diff --git a/IPython/core/release.py b/IPython/core/release.py
index e44ff49..51a98ad 100644
--- a/IPython/core/release.py
+++ b/IPython/core/release.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ name = 'ipython'
 _version_major = 0
 _version_minor = 12
 _version_micro = ''  # use '' for first of series, number for 1 and above
-_version_extra = 'beta'
+_version_extra = 'rc1'
 #_version_extra = ''  # Uncomment this for full releases
 
 # Construct full version string from these.