diff --git a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
index 27825da0..c51b0b7a 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
       "name": "beads",
       "source": "./",
       "description": "AI-supervised issue tracker for coding workflows",
-      "version": "0.9.5"
+      "version": "0.9.6"
     }
   ]
 }
diff --git a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index 8fbf7215..89c678ee 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "beads",
   "description": "AI-supervised issue tracker for coding workflows. Manage tasks, discover work, and maintain context with simple CLI commands.",
-  "version": "0.9.5",
+  "version": "0.9.6",
   "author": {
     "name": "Steve Yegge",
     "url": "https://github.com/steveyegge"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 26d82bcd..f9c1e086 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -987,7 +987,7 @@ See [examples/](examples/) for scripting patterns. Contributions welcome!
 
 ### Is this production-ready?
 
-**Current status: Alpha (v0.9.5)**
+**Current status: Alpha (v0.9.6)**
 
 bd is in active development and being dogfooded on real projects. The core functionality (create, update, dependencies, ready work, collision resolution) is stable and well-tested. However:
 
diff --git a/cmd/bd/version.go b/cmd/bd/version.go
index 0de3923d..e88d208b 100644
--- a/cmd/bd/version.go
+++ b/cmd/bd/version.go
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import (
 
 const (
 	// Version is the current version of bd
-	Version = "0.9.5"
+	Version = "0.9.6"
 	// Build can be set via ldflags at compile time
 	Build = "dev"
 )
diff --git a/integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml b/integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml
index 1f4024a3..b378f793 100644
--- a/integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml
+++ b/integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "beads-mcp"
-version = "0.9.5"
+version = "0.9.6"
 description = "MCP server for beads issue tracker."
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
diff --git a/integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/__init__.py b/integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/__init__.py
index 475bbeb9..b4122f65 100644
--- a/integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/__init__.py
+++ b/integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/__init__.py
@@ -4,4 +4,4 @@ This package provides an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes
 beads (bd) issue tracker functionality to MCP Clients.
 """
 
-__version__ = "0.9.5"
+__version__ = "0.9.6"