diff --git a/RELEASES.md b/RELEASES.md
index 99f2947d..1935bb1d 100644
--- a/RELEASES.md
+++ b/RELEASES.md
@@ -10,6 +10,18 @@ Full auto-generated changelog: `CHANGELOG.md` · Releases: https://github.com/so
 
 ---
 
+## v8.0.13 — 2026-07-07 (accurate boot log — established stores no longer report "New installation")
+
+Cosmetic boot-log fix. Every persisted 8.0 store logged `📁 New installation: using depth 1
+sharding` on **every** open — even established brains holding thousands of entities — which is
+alarming to read during a restart or incident. Cause: 8.0 stores nouns in the canonical
+`entities/nouns/<shard>/<id>/vectors.json` layout, but the legacy sharding probe inspected the
+`entities/nouns/hnsw/` directory, which the 8.0 write path never populates, so it always concluded
+"new". The new-vs-existing decision now consults the layout the database actually reads and writes
+(plus the known noun count), so an established store logs `📁 Using depth 1 sharding (N entities)`
+and only a genuinely empty store reports a new installation. No behavior change beyond the log line —
+it never triggered a rebuild or migration; entities were always read correctly.
+
 ## v8.0.12 — 2026-07-07 (7→8 VFS-content recovery · zero-rebuild cold open · strict query operators)
 
 Three consumer-facing fixes.