diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index fe66c6470e9..443ef7d6865 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -1,3 +1,24 @@
+Release 7.1.2 (in development)
+==============================
+
+Dependencies
+------------
+
+Incompatible changes
+--------------------
+
+Deprecated
+----------
+
+Features added
+--------------
+
+Bugs fixed
+----------
+
+Testing
+-------
+
 Release 7.1.1 (released Jul 27, 2023)
 =====================================
 
diff --git a/sphinx/__init__.py b/sphinx/__init__.py
index f10dd047123..48f64eb9ba8 100644
--- a/sphinx/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/__init__.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 warnings.filterwarnings('ignore', 'The frontend.Option class .*',
                         DeprecationWarning, module='docutils.frontend')
 
-__version__ = '7.1.1'
+__version__ = '7.1.2'
 __display_version__ = __version__  # used for command line version
 
 #: Version info for better programmatic use.
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@
 #:
 #: .. versionadded:: 1.2
 #:    Before version 1.2, check the string ``sphinx.__version__``.
-version_info = (7, 1, 1, 'final', 0)
+version_info = (7, 1, 2, 'beta', 0)
 
 package_dir = path.abspath(path.dirname(__file__))
 
-_in_development = False
+_in_development = True
 if _in_development:
     # Only import subprocess if needed
     import subprocess