diff --git a/docs/version b/docs/version
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b9c14f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/version
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+3.0.0-rc1-dev
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 77a23e2..5b4a9a6 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 [project]
 name = "metdataio"
 #dynamic = ["dependencies"]
-version = "3.0.0-beta6-dev"
+version = "3.0.0-rc1-dev"
 description = "METplus component that loads data into a database"
 authors = [
     {name = "METplus"},