diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 93dd45b..85f34e5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,12 +7,21 @@ public APIs may still change while the backend design stabilizes.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.2.0b1] - 2026-06-12
+
 ### Added
 
 - Added the public `DuplexStream` API contract for backend-level full-duplex
   capture and playback.
 - Added native macOS `DuplexStream` support backed by Core Audio input and
   output queues owned by one native stream object.
+- Added native Linux `DuplexStream` support backed by one miniaudio duplex
+  device callback.
+
+### Changed
+
+- Promoted package metadata from pre-alpha to beta.
+- Kept wheel builds intentionally per-CPython-version rather than stable ABI.
 
 ## [0.2.0a3] - 2026-06-12
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 45297a4..20432a8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@
 `tachyaudio` is a low-level audio package intended to replace tachypy’s direct
 dependency on `sounddevice`/PortAudio over time.
 
-Status: pre-alpha. The native backend currently supports macOS through Core
-Audio and Linux through vendored `miniaudio`. Windows support is not implemented
-yet.
+Status: beta. The native backend currently supports macOS through Core Audio and
+Linux through vendored `miniaudio`. Windows support is planned but intentionally
+deferred until Windows test hardware is available.
 
 ## Goals
 
diff --git a/docs/python-support.md b/docs/python-support.md
index dfdf357..863a256 100644
--- a/docs/python-support.md
+++ b/docs/python-support.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 - Treat Python 3.10 as the lower-bound type-checking target.
 - Add version-specific code only behind narrow compatibility helpers.
 
-## Wheel targets
+## Wheel targets and ABI decision
 
 Initial wheel scope:
 
@@ -25,5 +25,12 @@ The native extension currently uses the regular CPython C API. That means wheel
 builds are per-CPython-version. Moving to Python’s stable ABI can be evaluated
 later, but only after the native API settles.
 
+For the public beta, `tachyaudio` intentionally ships per-version CPython
+wheels (`cp310` through `cp314`) rather than `abi3` wheels. This keeps the
+native backend implementation unconstrained while macOS and Linux playback,
+capture, duplex streams, and diagnostics are still evolving. The additional
+wheel matrix is acceptable because cibuildwheel already builds the supported
+Python minors explicitly.
+
 CI should run unit tests on every supported Python minor version before a wheel
 is published.
diff --git a/docs/release.md b/docs/release.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee54c27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/release.md
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# Release checklist
+
+This project publishes platform wheels for supported CPython versions instead
+of `abi3` wheels.
+
+## Beta release flow
+
+1. Merge the release-prep pull request.
+2. Tag the merged commit:
+
+   ```bash
+   git checkout main
+   git pull --ff-only
+   git tag -a v0.2.0b1 -m "v0.2.0b1"
+   git push origin v0.2.0b1
+   ```
+
+3. Wait for the GitHub Actions `wheels` workflow to finish for the tag.
+4. Download the `linux-wheels` and `macos-wheels` artifacts.
+5. Build the source distribution from the tagged commit:
+
+   ```bash
+   python -m build --sdist
+   ```
+
+6. Validate package metadata:
+
+   ```bash
+   python -m twine check dist/*
+   ```
+
+7. Upload to TestPyPI first:
+
+   ```bash
+   python -m twine upload --repository testpypi dist/*
+   ```
+
+8. Install from TestPyPI in a clean environment and smoke-test import plus a
+   short playback/capture check where hardware is available.
+9. Upload to PyPI:
+
+   ```bash
+   python -m twine upload dist/*
+   ```
+
+10. Create the GitHub release for the tag and attach wheel artifacts.
+
+## Windows support
+
+Windows wheels are intentionally not published until WASAPI support has been
+implemented and validated on Windows hardware.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 86f6324..41f949a 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "tachyaudio"
-version = "0.2.0a3"
+version = "0.2.0b1"
 description = "Low-level audio primitives for tachypy and Python experiments."
 readme = "README.md"
 license = "MIT"
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ authors = [
   { name = "tachyaudio contributors" }
 ]
 classifiers = [
-  "Development Status :: 2 - Pre-Alpha",
+  "Development Status :: 4 - Beta",
   "Intended Audience :: Developers",
   "Intended Audience :: Science/Research",
   "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
diff --git a/src/tachyaudio/_version.py b/src/tachyaudio/_version.py
index 5213695..a762126 100644
--- a/src/tachyaudio/_version.py
+++ b/src/tachyaudio/_version.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "0.2.0a3"
+__version__ = "0.2.0b1"