diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a6260f04..536bcc20 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -33,6 +33,19 @@ All sections are explained on the link above, they are all optional, and each of
 
 <!-- New entries go after this line -->
 
+## v2.6.0-rc.1 - 2017-11-11 [Pre-release]
+
+[See the full changelog](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/compare/v2.5.0...v2.6.0-rc.1)
+
+This is a release candidate for v2.6.0 to ensure maximum stability for public release.
+Please refer to the commit list given above for a complete list of changes, or wait for the stable release to get a thoroughly prepared change log entry.
+
+As with all pre-releases, this version requires explicit use of the `next` tag to be installed:
+
+```sh
+npm install -g thelounge@next
+```
+
 ## v2.5.0 - 2017-10-17
 
 For more details, [see the full changelog](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/compare/v2.4.0...v2.5.0) and [milestone](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/milestone/22?closed=1).