diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 69f7a25..99c3e14 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 Notable changes to Swarmail. Versions follow [semantic versioning](https://semver.org).
 
-## Unreleased
+## 0.5.0 - 2026-10-09
 
 - A Claude Code plugin in `packages/claude-plugin/` connects Claude Code to a
   running local server through a bundled copy of the relay, which needs Node 18
@@ -24,13 +24,13 @@ Notable changes to Swarmail. Versions follow [semantic versioning](https://semve
 - A lifecycle reconcile that changes nothing no longer rechecks every waiting
   long poll. Each recheck reconciled again and reread T3's database, so a
   client calling `/lifecycle/reconcile` every 2 seconds with five waiters made
-  the server read about 26 MB per call; it now reads about 2.6 MB. A change
+  the server read about 26 MB per call; it now reads about 2.6 MB, measured on
+  a local copy of the server against copies of live databases. A change
   found by any reconcile, including a wait status check, still wakes held
   long polls at once, and so does a T3 database that becomes readable again.
 - Export `pause(ms, signal)` from `wake-loop.ts`: a wait that ends as soon as its
   signal aborts. The delivery loop's retry backoff now uses it.
 - Sort package fields and dependency maps with Oxfmt while preserving script order.
-
 - Check authored documentation and configuration files with Oxfmt; preserve
   the generated dependency lockfile.
 - Sending guidance gives coordination messages a brief Markdown recipe with
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d9ba918..f023261 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ wake an idle session.
 
 Measured on 2026-10-04 at
 [`67e187a`](https://github.com/bompus/swarmail/tree/67e187a6b4beb7319c6ab30466448742297e2a01).
-These results have not been remeasured for 0.4.0.
+These results have not been remeasured for 0.4.0 or 0.5.0.
 The measurements used one machine with one small workload (40 agents, 250 seed messages,
 1,560 messages by the end). Each server started on empty storage. Startup is
 hyperfine's mean of 20 runs; every other number is the median of three rounds,
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 4f8ded6..9aaba36 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "swarmail",
-  "version": "0.4.0",
+  "version": "0.5.0",
   "private": true,
   "description": "Local mail, roster and file reservations for coding-agent sessions on one machine, served over MCP.",
   "license": "MIT",
diff --git a/packages/mcp-relay/package.json b/packages/mcp-relay/package.json
index 323e61b..d512cbe 100644
--- a/packages/mcp-relay/package.json
+++ b/packages/mcp-relay/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "swarmail-mcp",
-  "version": "0.4.0",
+  "version": "0.5.0",
   "description": "Stdio MCP relay to a running Swarmail server, for MCP clients that install servers from a registry.",
   "keywords": [
     "coding-agents",
diff --git a/server.json b/server.json
index cb9a332..ba9ecb5 100644
--- a/server.json
+++ b/server.json
@@ -8,12 +8,12 @@
     "source": "github"
   },
   "websiteUrl": "https://github.com/bompus/swarmail#install",
-  "version": "0.4.0",
+  "version": "0.5.0",
   "packages": [
     {
       "registryType": "npm",
       "identifier": "swarmail-mcp",
-      "version": "0.4.0",
+      "version": "0.5.0",
       "runtimeHint": "npx",
       "transport": {
         "type": "stdio"