diff --git a/changelog.rst b/changelog.rst
index 586cc8a5..ff58bd7f 100644
--- a/changelog.rst
+++ b/changelog.rst
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
 ZoiteChat ChangeLog
 =================
 
+2.18.0-pre1 (2026-02-16)
+------------------------
+
+- Switched Debian packaging/builds to GTK 3 (Build-Depends, Meson flags, and package metadata).
+- Added Debian package split install manifests so files are assigned to the correct binary packages.
+- Fixed Debian packaging coverage for the man page and MIME XML to avoid unassigned-file (dh_missing) failures.
+- Updated Debian CI packaging workflow and artifact upload paths for actions/upload-artifact@v4 compatibility.
+- Improved GTK3 font consistency by applying the configured input font to channel tree and user list theming paths.
+
 2.17.4 (2026-02-03)
 -------------------
 
diff --git a/data/misc/net.zoite.Zoitechat.appdata.xml.in b/data/misc/net.zoite.Zoitechat.appdata.xml.in
index c030cdd2..8c3280d6 100644
--- a/data/misc/net.zoite.Zoitechat.appdata.xml.in
+++ b/data/misc/net.zoite.Zoitechat.appdata.xml.in
@@ -25,6 +25,18 @@
     <id>zoitechat.desktop</id>
   </provides>
 <releases>
+  <release date="2026-02-16" version="2.18.0-pre1">
+    <description>
+      <p>Packaging and GTK3 improvements:</p>
+      <ul>
+        <li>Switched Debian package builds to GTK 3.</li>
+        <li>Added split-package install manifests for Debian outputs.</li>
+        <li>Fixed unassigned Debian package files (man page and MIME XML).</li>
+        <li>Updated Debian CI artifact upload handling for GitHub Actions v4.</li>
+        <li>Improved GTK3 channel/user list font consistency when applying theme updates.</li>
+      </ul>
+    </description>
+  </release>
   <release date="2026-02-03" version="2.17.4">
     <description>
       <p>Fixes and minor features:</p>
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index f3cd3783..6faf5f95 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -1,3 +1,14 @@
+zoitechat (2.18.0~pre1-1) unstable; urgency=medium
+
+  * New upstream pre-release 2.18.0~pre1.
+  * Debian packaging updates in this branch:
+    - switch package builds to GTK 3 and pass -Dgtk3=true to Meson.
+    - add/install split-package manifests for generated binary packages.
+    - include manpage and MIME package XML in package installs.
+    - adjust CI artifact staging/upload paths for actions/upload-artifact@v4.
+
+ -- ZoiteChat Maintainers <zoitechat@users.noreply.github.com>  Sun, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000
+
 zoitechat (2.17.0-1) unstable; urgency=medium
 
   * Switch Debian build to GTK 3 packaging:
diff --git a/debian/control b/debian/control
index 408abf97..8bbc1d49 100644
--- a/debian/control
+++ b/debian/control
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Suggests:
  zoitechat-python3,
  zoitechat-otr,
  unifont
-Description: IRC client for GNOME (fork of HexChat 2.17.0 base)
+Description: IRC client for GNOME (fork of HexChat 2.18.0-pre1 base)
  ZoiteChat is a graphical IRC client with a GTK 3 GUI. Features include Python,
  Perl and Lua scripting support, a plugin API, multiple server/channel
  windows, spell checking, multiple authentication methods including SASL, and
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 523fa0ca..ea3bea56 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 project('zoitechat', 'c',
-  version: '2.17.4',
+  version: '2.18.0-pre1',
   meson_version: '>= 0.55.0',
   default_options: [
     'c_std=c17',
diff --git a/packaging/solus/package.yml b/packaging/solus/package.yml
index 2eda3b17..81aea384 100644
--- a/packaging/solus/package.yml
+++ b/packaging/solus/package.yml
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 name       : zoitechat
-version    : 2.17.4
+version    : 2.18.0-pre1
 release    : 1
 source     :
-    - https://github.com/ZoiteChat/zoitechat/archive/refs/tags/zoitechat-2.17.4.tar.gz : 77d787cf00abd533326440eab01ca077c21cdfd2eb56807fc21d6fb70f34ada6
+    - https://github.com/ZoiteChat/zoitechat/archive/refs/tags/zoitechat-2.18.0-pre1.tar.gz : 77d787cf00abd533326440eab01ca077c21cdfd2eb56807fc21d6fb70f34ada6
 homepage   : https://zoitechat.zoite.net/
 license    : GPL-2.0-only
 component  : network.irc
diff --git a/win32/version.txt b/win32/version.txt
index b92cdb1d..9d466af9 100644
--- a/win32/version.txt
+++ b/win32/version.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.17.4
+2.18.0-pre1