diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index c6654335..1d0ba9ea 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.3.0+git
+0.4.0
diff --git a/schema/version.go b/schema/version.go
index 7f2b331d..595b8380 100644
--- a/schema/version.go
+++ b/schema/version.go
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ const (
 	// version represents the canonical version of the appc spec and tooling.
 	// For now, the schema and tooling is coupled with the spec itself, so
 	// this must be kept in sync with the VERSION file in the root of the repo.
-	version string = "0.3.0+git"
+	version string = "0.4.0"
 )
 
 var (