diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-please.yml b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
index 8c837aa12e..c3a3f3c5ca 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
@@ -23,3 +23,4 @@ jobs:
           pull-request-title-pattern: "chore(barretenberg): Release ${version}"
           extra-files: |
             cpp/CMakeLists.txt
+            VERSION
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index d9fb9c7365..6a61e0f194 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-v3.0
+v0.1.0 x-release-please-version