diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 14fc0d507..5313ea737 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-v2.1.8
+v2.1.9-rc.1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/helm/core/Chart.yaml b/helm/core/Chart.yaml
index 8d9c89c25..7e1c5f339 100644
--- a/helm/core/Chart.yaml
+++ b/helm/core/Chart.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 apiVersion: v2
-appVersion: 2.1.8
+appVersion: 2.1.9-rc.1
 description: Helm chart for deploying higress gateways
 icon: https://higress.io/img/higress_logo_small.png
 home: http://higress.io/
@@ -15,4 +15,4 @@ dependencies:
     repository: "file://../redis"
     version: 0.0.1
 type: application
-version: 2.1.8
+version: 2.1.9-rc.1
diff --git a/helm/higress/Chart.lock b/helm/higress/Chart.lock
index 5564ce78a..304244b00 100644
--- a/helm/higress/Chart.lock
+++ b/helm/higress/Chart.lock
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 dependencies:
 - name: higress-core
   repository: file://../core
-  version: 2.1.8
+  version: 2.1.9-rc.1
 - name: higress-console
   repository: https://higress.io/helm-charts/
   version: 2.1.8
-digest: sha256:20abb8842774217237293b49a46e885dd3e5edd3da118c5fe449e50d19e9c9e3
-generated: "2025-09-21T14:55:25.084965+08:00"
+digest: sha256:0899e57f8744790bef3061413d6ce43ca4a54ac21fbe44fc0af7db973da28a79
+generated: "2025-10-09T17:25:21.377573+08:00"
diff --git a/helm/higress/Chart.yaml b/helm/higress/Chart.yaml
index 3eab788b1..c3866f0ed 100644
--- a/helm/higress/Chart.yaml
+++ b/helm/higress/Chart.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 apiVersion: v2
-appVersion: 2.1.8
+appVersion: 2.1.9-rc.1
 description: Helm chart for deploying Higress gateways
 icon: https://higress.io/img/higress_logo_small.png
 home: http://higress.io/
@@ -12,9 +12,9 @@ sources:
 dependencies:
 - name: higress-core
   repository: "file://../core"
-  version: 2.1.8
+  version: 2.1.9-rc.1
 - name: higress-console
   repository: "https://higress.io/helm-charts/"
   version: 2.1.8
 type: application
-version: 2.1.8
+version: 2.1.9-rc.1