diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index 20e260b40894..16481ee4c513 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ For new packages please briefly describe the package or provide a link to its ho
   - made sure NixOS tests are [linked](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/README.md#linking-nixos-module-tests-to-a-package) to the relevant packages
 - [ ] Tested compilation of all packages that depend on this change using `nix-shell -p nixpkgs-review --run "nixpkgs-review rev HEAD"`. Note: all changes have to be committed, also see [nixpkgs-review usage](https://github.com/Mic92/nixpkgs-review#usage)
 - [ ] Tested basic functionality of all binary files (usually in `./result/bin/`)
-- [24.11 Release Notes](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2411.section.md) (or backporting [23.11](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2311.section.md) and [24.05](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2405.section.md) Release notes)
+- [25.05 Release Notes](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2505.section.md) (or backporting [24.11](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2411.section.md) and [25.05](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2505.section.md) Release notes)
   - [ ] (Package updates) Added a release notes entry if the change is major or breaking
   - [ ] (Module updates) Added a release notes entry if the change is significant
   - [ ] (Module addition) Added a release notes entry if adding a new NixOS module
diff --git a/.github/workflows/periodic-merge-24h.yml b/.github/workflows/periodic-merge-24h.yml
index 919d927cdbb4..813d6a988efd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/periodic-merge-24h.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/periodic-merge-24h.yml
@@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ jobs:
             into: staging-next-24.05
           - from: staging-next-24.05
             into: staging-24.05
+          - from: release-24.11
+            into: staging-next-24.11
+          - from: staging-next-24.11
+            into: staging-24.11
     name: ${{ matrix.pairs.from }} → ${{ matrix.pairs.into }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683 # v4.2.2
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index f40d7df3b557..f7e159cfef3e 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ See [Nix Channel Status](https://status.nixos.org/) for the current channels and
 Here's a brief overview of the main Git branches and what channels they're used for:
 
 - `master`: The main branch, used for the unstable channels such as `nixpkgs-unstable`, `nixos-unstable` and `nixos-unstable-small`.
-- `release-YY.MM` (e.g. `release-24.05`): The NixOS release branches, used for the stable channels such as `nixos-24.05`, `nixos-24.05-small` and `nixpkgs-24.05-darwin`.
+- `release-YY.MM` (e.g. `release-24.11`): The NixOS release branches, used for the stable channels such as `nixos-24.11`, `nixos-24.11-small` and `nixpkgs-24.11-darwin`.
 
 When a channel is updated, a corresponding Git branch is also updated to point to the corresponding commit.
 So e.g. the [`nixpkgs-unstable` branch](https://github.com/nixos/nixpkgs/tree/nixpkgs-unstable) corresponds to the Git commit from the [`nixpkgs-unstable` channel](https://channels.nixos.org/nixpkgs-unstable).
diff --git a/lib/.version b/lib/.version
index cd158b7c510b..5d540763cfb4 100644
--- a/lib/.version
+++ b/lib/.version
@@ -1 +1 @@
-24.11
\ No newline at end of file
+25.05
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/trivial.nix b/lib/trivial.nix
index 205224126094..04fb9ffd4618 100644
--- a/lib/trivial.nix
+++ b/lib/trivial.nix
@@ -415,7 +415,7 @@ in {
     On each release the first letter is bumped and a new animal is chosen
     starting with that new letter.
   */
-  codeName = "Vicuna";
+  codeName = "Warbler";
 
   /**
     Returns the current nixpkgs version suffix as string.
diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/release-notes.md b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/release-notes.md
index 24494ed95ca8..7110603c44bc 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/release-notes.md
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/release-notes.md
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 This section lists the release notes for each stable version of NixOS and current unstable revision.
 
 ```{=include=} sections
+rl-2505.section.md
 rl-2411.section.md
 rl-2405.section.md
 rl-2311.section.md
diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2505.section.md b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2505.section.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d9f57abcefeb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2505.section.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# Release 25.05 (“Warbler”, 2025.05/??) {#sec-release-25.05}
+
+## Highlights {#sec-release-25.05-highlights}
+
+- Create the first release note entry in this section!
+
+## New Services {#sec-release-25.05-new-services}
+
+- Create the first release note entry in this section!
+
+<!-- To avoid merge conflicts, consider adding your item at an arbitrary place in the list instead. -->
+
+## Backward Incompatibilities {#sec-release-25.05-incompatibilities}
+
+- Create the first release note entry in this section!
+
+## Other Notable Changes {#sec-release-25.05-notable-changes}
+
+- Create the first release note entry in this section!