diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1625ac0c..8750b105 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+## [0.5.0] - 2026-04-21
+
 ### Breaking Changes Please Read
 - herdr now defaults to a persistent server/client session model. running `herdr` starts or reattaches to a background session server instead of launching the old single-process UI.
 - quitting the UI in default mode now detaches the current client and leaves the shared session running. use `herdr server stop` to stop the background server explicitly.
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index c5cb6320..05feef09 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -497,7 +497,7 @@ checksum = "2304e00983f87ffb38b55b444b5e3b60a884b5d30c0fca7d82fe33449bbe55ea"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "herdr"
-version = "0.4.11"
+version = "0.5.0"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "bincode",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index a52119fb..01ae7698 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "herdr"
-version = "0.4.11"
+version = "0.5.0"
 edition = "2021"
 build = "build.rs"
 description = "terminal workspace manager for AI coding agents"