diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
index ce65b73e4..e3690fe11 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-  ".": "5.3.0"
+  ".": "5.3.1"
 }
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 431fded22..fdc9a0334 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,21 @@ This file is maintained by [release-please](https://github.com/googleapis/releas
 from Conventional Commit messages; release sections are generated on release,
 not hand-edited in PRs.
 
+## [5.3.1](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/compare/v5.3.0...v5.3.1) (2026-09-15)
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* **env:** reconcile hash-pinned indexer/dashboard fixtures during .env hydration ([#1023](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/issues/1023)) ([31d8f85](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/commit/31d8f853688c02e3c1047d27e5868eddd53750a2)), closes [#1021](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/issues/1021)
+* prevent partial lab startup success ([#1001](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/issues/1001)) ([16dc3d3](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/commit/16dc3d38694b4017f5c6afcfa50a123cf8279ae2))
+* **readiness:** quiet Wazuh API warm-up and fail closed on persistent failure ([#1016](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/issues/1016)) ([29bc37e](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/commit/29bc37efea39a8cc8179826394fe5590b15077d8))
+* **validation:** stop BC-09's fixture losing the timeout race to its own setup ([#1008](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/issues/1008)) ([d66d7b5](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/commit/d66d7b566815ad08eb057b2f82b245aac75c682c))
+
+
+### Documentation
+
+* align CLI-003 with the current lab start sequence and ADR-030 failure policy ([#1019](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/issues/1019)) ([30e876e](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/commit/30e876eb26d4314b17e4cb2fd3d801b9567d8b58))
+
 ## [5.3.0](https://github.com/Brad-Edwards/aptl/compare/v5.2.0...v5.3.0) (2026-09-11)
 
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index f3cb5fdb8..48e9fa806 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "aptl-labs"
-version = "5.3.0"
+version = "5.3.1"
 description = "Advanced Purple Team Lab CLI"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
diff --git a/src/aptl/__init__.py b/src/aptl/__init__.py
index b884a412c..a1b569a1a 100644
--- a/src/aptl/__init__.py
+++ b/src/aptl/__init__.py
@@ -6,4 +6,4 @@
 # pyproject.toml, not this src-layout __init__.py). Keep the annotation comment
 # on the same line as the literal, and keep the literal equal to pyproject's
 # `version` — test_version_consistency.py enforces the latter.
-__version__ = "5.3.0"  # x-release-please-version
+__version__ = "5.3.1"  # x-release-please-version