diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 04a1086..1a6e3a5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,18 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.18.0](https://github.com/SethCohen/github-releases-to-discord/compare/v1.17.0...v1.18.0) (2025-06-17)
+
+
+### Features
+
+* **index.js:** enhance sendWebhook function to handle rate limits with retries for improved reliability when sending requests to Discord ([feb5a40](https://github.com/SethCohen/github-releases-to-discord/commit/feb5a402377bc3da9cb9ea788964ece4e56f48cd))
+
+
+### Miscellaneous
+
+* remove unnecessary test file from .gitignore and add sample test release JSON for local testing ([82d906c](https://github.com/SethCohen/github-releases-to-discord/commit/82d906cc6f29adbe413b3f26b55deafc3f08ceee))
+* update README for clarity and conciseness, improve formatting, and add new sections for better user guidance ([82d906c](https://github.com/SethCohen/github-releases-to-discord/commit/82d906cc6f29adbe413b3f26b55deafc3f08ceee))
+
 ## [1.17.0](https://github.com/SethCohen/github-releases-to-discord/compare/v1.16.2...v1.17.0) (2025-06-17)
 
 
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 98a683d..92052e7 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "github-releases-to-discord",
-  "version": "1.17.0",
+  "version": "1.18.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 2,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "github-releases-to-discord",
-      "version": "1.17.0",
+      "version": "1.18.0",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
         "@actions/core": "^1.10.1",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 2e2c792..7c52aca 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "github-releases-to-discord",
-  "version": "1.17.0",
+  "version": "1.18.0",
   "description": "A GitHub Action that automatically sends a stylized Discord webhook of a GitHub Release description to a specified Discord channel.",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "index.js",