diff --git a/.release-please-manifest-beta.json b/.release-please-manifest-beta.json
index 1a8df758..b8adc0b4 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest-beta.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest-beta.json
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-  ".": "3.77.3-beta.0"
+  ".": "3.78.0-beta.0"
 }
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d552683d..18975250 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,19 @@ All notable changes to PicPeak 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).
 
+## [3.78.0-beta.0](https://github.com/PicPeak/picpeak/compare/v3.77.3-beta.0...v3.78.0-beta.0) (2026-07-02)
+
+
+### Features
+
+* zero-config first run — in-browser admin bootstrap + auto-generated secrets ([bafc96f](https://github.com/PicPeak/picpeak/commit/bafc96f468e3b5cca2ec3291e7b568886755099d))
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* **ci:** enable release-PR auto-merge with the PAT, not GITHUB_TOKEN ([e08a33d](https://github.com/PicPeak/picpeak/commit/e08a33d9ea273dc18877743f71f59d64bfc3dfb5))
+* enable release-PR auto-merge with the PAT so releases actually publish ([97b9853](https://github.com/PicPeak/picpeak/commit/97b9853709fb59a900d70bb2a6bf365d98ae4f86))
+
 ## [3.77.3-beta.0](https://github.com/PicPeak/picpeak/compare/v3.77.2-beta.0...v3.77.3-beta.0) (2026-07-02)
 
 
diff --git a/backend/package.json b/backend/package.json
index 5375af16..79e1b3a0 100644
--- a/backend/package.json
+++ b/backend/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "picpeak-backend",
-  "version": "3.77.3-beta.0",
+  "version": "3.78.0-beta.0",
   "description": "Backend for PicPeak event photo sharing platform",
   "main": "server.js",
   "scripts": {
diff --git a/frontend/package.json b/frontend/package.json
index 94293333..15810712 100644
--- a/frontend/package.json
+++ b/frontend/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "picpeak-frontend",
   "private": true,
-  "version": "3.77.3-beta.0",
+  "version": "3.78.0-beta.0",
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "vite",