commit_title")
+    # Always include PR number in commit subject (e.g., "commit message (#123)")
+    if [ "$merge_method" != "rebase" ]; then
+      if [ -n "$commit_title" ]; then
+        merge_args+=("--subject" "$commit_title (#$pr_number)")
+      else
+        merge_args+=("--subject" "$pr_title (#$pr_number)")
+      fi
     fi
 
     # Attempt to merge
diff --git a/gh-cli/merge-pull-requests-from-list.sh b/gh-cli/merge-pull-requests-from-list.sh
index 43449fb..4043a6a 100755
--- a/gh-cli/merge-pull-requests-from-list.sh
+++ b/gh-cli/merge-pull-requests-from-list.sh
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@
 # Arguments:
 #   pr_list_file   - File with PR URLs (one per line)
 #   merge_method   - Optional: merge method (merge, squash, rebase) - defaults to squash
-#   commit_title   - Optional: custom commit title (use {title} for original PR title, {number} for PR number)
-#   commit_body    - Optional: custom commit body (use {body} for original PR body)
+#   commit_title   - Optional: custom commit title (use {title} for original PR title; PR number is auto-appended)
+#   commit_body    - Optional: custom commit body (use {body} for original PR body, {title} for PR title)
 #   --dry-run      - Optional: preview what would be merged without actually merging
 #
 # Examples:
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ if [ $# -lt 1 ]; then
   echo "Arguments:"
   echo "  pr_list_file   - File with PR URLs (one per line)"
   echo "  merge_method   - Optional: merge, squash, or rebase (default: squash)"
-  echo "  commit_title   - Optional: custom commit title (use {title} for PR title, {number} for PR number)"
+  echo "  commit_title   - Optional: custom commit title (use {title} for PR title; PR number is auto-appended)"
   echo "  commit_body    - Optional: custom commit body (use {body} for PR body)"
   echo "  --dry-run      - Preview what would be merged without actually merging"
   exit 1
@@ -151,11 +151,14 @@ while IFS= read -r pr_url || [ -n "$pr_url" ]; do
   # Build the merge command
   merge_args=("--$merge_method")
 
-  # Apply custom commit title with template substitution
-  if [ -n "$commit_title" ] && [ "$merge_method" != "rebase" ]; then
-    final_title="${commit_title//\{title\}/$pr_title}"
-    final_title="${final_title//\{number\}/$pr_number}"
-    merge_args+=("--subject" "$final_title")
+  # Always include PR number in commit subject (e.g., "commit message (#123)")
+  if [ "$merge_method" != "rebase" ]; then
+    if [ -n "$commit_title" ]; then
+      final_title="${commit_title//\{title\}/$pr_title}"
+    else
+      final_title="$pr_title"
+    fi
+    merge_args+=("--subject" "$final_title (#$pr_number)")
   fi
 
   # Apply custom commit body with template substitution