diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b055575
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# Changelog
+
+All notable changes to Aurora Admin are documented here, one entry per
+version bump. Starts at 2.1.0 — earlier history (the theming rebuild,
+window chrome/taskbar, Site Editor support, etc.) lives in `git log` and
+`PROJECT_STATUS.md`, not reconstructed here.
+
+## [2.1.0] - 2026-07-04
+
+### Added
+- Free/paid feature gating: Role Editor, Activity Log, Database Explorer,
+  Analytics, White Label, and the remote site switcher are now Pro
+  features. Menu Creator, Admin Notices, Comments, Plugins, and the core
+  shell/theming stay free. Locked pages show an upgrade prompt instead of
+  the real feature; the sidebar shows a lock badge on locked items.
+- Real license validation against the `auroraplugins.com` license server
+  (validate/activate/deactivate), replacing the earlier placeholder that
+  treated any non-empty key as active. Status is cached for 12 hours and
+  re-checked immediately on a license-key change. The Settings page shows
+  a live status line (active/invalid/unreachable) under the License key
+  field.
+- File-integrity tamper protection: if the code implementing the license
+  gate has been modified, every paid feature re-locks regardless of an
+  otherwise-valid license — makes stripping the check out of a
+  redistributed copy not actually unlock anything.
+
+### Fixed
+- Role Editor's REST endpoint 500'd when hit via the REST API — it called
+  `get_editable_roles()`, which WordPress only auto-loads for normal
+  wp-admin page requests, not REST requests.
diff --git a/app/package.json b/app/package.json
index ffed15b..7f6e03d 100644
--- a/app/package.json
+++ b/app/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "aurora-admin-app",
-  "version": "2.0.0",
+  "version": "2.1.0",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
diff --git a/aurora-admin.php b/aurora-admin.php
index 4d2fabd..71a08e5 100644
--- a/aurora-admin.php
+++ b/aurora-admin.php
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  * Plugin Name: Aurora Admin
  * Plugin URI: https://aurora.co
  * Description: A modern, fast WordPress admin interface.
- * Version: 2.0.0
+ * Version: 2.1.0
  * Author: Aurora
  * Text Domain: aurora-admin
  * Domain Path: /languages/
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 
 defined("ABSPATH") || exit();
 
-define("AURORA_ADMIN_VERSION", "2.0.0");
+define("AURORA_ADMIN_VERSION", "2.1.0");
 define("AURORA_ADMIN_PATH", plugin_dir_path(__FILE__));
 define("AURORA_ADMIN_URL", plugins_url("aurora-admin/"));