diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6fdea6a5..babade2b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,23 +8,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 > **This CHANGELOG is automatically generated and maintained by [python-semantic-release](https://github.com/python-semantic-release/python-semantic-release). Do not edit it manually.**
 > New entries are prepended automatically on every merge to `main` that triggers a version bump.
 
----
-
-## [Unreleased]
-
-### Fixed
-- Fixed CHANGELOG.md not being updated by semantic-release (`autoescape = true` Jinja2 bug)
-- Added explicit `changelog_file`, `mode = "update"`, and `output_format = "md"` to semantic-release config
-- Added fallback `semantic-release changelog` step in release workflow for safety
-
-### Documentation
-- Added Documentation-First Development section to CONTRIBUTING.md and AGENTIC_CODING.md
-- Fixed README.md quick-start commands (`cd DocuElevate`, `cp .env.demo .env`)
-- Added note to README.md screenshots section indicating they may lag the current UI
-- Updated TODO.md to reflect current version (v0.40.0) and completed tasks
-- Retroactively populated CHANGELOG.md with all post-v0.5.0 changes
-
----
+<!-- version list -->
 
 ## [0.40.0] - 2026-02-23
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index f360d63a..085bf3d1 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@ match = "main"
 prerelease = false
 
 [tool.semantic_release.changelog]
-changelog_file = "CHANGELOG.md"
 mode = "update"
 exclude_commit_patterns = [
     "^chore\\(release\\):",
diff --git a/scripts/generate_build_metadata.sh b/scripts/generate_build_metadata.sh
index d4e7f1b2..6639b57e 100755
--- a/scripts/generate_build_metadata.sh
+++ b/scripts/generate_build_metadata.sh
@@ -55,31 +55,19 @@ else
     GIT_BRANCH="unknown"
 fi
 
-# Read VERSION file
-if [ -f "VERSION" ]; then
+# Update VERSION file: prefer PSR's NEW_VERSION env var, then existing file
+if [ -n "${NEW_VERSION}" ]; then
+    echo "${NEW_VERSION}" > VERSION
+    VERSION="${NEW_VERSION}"
+    echo "✓ VERSION (from NEW_VERSION env): ${VERSION}"
+elif [ -f "VERSION" ]; then
     VERSION=$(cat VERSION | tr -d '\n')
     echo "✓ VERSION (from file): ${VERSION}"
 else
-    echo "⚠ Warning: VERSION file not found"
+    echo "⚠ Warning: VERSION file not found and NEW_VERSION not set"
     VERSION="unknown"
 fi
 
-# Try to derive version from the latest git tag (semantic-release creates vX.Y.Z tags)
-if git rev-parse --git-dir > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-    LATEST_TAG=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "")
-    if [ -n "${LATEST_TAG}" ]; then
-        # Strip the 'v' prefix from the tag (e.g., v0.9.1 -> 0.9.1)
-        TAG_VERSION="${LATEST_TAG#v}"
-        if [ "${TAG_VERSION}" != "${VERSION}" ]; then
-            echo "⚠ VERSION file (${VERSION}) is out of sync with latest tag (${TAG_VERSION})"
-            echo "  Updating VERSION file to ${TAG_VERSION}"
-            echo "${TAG_VERSION}" > VERSION
-            VERSION="${TAG_VERSION}"
-            echo "✓ VERSION (updated from tag): ${VERSION}"
-        fi
-    fi
-fi
-
 # Generate RUNTIME_INFO with combined metadata
 cat > RUNTIME_INFO << EOF
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