diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 34aea54cc..2cf19d8e7 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,29 @@ Format based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [2.53.0] - 2026-03-27
+
+### Added
+- **vscode**: activity feed, workflow controls, session forking, enhanced code lens [2/3] (#2656)
+- **gsd**: enable safety mechanisms by default (snapshots, pre-merge checks) (#2678)
+
+### Fixed
+- hydrate collected secrets for current session (#2788)
+- resolve stash pop conflicts and stop swallowing merge errors (#2780)
+- treat any extracted verdict as terminal in isValidationTerminal (#2774)
+- use localStorage for auth token to enable multi-tab usage (#2785)
+- guard activeMilestone.id access in discuss and headless paths (#2776)
+- clean up zombie parallel workers stuck in error state (#2782)
+- relax milestone validation gate to accept prose evidence (#2779)
+- write milestone reports to project root instead of worktree (#2778)
+- auto-resolve build artifact conflicts in milestone merge (#2777)
+- let rate-limit errors attempt model fallback before pausing (#2775)
+- prevent gsd next from self-killing via stale crash lock (#2784)
+- add shell flag for Windows spawn in VSCode extension (#2781)
+
+### Changed
+- **gsd**: extract duplicated status guards and validation helpers (#2767)
+
 ## [2.52.0] - 2026-03-27
 
 ### Added
@@ -2050,7 +2073,8 @@ Format based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).
 ### Changed
 - License updated to MIT
 
-[Unreleased]: https://github.com/gsd-build/gsd-2/compare/v2.52.0...HEAD
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/gsd-build/gsd-2/compare/v2.53.0...HEAD
+[2.53.0]: https://github.com/gsd-build/gsd-2/compare/v2.52.0...v2.53.0
 [2.52.0]: https://github.com/gsd-build/gsd-2/compare/v2.51.0...v2.52.0
 [2.51.0]: https://github.com/gsd-build/gsd-2/compare/v2.50.0...v2.51.0
 [2.50.0]: https://github.com/gsd-build/gsd-2/compare/v2.49.0...v2.50.0
diff --git a/native/npm/darwin-arm64/package.json b/native/npm/darwin-arm64/package.json
index 223e08bd2..0911fe2e5 100644
--- a/native/npm/darwin-arm64/package.json
+++ b/native/npm/darwin-arm64/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@gsd-build/engine-darwin-arm64",
-  "version": "2.52.0",
+  "version": "2.53.0",
   "description": "GSD native engine binary for macOS ARM64",
   "os": [
     "darwin"
diff --git a/native/npm/darwin-x64/package.json b/native/npm/darwin-x64/package.json
index 66de49e14..12d435d25 100644
--- a/native/npm/darwin-x64/package.json
+++ b/native/npm/darwin-x64/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@gsd-build/engine-darwin-x64",
-  "version": "2.52.0",
+  "version": "2.53.0",
   "description": "GSD native engine binary for macOS Intel",
   "os": [
     "darwin"
diff --git a/native/npm/linux-arm64-gnu/package.json b/native/npm/linux-arm64-gnu/package.json
index 39a0377ea..ec4d8e9c7 100644
--- a/native/npm/linux-arm64-gnu/package.json
+++ b/native/npm/linux-arm64-gnu/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@gsd-build/engine-linux-arm64-gnu",
-  "version": "2.52.0",
+  "version": "2.53.0",
   "description": "GSD native engine binary for Linux ARM64 (glibc)",
   "os": [
     "linux"
diff --git a/native/npm/linux-x64-gnu/package.json b/native/npm/linux-x64-gnu/package.json
index 9db49f48d..60a9b25bc 100644
--- a/native/npm/linux-x64-gnu/package.json
+++ b/native/npm/linux-x64-gnu/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@gsd-build/engine-linux-x64-gnu",
-  "version": "2.52.0",
+  "version": "2.53.0",
   "description": "GSD native engine binary for Linux x64 (glibc)",
   "os": [
     "linux"
diff --git a/native/npm/win32-x64-msvc/package.json b/native/npm/win32-x64-msvc/package.json
index 09e714247..02311ed7d 100644
--- a/native/npm/win32-x64-msvc/package.json
+++ b/native/npm/win32-x64-msvc/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@gsd-build/engine-win32-x64-msvc",
-  "version": "2.52.0",
+  "version": "2.53.0",
   "description": "GSD native engine binary for Windows x64 (MSVC)",
   "os": [
     "win32"
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 98c4e5977..6ce995ad9 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "gsd-pi",
-  "version": "2.52.0",
+  "version": "2.53.0",
   "description": "GSD — Get Shit Done coding agent",
   "license": "MIT",
   "repository": {
diff --git a/packages/pi-coding-agent/package.json b/packages/pi-coding-agent/package.json
index 7d3cb624e..019803620 100644
--- a/packages/pi-coding-agent/package.json
+++ b/packages/pi-coding-agent/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@gsd/pi-coding-agent",
-  "version": "2.52.0",
+  "version": "2.53.0",
   "description": "Coding agent CLI (vendored from pi-mono)",
   "type": "module",
   "piConfig": {
diff --git a/pkg/package.json b/pkg/package.json
index 6921ef3fc..7457973b7 100644
--- a/pkg/package.json
+++ b/pkg/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@glittercowboy/gsd",
-  "version": "2.52.0",
+  "version": "2.53.0",
   "piConfig": {
     "name": "gsd",
     "configDir": ".gsd"