diff --git a/.forgejo/workflows/deploy-release.yml b/.forgejo/workflows/deploy-release.yml
index c10a5c5..9616c4c 100644
--- a/.forgejo/workflows/deploy-release.yml
+++ b/.forgejo/workflows/deploy-release.yml
@@ -89,14 +89,21 @@ jobs:
               | head -3
 
   # On a stable cut (tag push), auto-bump tnd-zddc-chart's appVersion to
-  # match the new ZDDC version, then push to the chart's main branch.
-  # The chart's pipeline-prod fires automatically on its own main push,
-  # rebuilds the prod Docker image with a new tag (image tag derives from
-  # Chart.AppVersion), and helm rolls the deployment. Net effect: a
-  # single ZDDC stable cut deploys to BMCD prod with zero manual steps
-  # on the chart repo. Dispatch-only invocations of this workflow
-  # (workflow_dispatch with channel=release) skip — the chart bump is
-  # only meaningful when the actual git tag exists at refs/tags/.
+  # match the new ZDDC version on BOTH chart branches:
+  #
+  #   main    → BMCD pipeline-prod fires → prod image rebuilt → prod rolled
+  #   develop → BMCD pipeline-dev  fires → dev  image rebuilt → dev  rolled
+  #
+  # Dev tracking stable is the project invariant for "no active beta"
+  # state — when stable advances, dev advances with it. The next beta
+  # cut (./build beta on ZDDC main) advances develop ahead of main via
+  # notify-chart-dev.yml; this stable cut catches develop back up.
+  #
+  # Net effect of one ZDDC stable cut: prod + dev + zddc.varasys.io all
+  # roll automatically with zero manual steps on either repo. Dispatch-
+  # only invocations of this workflow (workflow_dispatch with
+  # channel=release) skip — the chart bump is only meaningful when the
+  # actual git tag exists at refs/tags/.
   notify-chart-prod:
     needs: build-and-deploy
     if: github.event_name == 'push' && startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/zddc-server-v')
@@ -104,7 +111,7 @@ jobs:
     env:
       CHART_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CHART_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
     steps:
-      - name: Auto-bump tnd-zddc-chart appVersion + push to chart main
+      - name: Auto-bump tnd-zddc-chart appVersion on main + develop
         run: |
           set -eu
           VERSION="${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/zddc-server-v}"
@@ -117,45 +124,48 @@ jobs:
               exit 1
           fi
 
-          # Clone tnd-zddc-chart into a tmp workspace. Shallow is fine —
-          # we only ever produce one commit on top of main.
+          git config --global user.name "ZDDC Release Bot"
+          git config --global user.email "noreply@zddc.varasys.io"
+
+          # Push the same appVersion bump to both branches so prod and
+          # dev images both rebuild against the new ZDDC stable. Loop
+          # is idempotent per-branch — if a branch's appVersion already
+          # matches the new version, it's a no-op for that branch.
           TMP=$(mktemp -d)
           cd "$TMP"
-          git clone --depth=20 --branch=main \
-              "https://oauth2:${CHART_GITHUB_TOKEN}@github.com/burnsmcd/tnd-zddc-chart.git"
-          cd tnd-zddc-chart
+          for BRANCH in main develop; do
+              echo ""
+              echo "=== bumping $BRANCH ==="
+              rm -rf tnd-zddc-chart
+              git clone --depth=20 --branch="$BRANCH" \
+                  "https://oauth2:${CHART_GITHUB_TOKEN}@github.com/burnsmcd/tnd-zddc-chart.git"
+              cd tnd-zddc-chart
 
-          # Idempotent: skip if appVersion already matches the new ZDDC
-          # version (e.g. if the operator already manually bumped it, or
-          # this job is being re-run on the same tag).
-          CURRENT=$(grep '^appVersion:' chart/Chart.yaml | sed -E 's/^appVersion: *"?([^"]*)"?.*/\1/')
-          if [ "$CURRENT" = "$VERSION" ]; then
-              echo "Chart appVersion already at $VERSION; nothing to do"
-              exit 0
-          fi
+              CURRENT=$(grep '^appVersion:' chart/Chart.yaml | sed -E 's/^appVersion: *"?([^"]*)"?.*/\1/')
+              if [ "$CURRENT" = "$VERSION" ]; then
+                  echo "  $BRANCH already at $VERSION; nothing to do"
+                  cd ..
+                  continue
+              fi
 
