diff --git a/src/dlm/directives/expand.py b/src/dlm/directives/expand.py
index d2ed3c92..a85e1869 100644
--- a/src/dlm/directives/expand.py
+++ b/src/dlm/directives/expand.py
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ def _expand_one(
 
     for file_path in _iter_candidates(resolved_root):
         if directive.max_files is not None and _section_cap_reached(sections, directive.max_files):
-            _LOG.info(
+            _LOG.debug(
                 "directive: hit max_files=%d for %s; truncating deterministically",
                 directive.max_files,
                 directive.path,
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ def _expand_one(
             continue
 
         if directive.max_bytes_per_file is not None and size > directive.max_bytes_per_file:
-            _LOG.info(
+            _LOG.debug(
                 "directive: %s (%d bytes) exceeds max_bytes_per_file=%d; skipping",
                 file_path,
                 size,
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ def _expand_one(
         # section carries only the path + blob sha.
         if file_path.suffix.lower() in _IMAGE_EXTENSIONS:
             if blob_store is None:
-                _LOG.info(
+                _LOG.debug(
                     "directive: %s is an image but no blob_store supplied; skipping",
                     file_path,
                 )
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ def _expand_one(
         # (has .txt) and "reference" audio (no .txt) side by side.
         if file_path.suffix.lower() in _AUDIO_EXTENSIONS:
             if blob_store is None:
-                _LOG.info(
+                _LOG.debug(
                     "directive: %s is audio but no blob_store supplied; skipping",
                     file_path,
                 )
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ def _expand_one(
                 continue
             transcript = _read_audio_transcript(file_path)
             if transcript is None:
-                _LOG.info(
+                _LOG.debug(
                     "directive: %s has no %s sidecar; skipping "
                     "(audio without transcript has no training signal)",
                     file_path,
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ def _expand_one(
             continue
 
         if is_probably_binary(raw):
-            _LOG.info("directive: %s looks binary (NUL in first KiB); skipping", file_path)
+            _LOG.debug("directive: %s looks binary (NUL in first KiB); skipping", file_path)
             skipped_binary += 1
             continue
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/directives/test_expand.py b/tests/unit/directives/test_expand.py
index 16f496cf..214e54ad 100644
--- a/tests/unit/directives/test_expand.py
+++ b/tests/unit/directives/test_expand.py
@@ -108,6 +108,33 @@ def test_max_bytes_per_file_skips_oversize(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     assert prov.skipped_over_size == 1
 
 
+def test_per_file_skip_logs_are_debug_not_info(
+    tmp_path: Path, caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture
+) -> None:
+    """Audit 13 M13.5: per-file skip messages were emitted at INFO,
+    spamming 243 lines to stderr on every ``dlm show`` of a 2k-file
+    corpus. They're now DEBUG so the default-level log stream stays
+    clean while ``--verbose``/``LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG`` still surfaces them
+    for diagnosis. The summary count remains in provenance."""
+    import logging
+
+    src = tmp_path / "src"
+    src.mkdir()
+    for n in range(5):
+        (src / f"big{n}.py").write_text("x" * 100)
+    body = "  sources:\n    - path: src\n      include: ['**/*.py']\n      max_bytes_per_file: 10\n"
+    parsed, _ = _make_parsed(body, tmp_path)
+
+    with caplog.at_level(logging.INFO, logger="dlm.directives.expand"):
+        result = expand_sources(parsed, base_path=tmp_path)  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+
+    assert result.provenance[0].skipped_over_size == 5
+    info_records = [r for r in caplog.records if r.levelno >= logging.INFO]
+    assert info_records == [], (
+        f"per-file skip should not emit INFO records, got: {[r.message for r in info_records]}"
+    )
+
+
 def test_binary_file_skipped(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     src = tmp_path / "src"
     src.mkdir()