diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f5811c56..287d26ed 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ All notable changes to EigenScript are documented here.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.42.0] - 2026-08-27
+
 ### Added
 
 - **`lib/complex.eigs` — complex arithmetic, polar form and polynomial roots
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 3cb78f4f..3ffc0942 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ Always-on:
 
 ## Current state & where the detail lives
 
-- **Latest release: v0.41.0** (2026-08-23). Unreleased work on `main`: see
+- **Latest release: v0.42.0** (2026-08-27). Unreleased work on `main`: see
   CHANGELOG.md `[Unreleased]`. Full version history: **CHANGELOG.md** (don't
   re-narrate it here — tools/doc_drift_check.sh FAILS the suite when this line
   falls behind the latest tag). Roadmap: **ROADMAP.md**.
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 72a8a631..787ffc30 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.41.0
+0.42.0
diff --git a/docs/llms.txt b/docs/llms.txt
index bb3d7543..728bd159 100644
--- a/docs/llms.txt
+++ b/docs/llms.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # EigenScript — single-file reference for language models
 
-> EigenScript v0.41.0. A small dynamically-typed language with one distinctive
+> EigenScript v0.42.0. A small dynamically-typed language with one distinctive
 > feature: an **observer** tracks every value's entropy/trend on each
 > assignment, so convergence, stability, and oscillation are first-class. This
 > file is the whole surface you need to generate correct `.eigs`. Models