diff --git a/aider/__init__.py b/aider/__init__.py
index eea366db6..37c407cf1 100644
--- a/aider/__init__.py
+++ b/aider/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from packaging import version
 
-__version__ = "0.81.0"
+__version__ = "0.81.1.dev"
 safe_version = __version__
 
 try: