diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6dfbb75f..95451f66 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,29 @@ All notable changes to the beads project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.43.0] - 2026-01-02
+
+### Added
+
+- **Step.Gate evaluation** - Phase 1: Human Gates
+  - Gate steps that require human approval before proceeding
+  - Foundation for workflow control points
+
+- **`bd lint` command** - Template validation
+  - Validate issue templates against schema
+  - `--validate` flag also added to `bd create`
+
+- **`bd ready --pretty`** - Formatted output
+  - Human-friendly display of ready work
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **Cross-rig routing** - `bd close` and `bd update` now support cross-rig operations via prefix routing
+- **Agent ID validation** - Now accepts any rig prefix (GH#827)
+- **`bd sync` in bare repo worktrees** - Fixed exit 128 error (GH#827)
+- **`bd --no-db dep tree`** - Now shows complete tree (GH#836)
+- **`.beads/last-touched`** - Restored to gitignore template (GH#838)
+
 ## [0.42.0] - 2025-12-30
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/cmd/bd/version.go b/cmd/bd/version.go
index 76e3c236..d59ba9cd 100644
--- a/cmd/bd/version.go
+++ b/cmd/bd/version.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import (
 
 var (
 	// Version is the current version of bd (overridden by ldflags at build time)
-    Version = "0.42.0"
+    Version = "0.43.0"
 	// Build can be set via ldflags at compile time
 	Build = "dev"
 	// Commit and branch the git revision the binary was built from (optional ldflag)
diff --git a/cmd/bd/version_tracking_test.go b/cmd/bd/version_tracking_test.go
index d82c1ea8..3daadf91 100644
--- a/cmd/bd/version_tracking_test.go
+++ b/cmd/bd/version_tracking_test.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/steveyegge/beads/internal/git"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/beads/internal/storage/sqlite"
 )
 
@@ -96,6 +97,9 @@ func TestGetVersionsSinceOrder(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestTrackBdVersion_NoBeadsDir(t *testing.T) {
+	// Reset global state for test isolation
+	ensureCleanGlobalState(t)
+
 	// Save original state
 	origUpgradeDetected := versionUpgradeDetected
 	origPreviousVersion := previousVersion
@@ -104,10 +108,21 @@ func TestTrackBdVersion_NoBeadsDir(t *testing.T) {
 		previousVersion = origPreviousVersion
 	}()
 
+	// Reset state to ensure clean starting point
+	versionUpgradeDetected = false
+	previousVersion = ""
+
 	// Change to temp directory with no .beads
 	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
 	t.Chdir(tmpDir)
 
+	// Reset git caches so IsWorktree() returns fresh results for the temp dir
+	git.ResetCaches()
+
+	// Set BEADS_DIR to temp directory to prevent FindBeadsDir from walking up
+	// or finding the worktree's main repository .beads directory
+	t.Setenv("BEADS_DIR", tmpDir)
+
 	// trackBdVersion should silently succeed
 	trackBdVersion()