diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index cd2df8a..3e45a27 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ image-builder checks that apply to a detector package, for every PSF model:
 `check_point_source_centring` (also on the vignetting map),
 `check_point_source_flux`, and `check_edge_flux_loss` (light off a detector edge
 is lost, not renormalized). They need `aocore>=0.1.3`, pinned in the `dev`
-extra only; the runtime pin stays `>=0.1.2`. The OPD-driven checks (tilt,
+extra only (both pins allow aocore 0.2, which is additive); the runtime pin stays `>=0.1.2`. The OPD-driven checks (tilt,
 slopes, wind, Zernikes, RMS) do not apply because getframes PSFs are analytic,
 not images of an OPD map. It also pins the section 8
 software vocabulary: every `device=` takes `"cpu"`/`"gpu"`/`"gpu:N"`/`"auto"`
@@ -166,7 +166,11 @@ CUDA-independent.
 - `.github/workflows/docs.yml` — deploys MkDocs to GitHub Pages.
 
 To cut a release: bump `src/getframes/__about__.py` and the `CHANGELOG.md`, tag
-`X.Y.Z`, and push the tag.
+`X.Y.Z`, and push the tag. Tags
+are bare `X.Y.Z` (2.6.0 was tagged `v2.6.0` by mistake; the workflow accepts both).
+When aocore cuts a new minor release, widen the `<0.N` cap here once the suite passes
+against it: a stale cap makes getframes uninstallable next to packages that need the
+new aocore.
 
 ## Keeping the repo healthy
 
@@ -246,7 +250,7 @@ verified, say so plainly; when a step was skipped or a test fails, say *that*.
 ## Things to avoid
 
 - Don't add heavy core runtime dependencies. Core runtime deps are `numpy`, `scipy`,
-  `astropy`, and the lightweight shared core `aocore` (pinned `>=0.1.2,<0.2`; imported
+  `astropy`, and the lightweight shared core `aocore` (pinned `>=0.1.2,<0.3`; imported
   at module top level, ~10 ms beyond NumPy), plus the `tomli` backport on <3.11.
   `astropy` became core at the 2.0 cut (FITS I/O, WCS pixel↔world projection, catalogs); still import it *lazily* inside
   the functions that use it (it is slow to import) — never at module top level, so
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 599592c..beef7a1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [2.6.1] - 2026-10-11
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Allow aocore 0.2 (`aocore>=0.1.2,<0.3`). aocore 0.2.0 is additive and the
+  test suite passes against it; the old `<0.2` cap made getframes impossible to
+  install next to packages that need aocore 0.2 (e.g. shmpipeline-ao 0.2).
+
 ## [2.6.0] - 2026-10-10
 
 ### Added
@@ -752,7 +760,9 @@ together in 1.0.
 - Documentation, runnable examples, and CI (lint, type-check, test matrix, PyPI
   release via Trusted Publishing).
 
-[Unreleased]: https://github.com/jacotay7/getframes/compare/2.5.0...HEAD
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/jacotay7/getframes/compare/2.6.1...HEAD
+[2.6.1]: https://github.com/jacotay7/getframes/compare/v2.6.0...2.6.1
+[2.6.0]: https://github.com/jacotay7/getframes/compare/2.5.0...v2.6.0
 [2.5.0]: https://github.com/jacotay7/getframes/compare/2.4.0...2.5.0
 [2.4.0]: https://github.com/jacotay7/getframes/compare/2.3.0...2.4.0
 [2.3.0]: https://github.com/jacotay7/getframes/compare/2.2.0...2.3.0
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 4eb6eec..c5219bd 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ classifiers = [
 ]
 dynamic = ["version"]
 dependencies = [
-    "aocore>=0.1.2,<0.2",
+    "aocore>=0.1.2,<0.3",
     "numpy>=1.23",
     "scipy>=1.10",
     "astropy>=5.0",
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 dev = [
     # The test suite runs aocore's image-builder conformance checks (0.1.3+).
-    "aocore>=0.1.3,<0.2",
+    "aocore>=0.1.3,<0.3",
     "pytest>=7.0",
     "pytest-cov>=4.0",
     "ruff>=0.6",
diff --git a/src/getframes/__about__.py b/src/getframes/__about__.py
index 61b2727..d829337 100644
--- a/src/getframes/__about__.py
+++ b/src/getframes/__about__.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
 """Single source of truth for the package version."""
 
-__version__ = "2.6.0"
+__version__ = "2.6.1"