diff --git a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index a641e72f647..93d5e1a0389 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "description": "HyperFrames by HeyGen. Write HTML, render video. Compositions, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com",
diff --git a/.codex-plugin/plugin.json b/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
index 9be18bbfe85..435a58db7a9 100644
--- a/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "description": "Write HTML, render video. Compositions, Tailwind v4 styles, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com",
diff --git a/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json b/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json
index bd5c9944718..1df31ed25b0 100644
--- a/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "displayName": "HyperFrames by HeyGen",
   "description": "Write HTML, render video. Compositions, Tailwind v4 styles, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com"
diff --git a/docs/changelog.mdx b/docs/changelog.mdx
index d1dacbc1138..2e951991646 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.mdx
+++ b/docs/changelog.mdx
@@ -8,6 +8,39 @@ Recent HyperFrames releases, including user-facing features, fixes, and migratio
 
 {/* New release entries are prepended by `bun run changelog:draft <version> --write`. */}
 
+<Update
+  label="HyperFrames v0.9.40"
+  description="Released - 2026-11-12"
+  tags={["Release", "Skills", "CLI", "Docker"]}
+>
+A local render now extracts each video at about the size it is shown, so a long export of 4K footage in a 1080p film no longer fills the disk. A frame's pixels no longer depend on the frames drawn before it, render work is sized to the CPUs the process may use, and check hears a WAV whose header misstates its byte rate.
+
+## Features
+
+- **Core:** Runtime element handles for the editing channel ([e1ddb2e16](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/e1ddb2e162388fcef4b6496ceb81d02fe22fe3d3), [#7603](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7603)).
+
+## Fixes
+
+- **CLI:** Check hears a WAV whose header misstates its byte rate, as render plays it ([97df93fb0](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/97df93fb07dc0e1c66aba8eafbb10c2692dbe7db), [#7618](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7618)).
+- **Docker:** Node 22.23.5 for the November 2026 security release ([5bf361f52](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/5bf361f5247a677b7360b01a255a7db797296086), [#7611](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7611)).
+- **Engine:** A frame's pixels no longer depend on the frames drawn before it ([b4fc4736d](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/b4fc4736d7934b1d783fe8aefc6799b1828e4e6b), [#7181](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7181)).
+- **CLI:** Add --dir names the exact init command for a missing folder ([bfd3fe644](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/bfd3fe644bbbf1df2d059059b7c5b311f6b80601), [#7615](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7615)).
+- **Producer:** A local render extracts each video at about the size it is shown ([54bcdc616](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/54bcdc616fd59fb324367615684c915480a9c634), [#7609](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7609)).
+- **Engine:** Render work is sized by the CPUs the process may use ([395c845cd](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/395c845cd3131aaf7bb5a0181818c377a81f4def), [#7612](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7612)).
+- **Engine:** A video shown at exactly half its size is extracted at half size ([cc47f7ea7](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/cc47f7ea74e530003326655d1ba012e2b9c908d8), [#7607](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7607)).
+
+## Catalog
+
+- **CLI:** 'hyperframes registry search' runs catalog ([83b34cbe4](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/83b34cbe49d5a44335875c44a2b95cef75211dc4), [#7610](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7610)).
+
+## Internal
+
+- **Skills:** Move the Python encoding guard out of the skills root ([33304cff0](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/33304cff04a601f19128111f77f6538af340f306), [#7606](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7606)).
+- **Producer:** Pay the first render's start-up cost before the stall and frame-window tests ([d1a366b42](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/d1a366b42f7e05af82ab38ef637b97673241a943), [#7503](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7503)).
+
+[View the full commit range](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/compare/v0.9.39...v0.9.40).
+</Update>
+
 <Update
   label="HyperFrames v0.9.39"
   description="Released - 2026-11-12"
diff --git a/gemini-extension.json b/gemini-extension.json
index c129ff9092e..9ae5e4c47d7 100644
--- a/gemini-extension.json
+++ b/gemini-extension.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
   "name": "hyperframes",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "HyperFrames by HeyGen. Write HTML, render video. Compositions, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames."
