diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
index 286fcd332..69e82f12f 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-  ".": "2.5.6"
+  ".": "2.6.0"
 }
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index da6b0a8f1..e70b4523a 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.5.6
+2.6.0
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 5cb9c46b2..715314f6d 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 version: "3"
 services:
   file-code-box:
-    image: lanol/filecodebox:2.5.6 # x-release-please-version
+    image: lanol/filecodebox:2.6.0 # x-release-please-version
     volumes:
       - fcb-data:/app/data:rw
     restart: unless-stopped
diff --git a/docs/changelog.md b/docs/changelog.md
index 222cb9619..a63a11596 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.md
+++ b/docs/changelog.md
@@ -1,5 +1,30 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [2.6.0](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/compare/v2.5.6...v2.6.0) (2026-09-14)
+
+
+### Features
+
+* declare missing config keys (opendal_scheme, chunk_expire_hours) and add config schema guard ([c5d525d](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/c5d525df08bb9534d1efb3ab5ff9357b52240fe9))
+* rename all config keys to snake_case with DB migration 007 ([5121db6](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/5121db6edcdac57318d058e28d7249efb9ea4d03))
+* upgrade password hashing to memory-hard scrypt with transparent rehash ([443cfe7](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/443cfe7472693bb954845f4cc4ac77e3abfcbd23))
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* FileCodes.expired_count defaults to -1 (time-based) instead of instantly-expired 0 (D4) ([3c93718](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/3c93718d4b2f3a8e93978c7eb7a4a3b2553b0855))
+* save_file accepts plain binary streams; repair admin local file share (D2) ([bb95017](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/bb95017aa398e80e5eca512aa9a330aaeeceb364))
+* serialize KeyValue JSON read-modify-write sections behind a process lock (D5) ([0038636](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/0038636a2a5fc8e73f944c38789dce8de0354c3a))
+* snake_case the public config contract (D7 follow-up) ([800bac0](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/800bac01285dd6eb827e28460996997dbb80e2c3))
+* validate background config as http(s) URL to close CSS quote-breakout in 2023 theme ([4cab625](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/4cab625d5ab2fe5921f8f621ebe015623afb6fb8))
+
+
+### Performance Improvements
+
+* cache settings refresh behind a 2s TTL, force refresh on write paths (D6) ([61d72ab](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/61d72ab6ccba5df121945ef825de2967c45888b4))
+* dashboard counters and storage quota use SQL aggregation (D3) ([baecebd](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/baecebd81efc9677acac29d5335e281d6bb5a252))
+* make is_config_initialized cheap — no scrypt on the per-request probe (D1) ([ec424dd](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/commit/ec424dd9093d94b69ec3a118f321cd1f85c7dd54))
+
 ## [2.5.6](https://github.com/vastsa/FileCodeBox/compare/v2.5.5...v2.5.6) (2026-09-01)
 
 
diff --git a/docs/en/changelog.md b/docs/en/changelog.md
index f7c70067d..a10713213 100644
--- a/docs/en/changelog.md
+++ b/docs/en/changelog.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## [Unreleased]
 
-<!-- Current release: 2.5.6 x-release-please-version -->
+<!-- Current release: 2.6.0 x-release-please-version -->
 
 ### Added
 
diff --git a/docs/en/index.md b/docs/en/index.md
index 37a4670b3..765bbcc5f 100644
--- a/docs/en/index.md
+++ b/docs/en/index.md
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ docker run -d --restart unless-stopped \
   --log-opt max-size=10m \
   --log-opt max-file=3 \
   --name filecodebox \
-  lanol/filecodebox:2.5.6 # x-release-please-version
+  lanol/filecodebox:2.6.0 # x-release-please-version
 ```
 
 Open `http://localhost:12345` and complete the first-run setup.
diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md
index 64ad93cbe..95aab97a8 100644
--- a/docs/index.md
+++ b/docs/index.md
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ docker run -d --restart unless-stopped \
   --log-opt max-size=10m \
   --log-opt max-file=3 \
   --name filecodebox \
-  lanol/filecodebox:2.5.6 # x-release-please-version
+  lanol/filecodebox:2.6.0 # x-release-please-version
 ```
 
 打开 `http://localhost:12345`，按引导完成首次初始化。
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 9899ad287..5698d518f 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ docker run -d --restart unless-stopped \
   --log-opt max-size=10m \
   --log-opt max-file=3 \
   --name filecodebox \
-  lanol/filecodebox:2.5.6 # x-release-please-version
+  lanol/filecodebox:2.6.0 # x-release-please-version
 ```
 
 访问 `http://localhost:12345`，完成首次初始化。生产环境建议固定版本号；`latest` 指向最新正式版。
diff --git a/readme_en.md b/readme_en.md
index 7a5a9b5cb..17e50e14a 100644
--- a/readme_en.md
+++ b/readme_en.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ docker run -d --restart unless-stopped \
   --log-opt max-size=10m \
   --log-opt max-file=3 \
   --name filecodebox \
-  lanol/filecodebox:2.5.6 # x-release-please-version
+  lanol/filecodebox:2.6.0 # x-release-please-version
 ```
 
 Open `http://localhost:12345` and complete first-run setup. Pin a version in production; `latest` tracks the newest stable release.