diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 4323d57..cb9f821 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ rep/
 │   ├── .goreleaser.yml                # Multi-platform release config
 │   ├── Dockerfile                     # Multi-stage, FROM scratch final
 │   ├── Makefile
-│   ├── VERSION                        # "0.1.2"
+│   ├── version.txt                    # "0.1.5"
 │   ├── go.mod                         # Go 1.24.5, zero external deps
 │   ├── cmd/rep-gateway/
 │   │   └── main.go                    # Entrypoint: flags, signals, graceful shutdown
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index d2c7e23..b4aa440 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ rep/
 │   ├── .goreleaser.yml                # Multi-platform release config
 │   ├── Dockerfile                     # Multi-stage, FROM scratch final
 │   ├── Makefile
-│   ├── VERSION                        # "0.1.2"
+│   ├── version.txt                    # "0.1.5"
 │   ├── go.mod                         # Go 1.24.5, zero external deps
 │   ├── cmd/rep-gateway/
 │   │   └── main.go                    # Entrypoint: flags, signals, graceful shutdown
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 298c93b..add5ff8 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ All npm packages share a **single version number** and are released together usi
 
 ### Gateway Versioning
 
-The Go gateway is versioned independently via `gateway/VERSION` and released through GoReleaser when a `gateway/v*` tag is pushed.
+The Go gateway is versioned independently via `gateway/version.txt` and released through GoReleaser when a `gateway/v*` tag is pushed.
 
 ## Pull Request Guidelines
 
diff --git a/gateway/Dockerfile b/gateway/Dockerfile
index 3bd3281..096756e 100644
--- a/gateway/Dockerfile
+++ b/gateway/Dockerfile
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ RUN go mod download
 # Copy source and build.
 COPY . .
 RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=${TARGETOS} GOARCH=${TARGETARCH} go build \
-    -ldflags="-s -w -X main.version=$(cat VERSION 2>/dev/null || echo 0.1.0)" \
+    -ldflags="-s -w -X main.version=$(cat version.txt 2>/dev/null || echo 0.1.0)" \
     -trimpath \
     -o /rep-gateway \
     ./cmd/rep-gateway
diff --git a/gateway/Makefile b/gateway/Makefile
index 04857c7..59b5def 100644
--- a/gateway/Makefile
+++ b/gateway/Makefile
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # REP Gateway — Build & development targets.
 
-VERSION ?= $(shell cat VERSION 2>/dev/null || echo "0.1.0-dev")
+VERSION ?= $(shell cat version.txt 2>/dev/null || echo "0.1.0-dev")
 BINARY  := rep-gateway
 GOFLAGS := -ldflags="-s -w -X main.version=$(VERSION)" -trimpath
 
diff --git a/gateway/VERSION b/gateway/VERSION
deleted file mode 100644
index 8294c18..0000000
--- a/gateway/VERSION
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-0.1.2
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/gateway/version.txt b/gateway/version.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9faa1b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gateway/version.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0.1.5
diff --git a/release-please-config.json b/release-please-config.json
index 6deb066..aeae3b1 100644
--- a/release-please-config.json
+++ b/release-please-config.json
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@
       "include-component-in-tag": true,
       "tag-separator": "/",
       "extra-files": [
-        "VERSION",
+        "version.txt",
         {
           "type": "json",
           "path": "/cli/package.json",