 }
diff --git a/packages/aws-lambda/package.json b/packages/aws-lambda/package.json
index dd93ec67cf9..0618b7b4943 100644
--- a/packages/aws-lambda/package.json
+++ b/packages/aws-lambda/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/aws-lambda",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "AWS Lambda adapter for HyperFrames distributed rendering — handler, client-side SDK, and CDK construct.",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 56bd35bf69d..2a82b78aac4 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/cli",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "Make videos with code and AI agents: write HTML, render MP4. Open source.",
   "keywords": [
     "ai-agents",
diff --git a/packages/core/package.json b/packages/core/package.json
index cc05e94629b..d391b883019 100644
--- a/packages/core/package.json
+++ b/packages/core/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/core",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/engine/package.json b/packages/engine/package.json
index 1657656218d..cc0fc271eb6 100644
--- a/packages/engine/package.json
+++ b/packages/engine/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/engine",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "Seekable web page to video rendering engine (Puppeteer + FFmpeg)",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json b/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json
index a8e8a119bde..65e1e462538 100644
--- a/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json
+++ b/packages/gcp-cloud-run/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/gcp-cloud-run",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "Google Cloud Run + Workflows adapter for HyperFrames distributed rendering — request handler, client-side SDK, and Terraform module.",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/inspector/package.json b/packages/inspector/package.json
index a550f0f7bcc..89608c021b5 100644
--- a/packages/inspector/package.json
+++ b/packages/inspector/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/inspector",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/lint/package.json b/packages/lint/package.json
index 2969c5f6ab1..7d1b309dfa8 100644
--- a/packages/lint/package.json
+++ b/packages/lint/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/lint",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/parsers/package.json b/packages/parsers/package.json
index 21a6c08e9d3..c8514a19476 100644
--- a/packages/parsers/package.json
+++ b/packages/parsers/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/parsers",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/player/package.json b/packages/player/package.json
index 74d0de48a2d..7dc823c532c 100644
--- a/packages/player/package.json
+++ b/packages/player/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/player",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "Embeddable web component for HyperFrames compositions",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/producer/package.json b/packages/producer/package.json
index 2a0ec8a6a19..cc9e453537d 100644
--- a/packages/producer/package.json
+++ b/packages/producer/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/producer",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "HTML-to-video rendering engine using Chrome's BeginFrame API",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/sdk/package.json b/packages/sdk/package.json
index e465bfcfb72..7e4432fc4f9 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/package.json
+++ b/packages/sdk/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/sdk",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "Headless, framework-neutral HyperFrames composition editing engine",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/shader-transitions/package.json b/packages/shader-transitions/package.json
index f018539036a..f777438be55 100644
--- a/packages/shader-transitions/package.json
+++ b/packages/shader-transitions/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/shader-transitions",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "WebGL shader transitions for HyperFrames compositions",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/share/package.json b/packages/share/package.json
index 05b68fd0c73..c32501b5614 100644
--- a/packages/share/package.json
+++ b/packages/share/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/share",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "Shared review identity, version upload and sharing state for HyperFrames hosts",
   "license": "Apache-2.0",
   "repository": {
diff --git a/packages/studio-server/package.json b/packages/studio-server/package.json
index f9d72e64c98..138493e0b29 100644
--- a/packages/studio-server/package.json
+++ b/packages/studio-server/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/studio-server",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes",
diff --git a/packages/studio/package.json b/packages/studio/package.json
index 6438dbb9ced..0179f7de8ca 100644
--- a/packages/studio/package.json
+++ b/packages/studio/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@hyperframes/studio",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "description": "",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/plugin.json b/plugin.json
index 638f708cd81..1529cd11735 100644
--- a/plugin.json
+++ b/plugin.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "$schema": "https://agent-plugins.org/schemas/1.0.0/plugin.schema.json",
   "name": "hyperframes",
   "description": "HyperFrames by HeyGen. Write HTML, render video. Compositions, GSAP and runtime adapter animations, captions, voiceovers, audio-reactive visuals, and website capture for HyperFrames.",
-  "version": "0.9.39",
+  "version": "0.9.40",
   "author": {
     "name": "HeyGen",
     "email": "hyperframes@heygen.com",
diff --git a/releases/v0.9.40.md b/releases/v0.9.40.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5766ed2a834
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releases/v0.9.40.md
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# HyperFrames v0.9.40
+
+Released on 2026-11-12.
+
+A local render now extracts each video at about the size it is shown, so a long export of 4K footage in a 1080p film no longer fills the disk. A frame's pixels no longer depend on the frames drawn before it, render work is sized to the CPUs the process may use, and check hears a WAV whose header misstates its byte rate.
+
+## Features
+
+- **Core:** Runtime element handles for the editing channel ([e1ddb2e16](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/e1ddb2e162388fcef4b6496ceb81d02fe22fe3d3), [#7603](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7603)).
+
+## Fixes
+
+- **CLI:** Check hears a WAV whose header misstates its byte rate, as render plays it ([97df93fb0](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/97df93fb07dc0e1c66aba8eafbb10c2692dbe7db), [#7618](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7618)).
+- **Docker:** Node 22.23.5 for the November 2026 security release ([5bf361f52](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/5bf361f5247a677b7360b01a255a7db797296086), [#7611](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7611)).
+- **Engine:** A frame's pixels no longer depend on the frames drawn before it ([b4fc4736d](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/b4fc4736d7934b1d783fe8aefc6799b1828e4e6b), [#7181](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7181)).
+- **CLI:** Add --dir names the exact init command for a missing folder ([bfd3fe644](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/bfd3fe644bbbf1df2d059059b7c5b311f6b80601), [#7615](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7615)).
+- **Producer:** A local render extracts each video at about the size it is shown ([54bcdc616](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/54bcdc616fd59fb324367615684c915480a9c634), [#7609](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7609)).
+- **Engine:** Render work is sized by the CPUs the process may use ([395c845cd](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/395c845cd3131aaf7bb5a0181818c377a81f4def), [#7612](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7612)).
+- **Engine:** A video shown at exactly half its size is extracted at half size ([cc47f7ea7](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/cc47f7ea74e530003326655d1ba012e2b9c908d8), [#7607](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7607)).
+
+## Catalog
+
+- **CLI:** 'hyperframes registry search' runs catalog ([83b34cbe4](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/83b34cbe49d5a44335875c44a2b95cef75211dc4), [#7610](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7610)).
+
+## Internal
+
+- **Skills:** Move the Python encoding guard out of the skills root ([33304cff0](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/33304cff04a601f19128111f77f6538af340f306), [#7606](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7606)).
+- **Producer:** Pay the first render's start-up cost before the stall and frame-window tests ([d1a366b42](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/commit/d1a366b42f7e05af82ab38ef637b97673241a943), [#7503](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/pull/7503)).
+
+## Full changelog
+
+https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/compare/v0.9.39...v0.9.40