diff --git a/emrg/__init__.py b/emrg/__init__.py
index 7d5956da..cc0112cc 100644
--- a/emrg/__init__.py
+++ b/emrg/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 """EMRG — a self-evolving AI agent architecture."""
 
-__version__ = "0.2.2"
+__version__ = "0.2.3"
diff --git a/packaging/build-runtime.sh b/packaging/build-runtime.sh
index a018d752..bbea1f96 100755
--- a/packaging/build-runtime.sh
+++ b/packaging/build-runtime.sh
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ fi
 # ── 5. assets/LICENSE/version ──
 cp "$ROOT/LICENSE" "$DIST/assets/LICENSE" 2>/dev/null || echo "Apache-2.0" > "$DIST/assets/LICENSE"
 "$PY_BIN" -c "import emrg,sys; sys.path.insert(0,'$DIST/source'); import emrg as e; print(e.__version__)" > "$DIST/version.txt" 2>/dev/null \
-  || echo "0.2.2" > "$DIST/version.txt"
+  || echo "0.2.3" > "$DIST/version.txt"
 
 echo "==> runtime size: $(du -sh "$DIST" | cut -f1)"
 echo "==> runtime built OK"
diff --git a/packaging/make-installer.sh b/packaging/make-installer.sh
index e8628794..5116d5fc 100755
--- a/packaging/make-installer.sh
+++ b/packaging/make-installer.sh
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ set -euo pipefail
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
 DIST="$ROOT/dist"
 RUNTIME="$DIST/runtime"
-VERSION="$(cat "$RUNTIME/version.txt" 2>/dev/null || echo 0.2.2)"
+VERSION="$(cat "$RUNTIME/version.txt" 2>/dev/null || echo 0.2.3)"
 PLATFORM="${1:-$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')}"
 
 mkdir -p "$DIST/artifacts"
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 12fbd505..dc499de2 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "emrg"
-version = "0.2.2"
+version = "0.2.3"
 description = "EMRG — a self-evolving AI agent architecture"
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
 license = { file = "LICENSE" }
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index d4f2eb67..adfc0f64 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "emrg"
-version = "0.2.2"
+version = "0.2.3"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "httpx" },