diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index eeee39cde..1248ae53f 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 project(
 	'sway',
 	'c',
-	version: '1.9-dev',
+	version: '1.9-rc.1',
 	license: 'MIT',
 	meson_version: '>=0.60.0',
 	default_options: [