diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish_node.yml b/.github/workflows/publish_node.yml
index 49e25b5..0e386be 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish_node.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish_node.yml
@@ -18,7 +18,45 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: ♻️ Check out code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: 📦 Publish Custom Node
-        uses: Comfy-Org/publish-node-action@main
+
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          personal_access_token: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_ACCESS_TOKEN }}
+          python-version: "3.10"
+
+      - name: Install comfy-cli
+        run: pip install comfy-cli
+
+      - name: Extract changelog section for this version
+        id: changelog
+        run: |
+          python - <<'EOF'
+          import pathlib
+          import re
+
+          pyproject = pathlib.Path("pyproject.toml").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+          version = re.search(r'^\s*version\s*=\s*"([^"]+)"', pyproject, re.M).group(1)
+          changelog = pathlib.Path("CHANGELOG.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+          # Match headings like "## [1.7.0] - 2026-08-27", "## 1.7.0" or "## v1.7.0".
+          heading = re.compile(rf"^##\s+\[?v?{re.escape(version)}\]?\s*(?:-\s*\d{{4}}-\d{{2}}-\d{{2}})?\s*$", re.M)
+          match = heading.search(changelog)
+          if match is None:
+              print(f"::notice::No CHANGELOG.md section found for v{version}; publishing without a changelog")
+              pathlib.Path("CHANGELOG_CURRENT.md").write_text("", encoding="utf-8")
+          else:
+              end = heading.search(changelog, match.end())
+              section = changelog[match.end():end.start() if end else None].strip()
+              pathlib.Path("CHANGELOG_CURRENT.md").write_text(section + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+          EOF
+
+      - name: 📦 Publish Custom Node
+        run: |
+          if [ -s CHANGELOG_CURRENT.md ]; then
+            comfy --skip-prompt --no-enable-telemetry node publish \
+              --token "${{ secrets.REGISTRY_ACCESS_TOKEN }}" \
+              --changelog-file CHANGELOG_CURRENT.md
+          else
+            comfy --skip-prompt --no-enable-telemetry node publish \
+              --token "${{ secrets.REGISTRY_ACCESS_TOKEN }}"
+          fi
diff --git a/.vscode/tasks.json b/.vscode/tasks.json
index fc81a7d..be83623 100644
--- a/.vscode/tasks.json
+++ b/.vscode/tasks.json
@@ -69,17 +69,6 @@
                 "panel": "dedicated"
             },
             "problemMatcher": []
-        },
-        {
-            "label": "Bump Version (patch)",
-            "type": "shell",
-            "command": "${workspaceFolder}/../../venv/bin/python -m bump_my_version bump patch",
-            "group": "build",
-            "presentation": {
-                "reveal": "always",
-                "panel": "dedicated"
-            },
-            "problemMatcher": []
         }
     ]
 }
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..53a42b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# AGENTS.md
+
+Guidance for AI coding assistants working in this repository.
+
+## Project overview
+
+`basic_data_handling` is a **ComfyUI custom-node pack**: lightweight Python nodes for common data
+manipulation (boolean logic, casting, comparison, control flow, lists, dicts, sets, strings, math,
+paths, regex, tensors, time). It has no runtime dependencies beyond ComfyUI itself.
+
+## Repository layout
+
+- `src/basic_data_handling/` — node implementations; each `*_nodes.py` module registers its nodes.
+- `tests/` — pytest suite mirroring the `src/` modules.
+- `web/` — frontend assets (icon, JS).
+- `pyproject.toml` — package metadata, Comfy registry config (`[tool.comfy]`), and tool config
+  (ruff / mypy / pytest).
+- `CHANGELOG.md` — release notes in Keep-a-Changelog format; the publish workflow reads the section
+  matching the current version.
+- `.github/workflows/` — CI (`build-pipeline.yml`, `validate.yml`) and registry publishing
+  (`publish_node.yml`).
+
+## Versioning & releases (IMPORTANT)
+
+- **Single source of truth:** `[project] version` in `pyproject.toml`. There is intentionally **no**
+  `bump-my-version` config — do **not** re-add one; it only duplicates the version string and causes drift.
+- To release a new version:
+  1. Bump `[project] version` in `pyproject.toml` (semver: MAJOR = breaking, MINOR = feature, PATCH = fix).
+  2. Add a `## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD` section to `CHANGELOG.md` (Keep-a-Changelog format).
+  3. Push to `main`. `.github/workflows/publish_node.yml` auto-triggers on any push touching
+     `pyproject.toml` and publishes to the Comfy registry.
+- **Changelog → registry:** the publish workflow extracts the `## [X.Y.Z]` section from `CHANGELOG.md`
+  and sends it via `comfy node publish --changelog-file`. That text is what shows under
+  **Version history** on the registry page. Published versions are immutable, so the changelog only
+  appears for the newly published version.
+- Registry metadata lives in `[tool.comfy]` (`PublisherId = "stablellama"`, `DisplayName`, `Icon`).
+  The `name` and `Repository` URL must stay stable — they are the registry node ID.
+
+## Tooling
+
+Python venv (repo lives under `ComfyUI/custom_nodes`): `<repo>/../../venv/bin/python`
+
+- Lint: `python -m ruff check .`
+- Format: `python -m ruff format .`
+- Type check: `python -m mypy .` (strict)
+- Tests: `python -m pytest tests/`
+- Pre-commit: `python -m pre_commit run --all-files`
+
+## Workflow / commit policy
+
+- The human reviews and commits all changes (commits are GPG-signed). Do **not** run `git commit`
+  yourself; make the changes, optionally stage them, and hand off to the user.
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37ad080
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# Changelog
+
+All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
+
+The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
+and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
+
+## [Unreleased]
+
+## [1.7.0] - 2026-08-27
+
+### Added
+
+- String save node now supports append mode
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 525380a..5b2af7c 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "basic_data_handling"
-version = "1.6.0"
+version = "1.7.0"
 description = """Basic Python functions for manipulating data that every programmer is used to, lightweight with no additional dependencies.
 
 Supported data types:
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ dependencies = []
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 dev = [
-    "bump-my-version",
     "coverage",  # testing
     "frozendict", # an example not-a-dict-but-mapping class for dict nodes
     "mypy",  # linting