diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
index b156399..a9ea16f 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-  ".": "1.17.5"
+  ".": "1.17.6"
 }
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a1c8fbf..dc86a64 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,18 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.17.6](https://github.com/netlify/axis/compare/v1.17.5...v1.17.6) (2026-09-08)
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* **adapters:** a child that fails to start fails the run instead of crashing axis ([b0e7b48](https://github.com/netlify/axis/commit/b0e7b48664ec21446f42c87f497d11f336b0450d))
+* **adapters:** a process that fails to start fails its cell, not the run ([c1b6991](https://github.com/netlify/axis/commit/c1b69910aa65ed9b2b61f80cb11d03ee7f071b0e))
+* **adapters:** a spawn that throws fails the run instead of crashing axis ([022ae6f](https://github.com/netlify/axis/commit/022ae6ff8297e4343d67d55bbb342b89ea78821b))
+* **adapters:** add promptVia so a spec can deliver the prompt over stdin ([f59e492](https://github.com/netlify/axis/commit/f59e49286449ac3d9a91164e9c29a338f5fae9c6))
+* **adapters:** claude-code and codex deliver the prompt over stdin ([2779279](https://github.com/netlify/axis/commit/27792790a5bf6da43149cad773c351b33ca068c3))
+* **adapters:** deliver the prompt over stdin so a null byte can't crash the judge ([2cd440f](https://github.com/netlify/axis/commit/2cd440fcc98826bb2d88b8eff6b7d6167ed84186))
+* **scoring:** strip control characters from judge prompt values ([d99d231](https://github.com/netlify/axis/commit/d99d23174b7610cb6104faddcbcd4a19a2378835))
+
 ## [1.17.5](https://github.com/netlify/axis/compare/v1.17.4...v1.17.5) (2026-08-21)
 
 
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 0550c01..2d55b4b 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "@netlify/axis",
-  "version": "1.17.5",
+  "version": "1.17.6",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "@netlify/axis",
-      "version": "1.17.5",
+      "version": "1.17.6",
       "license": "MIT",
       "workspaces": [
         "src/docs-site"
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index daeef65..6dd3577 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "workspaces": [
     "src/docs-site"
   ],
-  "version": "1.17.5",
+  "version": "1.17.6",
   "description": "Open source tooling and scoring framework to measure how well services work for AI agents.",
   "license": "MIT",
   "type": "module",