diff --git a/core/Cargo.lock b/core/Cargo.lock
index 54e1d6ce..7bdc945c 100644
--- a/core/Cargo.lock
+++ b/core/Cargo.lock
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ checksum = "a23eb6b1614318a8071c9b2521f36b424b2c83db5eb3a0fead4a6c0809af6e61"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "archipelago"
-version = "1.7.8-alpha"
+version = "1.7.9-alpha"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "archipelago-container",
diff --git a/core/archipelago/Cargo.toml b/core/archipelago/Cargo.toml
index 95befc3e..e383d6b7 100644
--- a/core/archipelago/Cargo.toml
+++ b/core/archipelago/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "archipelago"
-version = "1.7.8-alpha"
+version = "1.7.9-alpha"
 edition = "2021"
 description = "Archipelago Bitcoin Node OS - Native backend"
 authors = ["Archipelago Team"]
diff --git a/releases/manifest.json b/releases/manifest.json
index 23f7142b..f978a905 100644
--- a/releases/manifest.json
+++ b/releases/manifest.json
@@ -1,23 +1,23 @@
 {
-  "version": "1.7.8-alpha",
+  "version": "1.7.9-alpha",
   "release_date": "2026-04-20",
   "changelog": [
-    "Install Update finally works end-to-end over the air. The installer was trying to overwrite the running backend binary with a tool that fails on in-use files (ETXTBSY) — swapped it for an atomic rename, which the kernel allows on a live executable. Every previous 'Failed to apply update' attempt was this one root cause."
+    "OTA verification release — nothing new to see. Click Install Update, grab a coffee, and watch the sidebar flip to 1.7.9-alpha on its own. If this one works end to end, the pipeline is solid and future updates will flow the same way."
   ],
   "components": [
     {
       "name": "archipelago",
-      "current_version": "1.7.7-alpha",
-      "new_version": "1.7.8-alpha",
-      "download_url": "https://git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/releases/v1.7.8-alpha/archipelago",
-      "sha256": "2753daec113bb4fbbc2a68148ef1579524a26707733eea410faf400b9948094d",
-      "size_bytes": 40377648
+      "current_version": "1.7.8-alpha",
+      "new_version": "1.7.9-alpha",
+      "download_url": "https://git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/releases/v1.7.9-alpha/archipelago",
+      "sha256": "1ec7383de8e6b5caa67ec93311db7b5695e1831730fbd40ce56a5aa5aa301629",
+      "size_bytes": 40378536
     },
     {
-      "name": "archipelago-frontend-1.7.8-alpha.tar.gz",
-      "current_version": "1.7.7-alpha",
-      "new_version": "1.7.8-alpha",
-      "download_url": "https://git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/releases/v1.7.8-alpha/archipelago-frontend-1.7.8-alpha.tar.gz",
+      "name": "archipelago-frontend-1.7.9-alpha.tar.gz",
+      "current_version": "1.7.8-alpha",
+      "new_version": "1.7.9-alpha",
+      "download_url": "https://git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/releases/v1.7.9-alpha/archipelago-frontend-1.7.9-alpha.tar.gz",
       "sha256": "4fb796643cc9dc8469078ca3392f7cc5541071f6849979922b3259e5f20172e9",
       "size_bytes": 76984615
     }
diff --git a/releases/v1.7.9-alpha/archipelago b/releases/v1.7.9-alpha/archipelago
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..b181caa1
Binary files /dev/null and b/releases/v1.7.9-alpha/archipelago differ
diff --git a/releases/v1.7.9-alpha/archipelago-frontend-1.7.9-alpha.tar.gz b/releases/v1.7.9-alpha/archipelago-frontend-1.7.9-alpha.tar.gz
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2465942a
Binary files /dev/null and b/releases/v1.7.9-alpha/archipelago-frontend-1.7.9-alpha.tar.gz differ