diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index 05a30eb..ff7e6b9 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -46,6 +46,22 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build plugin zip
         run: composer build
 
+      # Pull the section for this version out of CHANGELOG.md so it can become
+      # the release body. Matches "## [x.y.z]" and prints every line up to the
+      # next "## " heading. A missing section is a warning, not a failure — the
+      # release still publishes with empty notes.
+      - name: Extract changelog notes
+        run: |
+          version="${{ steps.meta.outputs.version }}"
+          awk -v ver="$version" '
+            $0 ~ "^## \\[" ver "\\]" { found = 1; next }
+            found && /^## / { exit }
+            found { print }
+          ' CHANGELOG.md | sed -e '/./,$!d' | tac | sed -e '/./,$!d' | tac > release-notes.md
+          if [ ! -s release-notes.md ]; then
+            echo "::warning::No CHANGELOG.md section found for version ${version}"
+          fi
+
       - name: Publish release with zip asset
         env:
           TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
@@ -65,11 +81,19 @@ jobs:
             "${api}/releases/tags/${GITHUB_REF_NAME}" | jq -r '.id // empty' || true)"
 
           if [ -z "$release_id" ]; then
+            body="$(jq -Rs --arg tag "${GITHUB_REF_NAME}" --argjson pre "${prerelease}" \
+              '{tag_name:$tag, name:$tag, prerelease:$pre, body:.}' release-notes.md)"
             release_id="$(curl -fsS -X POST "${api}/releases" \
               -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
               -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-              -d "{\"tag_name\":\"${GITHUB_REF_NAME}\",\"name\":\"${GITHUB_REF_NAME}\",\"prerelease\":${prerelease}}" \
-              | jq -r '.id')"
+              -d "${body}" | jq -r '.id')"
+          else
+            # Release pre-created via the UI: fill in the notes from the changelog.
+            body="$(jq -Rs '{body:.}' release-notes.md)"
+            curl -fsS -X PATCH "${api}/releases/${release_id}" \
+              -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
+              -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+              -d "${body}" > /dev/null
           fi
 
           echo "Attaching ${zip} to release ${release_id}"
@@ -77,3 +101,65 @@ jobs:
             "${api}/releases/${release_id}/assets?name=unsupervised-schedular-${version}.zip" \
             -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
             -F "attachment=@${zip}" > /dev/null
+
+  # After a stable release, move main forward: bump the plugin to the next patch
+  # version and open a fresh changelog section for it, via a PR. Skipped for
+  # pre-releases (tags containing a hyphen, e.g. v1.2.0-rc.1) — those don't
+  # advance the mainline version.
+  bump-version:
+    name: Open next-version bump PR
+    needs: release
+    if: ${{ !contains(github.ref_name, '-') }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: main
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Compute next patch version
+        id: next
+        run: |
+          current="$(sed -nE 's/^[[:space:]]*\*?[[:space:]]*Version:[[:space:]]*([^[:space:]]+).*/\1/p' unsupervised-schedular.php | head -1)"
+          base="${current%%-*}"          # drop any pre-release suffix
+          major="${base%%.*}"
+          rest="${base#*.}"
+          minor="${rest%%.*}"
+          patch="${rest#*.}"
+          next="${major}.${minor}.$((patch + 1))"
+          echo "next=${next}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: Apply version bump and open changelog section
+        run: |
+          next="${{ steps.next.outputs.next }}"
+          # Plugin header + USC_VERSION constant must stay in lockstep.
+          sed -i -E "s/^([[:space:]]*\*?[[:space:]]*Version:[[:space:]]*).*/\1${next}/" unsupervised-schedular.php
+          sed -i -E "s/(define\('USC_VERSION', ')[^']+('\);)/\1${next}\2/" unsupervised-schedular.php
+          # Insert an empty section for the new version above the current top one
+          # (the first "## [" heading in the file).
+          awk -v ver="$next" '
+            !done && /^## \[/ { print "## [" ver "]"; print ""; done = 1 }
+            { print }
+          ' CHANGELOG.md > CHANGELOG.md.tmp && mv CHANGELOG.md.tmp CHANGELOG.md
+
+      - name: Open pull request
+        env:
+          TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          next="${{ steps.next.outputs.next }}"
+          branch="release/bump-${next}"
+          api="${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}"
+
+          git config user.name 'Release Bot'
+          git config user.email 'release-bot@unsupervised.ca'
+          git checkout -b "${branch}"
+          git commit -am "Bump version to ${next} and open changelog section"
+          git push origin "${branch}"
+
+          curl -fsS -X POST "${api}/pulls" \
+            -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
+            -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+            -d "$(jq -n --arg head "${branch}" --arg title "Bump version to ${next}" \
+              '{head:$head, base:"main", title:$title, body:"Automated post-release bump to the next patch version. Record changes for this version under its changelog heading."}')" \
+            > /dev/null
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52ac43e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# Changelog
+
+All notable changes to Unsupervised Scheduler are documented in this file, one
+section per version, newest first. The top section is always the version the code
+on `main` currently carries (the `Version:` header in `unsupervised-schedular.php`).
+Whether a version is "released" is purely a matter of whether its tag exists — the
+changelog itself does not track that.
+
+When a `v*` tag is pushed, `.gitea/workflows/release.yml` publishes the matching
+`## [x.y.z]` section verbatim as the Gitea release notes, then opens a PR that bumps
+the plugin to the next patch version and adds a fresh section here for it. Record
+each change under the current top section as you work.
+
+## [1.1.0]
+
+### Added
+- Invite-only group classes, so a class can be restricted to students who hold an invite.
+- Instructor group-class roster view under **My Lessons**.
+- Cancellation cutoff that limits how close to a lesson a student can cancel.
+- Studio-defined account-registration questions collected during student sign-up.
+
+### Changed
+- Plugin metadata links now point at Unsupervised and the Gitea repository.
+
+## [1.0.0]
+
+First stable release: instructor/student lesson scheduling for WordPress, including
+availability management, one-on-one and group-class booking, Stripe payments, student
+self-registration with email confirmation and admin approval, group invite links, and
+self-update from tagged Gitea releases.