diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 94fe62c2740fdca94618a4f448e6c2575f123592..55c7df78a033ad163403e7ebca2850f85d43cb05 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.5.4
+1.6.0-alpha4