diff --git a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index 02805fa0e1..719c59e45d 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "description": "HyperFrames by HeyGen. Write HTML, render video. Compositions, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com",
diff --git a/.codex-plugin/plugin.json b/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
index 252c084a5c..bdb388d137 100644
--- a/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "description": "Write HTML, render video. Compositions, Tailwind v4 styles, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com",
diff --git a/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json b/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json
index a103c1f7d5..f94a77b140 100644
--- a/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "displayName": "HyperFrames by HeyGen",
   "description": "Write HTML, render video. Compositions, Tailwind v4 styles, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com"
diff --git a/docs/changelog.mdx b/docs/changelog.mdx
index 360a2c3134..f41d8ce349 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.mdx
+++ b/docs/changelog.mdx
@@ -8,6 +8,25 @@ Recent HyperFrames releases, including user-facing features, fixes, and migratio
 
 {/* New release entries are prepended by `bun run changelog:draft <version> --write`. */}
 
+<Update
+  label="HyperFrames v0.8.1"
+  description="Released - 2026-08-18"
+  tags={["Release", "Docs", "Studio", "Add"]}
+>
+Variables you pass to `hyperframes add` now reach the file it installs, instead of being dropped without a word. Studio also asks for FFmpeg before an export starts, rather than after one fails.
+
+## Features
+
+- **Studio:** Prompt to install FFmpeg before Export, not after ([5058236ed](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/5058236eda13cc31536e39bd37cf7eb4f9a99025), [#3314](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/3314)).
+
+## Fixes
+
+- **Docs:** Load the player from latest, not a pinned minor ([d7688f994](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/d7688f9943814b44ab20b7d4b079ab50f7ca36df), [#3320](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/3320)).
+- **Add:** Make chosen variables actually take effect, in the CLI and the preview ([ea7c48f37](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/ea7c48f37249aff26211913562c74e29b85e8ddb), [#3316](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/3316)).
+
+[View the full commit range](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/compare/v0.8.0...v0.8.1).
+</Update>
+
 <Update
   label="HyperFrames v0.8.0"
   description="Released - 2026-08-17"
diff --git a/packages/aws-lambda/package.json b/packages/aws-lambda/package.json
index 213073e654..45a1c1b10e 100644
--- a/packages/aws-lambda/package.json
+++ b/packages/aws-lambda/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/aws-lambda",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "AWS Lambda adapter for HyperFrames distributed rendering — handler, client-side SDK, and CDK construct.",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 50bf58b0c2..619f22d6e1 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/cli",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "HyperFrames CLI — create, preview, and render HTML video compositions",
   "license": "Apache-2.0",
   "repository": {
diff --git a/packages/core/package.json b/packages/core/package.json
index 34069c5cb0..a8192936ab 100644
--- a/packages/core/package.json
+++ b/packages/core/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/core",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/engine/package.json b/packages/engine/package.json
index 4a00c0d5f3..df9b2b9a94 100644
--- a/packages/engine/package.json
+++ b/packages/engine/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/engine",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "Seekable web page to video rendering engine (Puppeteer + FFmpeg)",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json b/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json
index daefc0a2f7..d01059a786 100644
--- a/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json
+++ b/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/gcp-cloud-run",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "Google Cloud Run + Workflows adapter for HyperFrames distributed rendering — request handler, client-side SDK, and Terraform module.",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/lint/package.json b/packages/lint/package.json
index 68b71a5d0e..fdcef3b5c6 100644
--- a/packages/lint/package.json
+++ b/packages/lint/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/lint",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/parsers/package.json b/packages/parsers/package.json
index aeba467c0d..7a4722e38a 100644
--- a/packages/parsers/package.json
+++ b/packages/parsers/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/parsers",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/player/package.json b/packages/player/package.json
index 5cda7eb800..7f72cda1e4 100644
--- a/packages/player/package.json
+++ b/packages/player/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/player",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "Embeddable web component for HyperFrames compositions",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/producer/package.json b/packages/producer/package.json
index 18ef3aa93f..b091d4f07e 100644
--- a/packages/producer/package.json
+++ b/packages/producer/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/producer",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "HTML-to-video rendering engine using Chrome's BeginFrame API",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/sdk/package.json b/packages/sdk/package.json
index a43430f88b..0a7b2f53a7 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/package.json
+++ b/packages/sdk/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/sdk",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "Headless, framework-neutral HyperFrames composition editing engine",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/shader-transitions/package.json b/packages/shader-transitions/package.json
index 782c26b443..f8e7a10485 100644
--- a/packages/shader-transitions/package.json
+++ b/packages/shader-transitions/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/shader-transitions",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "WebGL shader transitions for HyperFrames compositions",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/studio-server/package.json b/packages/studio-server/package.json
index c61359faa7..baca66cdf9 100644
--- a/packages/studio-server/package.json
+++ b/packages/studio-server/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/studio-server",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/studio/package.json b/packages/studio/package.json
index dc95f846c9..3d69111109 100644
--- a/packages/studio/package.json
+++ b/packages/studio/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/studio",
-  "version": "0.8.0",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/releases/v0.8.1.md b/releases/v0.8.1.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e98a5085d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releases/v0.8.1.md
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# HyperFrames v0.8.1
+
+Released on 2026-08-18.
+
+Variables you pass to `hyperframes add` now reach the file it installs, instead of being dropped without a word. Studio also asks for FFmpeg before an export starts, rather than after one fails.
+
+## Features
+
+- **Studio:** Prompt to install FFmpeg before Export, not after ([5058236ed](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/5058236eda13cc31536e39bd37cf7eb4f9a99025), [#3314](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/3314)).
+
+## Fixes
+
+- **Docs:** Load the player from latest, not a pinned minor ([d7688f994](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/d7688f9943814b44ab20b7d4b079ab50f7ca36df), [#3320](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/3320)).
+- **Add:** Make chosen variables actually take effect, in the CLI and the preview ([ea7c48f37](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/ea7c48f37249aff26211913562c74e29b85e8ddb), [#3316](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/3316)).
+
+## Full changelog
+
+https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/compare/v0.8.0...v0.8.1