diff --git a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index ba1031c034..435c8e74eb 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "description": "HyperFrames by HeyGen. Write HTML, render video. Compositions, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com",
diff --git a/.codex-plugin/plugin.json b/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
index a8c02923b4..00422b0272 100644
--- a/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "description": "Write HTML, render video. Compositions, Tailwind v4 styles, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com",
diff --git a/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json b/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json
index 09a504acf1..c808111e8e 100644
--- a/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "displayName": "HyperFrames by HeyGen",
   "description": "Write HTML, render video. Compositions, Tailwind v4 styles, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com"
diff --git a/docs/changelog.mdx b/docs/changelog.mdx
index a83cf6076f..c07e8fa982 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.mdx
+++ b/docs/changelog.mdx
@@ -8,6 +8,25 @@ Recent HyperFrames releases, including user-facing features, fixes, and migratio
 
 {/* New release entries are prepended by `bun run changelog:draft <version> --write`. */}
 
+<Update
+  label="HyperFrames v0.8.181"
+  description="Released - 2026-10-20"
+  tags={["Release", "Producer", "Studio", "Engine"]}
+>
+Long phone-video exports no longer time out or stall before the first frame, and the cloud render plan checks audio peaks faster. Studio keeps an edit preview waiting while its window draws no frames.
+
+## Fixes
+
+- **Studio:** Keep an edit's preview waiting while the window draws no frames ([f5033879f](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/f5033879f763e532bc1b6be146ce0e7503f2a4f3), [#5926](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/5926)).
+- **Engine:** Long phone-video exports neither time out nor stall before the first frame ([472ee43c3](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/472ee43c3a26128ea6ac493e20709d65c0edb3c3), [#5921](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/5921)).
+
+## Performance
+
+- **Producer:** The plan's true-peak check runs in parallel segments ([c77061e3a](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/c77061e3af548b84b3666a06400486cdea70e92b), [#5925](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/5925)).
+
+[View the full commit range](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/compare/v0.8.180...v0.8.181).
+</Update>
+
 <Update
   label="HyperFrames v0.8.180"
   description="Released - 2026-10-20"
diff --git a/gemini-extension.json b/gemini-extension.json
index 0bab49e3c1..42b28ffa24 100644
--- a/gemini-extension.json
+++ b/gemini-extension.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
   "name": "hyperframes",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "HyperFrames by HeyGen. Write HTML, render video. Compositions, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames."
 }
diff --git a/packages/aws-lambda/package.json b/packages/aws-lambda/package.json
index d511d93f41..4158113aaa 100644
--- a/packages/aws-lambda/package.json
+++ b/packages/aws-lambda/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/aws-lambda",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "AWS Lambda adapter for HyperFrames distributed rendering — handler, client-side SDK, and CDK construct.",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index a1841373d9..bfaea0a2c6 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/cli",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "HyperFrames CLI — create, preview, and render HTML video compositions",
   "license": "Apache-2.0",
   "repository": {
diff --git a/packages/core/package.json b/packages/core/package.json
index cee0dfebed..28acc7b34f 100644
--- a/packages/core/package.json
+++ b/packages/core/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/core",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/engine/package.json b/packages/engine/package.json
index 878ffa3a8e..46c77e22b8 100644
--- a/packages/engine/package.json
+++ b/packages/engine/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/engine",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "Seekable web page to video rendering engine (Puppeteer + FFmpeg)",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json b/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json
index c15f8b51a4..18e1157083 100644
--- a/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json
+++ b/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/gcp-cloud-run",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "Google Cloud Run + Workflows adapter for HyperFrames distributed rendering — request handler, client-side SDK, and Terraform module.",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/inspector/package.json b/packages/inspector/package.json
index 8177c16685..7eaa39a7f6 100644
--- a/packages/inspector/package.json
+++ b/packages/inspector/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/inspector",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/lint/package.json b/packages/lint/package.json
index 0c11fa6db4..e19cdc1043 100644
--- a/packages/lint/package.json
+++ b/packages/lint/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/lint",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/parsers/package.json b/packages/parsers/package.json
index ff69760c3d..84eb7439a7 100644
--- a/packages/parsers/package.json
+++ b/packages/parsers/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/parsers",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/player/package.json b/packages/player/package.json
index 122b7f414c..285cec5961 100644
--- a/packages/player/package.json
+++ b/packages/player/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/player",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "Embeddable web component for HyperFrames compositions",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/producer/package.json b/packages/producer/package.json
index a6ed154486..ae6a08881b 100644
--- a/packages/producer/package.json
+++ b/packages/producer/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/producer",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "HTML-to-video rendering engine using Chrome's BeginFrame API",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/sdk/package.json b/packages/sdk/package.json
index 7d3bd209a6..be3152b69e 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/package.json
+++ b/packages/sdk/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/sdk",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "Headless, framework-neutral HyperFrames composition editing engine",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/shader-transitions/package.json b/packages/shader-transitions/package.json
index 8cfb9b21e0..161df585f8 100644
--- a/packages/shader-transitions/package.json
+++ b/packages/shader-transitions/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/shader-transitions",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "WebGL shader transitions for HyperFrames compositions",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/studio-server/package.json b/packages/studio-server/package.json
index 751393c998..8e10daad7d 100644
--- a/packages/studio-server/package.json
+++ b/packages/studio-server/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/studio-server",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/studio/package.json b/packages/studio/package.json
index 3a599394d7..5bd35f3062 100644
--- a/packages/studio/package.json
+++ b/packages/studio/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/studio",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "description": "",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/plugin.json b/plugin.json
index fc6d69b40e..15de014143 100644
--- a/plugin.json
+++ b/plugin.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "$schema": "https://agent-plugins.org/schemas/1.0.0/plugin.schema.json",
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "description": "HyperFrames by HeyGen. Write HTML, render video. Compositions, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.8.180",
+  "version": "0.8.181",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com",
diff --git a/releases/v0.8.181.md b/releases/v0.8.181.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..464216c802
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releases/v0.8.181.md
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# HyperFrames v0.8.181
+
+Released on 2026-10-20.
+
+Long phone-video exports no longer time out or stall before the first frame, and the cloud render plan checks audio peaks faster. Studio keeps an edit preview waiting while its window draws no frames.
+
+## Fixes
+
+- **Studio:** Keep an edit's preview waiting while the window draws no frames ([f5033879f](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/f5033879f763e532bc1b6be146ce0e7503f2a4f3), [#5926](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/5926)).
+- **Engine:** Long phone-video exports neither time out nor stall before the first frame ([472ee43c3](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/472ee43c3a26128ea6ac493e20709d65c0edb3c3), [#5921](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/5921)).
+
+## Performance
+
+- **Producer:** The plan's true-peak check runs in parallel segments ([c77061e3a](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/c77061e3af548b84b3666a06400486cdea70e92b), [#5925](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/5925)).
+
+## Full changelog
+
+https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/compare/v0.8.180...v0.8.181