diff --git a/HISTORY.rst b/HISTORY.rst
index 3aa710ff..e92896b9 100644
--- a/HISTORY.rst
+++ b/HISTORY.rst
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ PlatformIO Core 6
 
 **A professional collaborative platform for declarative, safety-critical, and test-driven embedded development.**
 
+6.1.8 (2023-??-??)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
 6.1.7 (2023-05-08)
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/platformio/__init__.py b/platformio/__init__.py
index 7d3c8f8a..8294a86c 100644
--- a/platformio/__init__.py
+++ b/platformio/__init__.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-VERSION = (6, 1, 7)
+VERSION = (6, 1, "8a1")
 __version__ = ".".join([str(s) for s in VERSION])
 
 __title__ = "platformio"