diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 7973e3a..1d92c50 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "quarto-batch-convert"
-version = "2025.9.0"
+version = "2025.9.1rc1"
 description = "Converts multiple Jupyter notebooks to Quarto documents at once"
 readme = "README.md"
 license = "MIT"
diff --git a/test-auto-merge.md b/test-auto-merge.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 1d7bb47..0000000
--- a/test-auto-merge.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-# Auto-merge and Release Test
-
-This PR tests:
-- Auto-merge functionality after version bump
-- Release workflow with stable version
-- Branch protection with required checks
-
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index e8271c3..7b580bc 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "quarto-batch-convert"
-version = "2025.9.0"
+version = "2025.9.1rc1"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "click" },