-          # Bump appVersion to track ZDDC stable. Also bump the chart's
-          # own version (patch) so each deploy carries a unique chart
-          # identity in JFrog — clean release history vs. silent rev
-          # within the same chart version.
-          sed -i "s/^appVersion: .*/appVersion: \"$VERSION\"/" chart/Chart.yaml
-          OLD_CHART_VER=$(grep '^version:' chart/Chart.yaml | awk '{print $2}')
-          MAJ=$(echo "$OLD_CHART_VER" | cut -d. -f1)
-          MIN=$(echo "$OLD_CHART_VER" | cut -d. -f2)
-          PAT=$(echo "$OLD_CHART_VER" | cut -d. -f3)
-          NEW_PAT=$((PAT + 1))
-          NEW_CHART_VER="$MAJ.$MIN.$NEW_PAT"
-          sed -i "s/^version: .*/version: $NEW_CHART_VER/" chart/Chart.yaml
+              sed -i "s/^appVersion: .*/appVersion: \"$VERSION\"/" chart/Chart.yaml
+              OLD_CHART_VER=$(grep '^version:' chart/Chart.yaml | awk '{print $2}')
+              MAJ=$(echo "$OLD_CHART_VER" | cut -d. -f1)
+              MIN=$(echo "$OLD_CHART_VER" | cut -d. -f2)
+              PAT=$(echo "$OLD_CHART_VER" | cut -d. -f3)
+              NEW_PAT=$((PAT + 1))
+              NEW_CHART_VER="$MAJ.$MIN.$NEW_PAT"
+              sed -i "s/^version: .*/version: $NEW_CHART_VER/" chart/Chart.yaml
 
-          echo "  appVersion: $CURRENT → $VERSION"
-          echo "  version:    $OLD_CHART_VER → $NEW_CHART_VER"
+              echo "  appVersion: $CURRENT → $VERSION"
+              echo "  version:    $OLD_CHART_VER → $NEW_CHART_VER"
 
-          git config user.name "ZDDC Release Bot"
-          git config user.email "noreply@zddc.varasys.io"
-          git add chart/Chart.yaml
-          git commit \
-              -m "chore(chart): auto-bump appVersion to $VERSION (ZDDC stable cut)" \
-              -m "Triggered by zddc-server-v$VERSION tag push on git.varasys.io/VARASYS/ZDDC. Bumps appVersion so the prod Docker image is tagged zddc:$VERSION, ensuring kubelet pulls a fresh image on the next helm upgrade. Chart version bumped to $NEW_CHART_VER (patch) so JFrog has a clean chart history per deploy." \
-              -m "Auto-generated by .forgejo/workflows/deploy-release.yml's notify-chart-prod job. Do not edit manually — the next ZDDC stable cut will overwrite this commit's changes."
-          git push origin main
-          echo "pushed chart appVersion bump - BMCD pipeline-prod will fire"
+              git add chart/Chart.yaml
+              git commit \
+                  -m "chore(chart): auto-bump appVersion to $VERSION (ZDDC stable cut)" \
+                  -m "Triggered by zddc-server-v$VERSION tag push on git.varasys.io/VARASYS/ZDDC. Bumps appVersion so the $BRANCH-branch image is tagged zddc:$VERSION, ensuring kubelet pulls a fresh image on the next helm upgrade. Chart version bumped to $NEW_CHART_VER (patch) so JFrog has a clean chart history per deploy." \
+                  -m "Auto-generated by .forgejo/workflows/deploy-release.yml's notify-chart-prod job. Do not edit manually — the next ZDDC stable cut will overwrite this commit's changes."
+              git push origin "$BRANCH"
+              echo "  pushed $BRANCH bump - BMCD pipeline-$([ \"$BRANCH\" = main ] && echo prod || echo dev) will fire"
+              cd ..
+          done