diff --git a/.github/.release-please-manifest.json b/.github/.release-please-manifest.json
index 3093b14..2b33d40 100644
--- a/.github/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.github/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-    ".": "0.1.7"
+    ".": "0.1.8"
 }
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a78c208..4271d01 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.1.8](https://github.com/Quantinuum/qir-qis/compare/v0.1.7...v0.1.8) (2026-05-04)
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* expose bitcode helpers and update QIR 2 fixtures ([#81](https://github.com/Quantinuum/qir-qis/issues/81)) ([ef3f7c2](https://github.com/Quantinuum/qir-qis/commit/ef3f7c2dd4e5625aa08dccf3678c6c5f17ce3c05))
+
 ## [0.1.7](https://github.com/Quantinuum/qir-qis/compare/v0.1.6...v0.1.7) (2026-04-29)
 
 
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 73086d1..c75149a 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -898,7 +898,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "qir-qis"
-version = "0.1.7"
+version = "0.1.8"
 dependencies = [
  "bpaf",
  "env_logger",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 041dab8..525aefb 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "qir-qis"
-version = "0.1.7"
+version = "0.1.8"
 authors = ["Kartik Singhal <kartik.singhal@quantinuum.com>"]
 edition = "2024"
 rust-version = "1.91"