diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
index 5eaaa437..8643bfd4 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 {
-    "selene-core": "0.3.0-alpha.0",
+    "selene-core": "0.3.0-alpha.1",
     ".": "0.3.0-alpha.0"
 }
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 818bcaa4..c55c5a5f 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -654,7 +654,7 @@ checksum = "9774ba4a74de5f7b1c1451ed6cd5285a32eddb5cccb8cc655a4e50009e06477f"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "selene-core"
-version = "0.3.0-alpha.0"
+version = "0.3.0-alpha.1"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "delegate",
diff --git a/selene-core/CHANGELOG.md b/selene-core/CHANGELOG.md
index cf662143..7afa419e 100644
--- a/selene-core/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/selene-core/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,35 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [0.3.0-alpha.1](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/compare/selene-core-v0.3.0-alpha.0...selene-core-v0.3.0-alpha.1) (2026-04-22)
+
+
+### ⚠ BREAKING CHANGES
+
+* Add handling for an additional gateset ([#119](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/119))
+
+### Features
+
+* Add __version__ attributes ([#137](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/137)) ([379ae01](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/379ae0151f18c7410a5f02457a79cc86b5df9d30))
+* Add handling for an additional gateset ([#119](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/119)) ([5180b80](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/5180b80bd64bfddce68da4b61827d995642fc3d7))
+* Add simulate_delay functionality ([#139](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/139)) ([cca97fa](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/cca97fa0c4cbc22185351be33508fe09713c792c))
+* Add support for object files provided as bytes ([#94](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/94)) ([c4cfac6](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/c4cfac69d916650bb716d56bc00a1da79645faf2))
+* add timing to builtin runtimes and batching options to softrz runtime ([#158](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/158)) ([049e123](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/049e1231ba70ced08aa6477cf9c7efb579d4f659))
+* Build improvements ([#142](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/142)) ([12f399b](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/12f399bc1005b2bf041e9e4cbe15dc7ed1737417))
+* Interactive use of Selene from python ([#135](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/135)) ([db3028d](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/db3028d250746b00e4f4cb671a780b9cb888d95f))
+* QIR support using QIR-QIS ([#114](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/114)) ([70ab294](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/70ab294ffcabbb2cc81a29263bca60cd04f6579f))
+* Result stream handling refactor ([#93](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/93)) ([607a55e](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/607a55e6033e737bbaf5fd665f9ec04dc1348618))
+* Stim improvements (more ops + state printing) ([#115](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/115)) ([867d5e5](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/867d5e5eba308eda3087e61690181b2030cbb56f))
+* test on QIS instead of relying on the upper stack ([#150](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/150)) ([b80a9c4](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/b80a9c411e58ef4987e90fd8511088f9b617f889))
+* Traces for analytics ([#160](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/160)) ([24b9978](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/24b997803cc91a5efc7039c91dd19509f1883e8e))
+* Use mingw instead of msvc for windows wheels ([#143](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/143)) ([3d91514](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/3d91514ad96d43924c9444190aa8a4af73554722))
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* add `___barrier` to Helios QIS for QIR emulation ([#136](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/136)) ([dfbc4c3](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/dfbc4c37e3533b23ae843d4a5b232786afb8b6b7))
+* avoid using qir_major_version string for QIR detection ([#123](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/123)) ([deaa0dc](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/deaa0dcee72833a0695cb3cdd82cad3c2374343e))
+* classify lowered qir-qis bitcode as helios ([#157](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/issues/157)) ([67fca60](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/commit/67fca60db58dd6b04de8656cfc9dbd9d62a9d92f))
+
 ## [0.2.8](https://github.com/Quantinuum/selene/compare/selene-core-v0.2.7...selene-core-v0.2.8) (2026-04-21)
 
 
diff --git a/selene-core/Cargo.toml b/selene-core/Cargo.toml
index 7a1857b6..8f60fe97 100644
--- a/selene-core/Cargo.toml
+++ b/selene-core/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "selene-core"
-version = "0.3.0-alpha.0"
+version = "0.3.0-alpha.1"
 edition = "2024"
 
 [lib]
diff --git a/selene-core/examples/error_model/Cargo.lock b/selene-core/examples/error_model/Cargo.lock
index c751d859..1c543fc0 100644
--- a/selene-core/examples/error_model/Cargo.lock
+++ b/selene-core/examples/error_model/Cargo.lock
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "selene-core"
-version = "0.3.0-alpha.0"
+version = "0.3.0-alpha.1"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "delegate",
diff --git a/selene-core/examples/runtime/Cargo.lock b/selene-core/examples/runtime/Cargo.lock
index 4ef2fc6f..24dabfe0 100644
--- a/selene-core/examples/runtime/Cargo.lock
+++ b/selene-core/examples/runtime/Cargo.lock
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "selene-core"
-version = "0.3.0-alpha.0"
+version = "0.3.0-alpha.1"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "delegate",
diff --git a/selene-core/examples/simulator/Cargo.lock b/selene-core/examples/simulator/Cargo.lock
index 627ccfcd..4cd79554 100644
--- a/selene-core/examples/simulator/Cargo.lock
+++ b/selene-core/examples/simulator/Cargo.lock
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "selene-core"
-version = "0.3.0-alpha.0"
+version = "0.3.0-alpha.1"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "delegate",
diff --git a/selene-core/pyproject.toml b/selene-core/pyproject.toml
index 953f890b..8c4dbb6e 100644
--- a/selene-core/pyproject.toml
+++ b/selene-core/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "selene-core"
-version = "0.3.0a0"
+version = "0.3.0-alpha.1"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 description = "The core interop library for Selene python interfaces"
 readme = "python/selene_core/README.md"
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index c2989873..572b53aa 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -1178,7 +1178,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "selene-core"
-version = "0.3.0a0"
+version = "0.3.0-alpha.1"
 source = { editable = "selene-core" }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "hugr" },