diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index bd8bf882d06184bb54615a59477e3c5e35f522fc..42f1172e9d17f7140b6958ac16da8de0751c966c 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.7.0
+1.7.1-rc1
diff --git a/arkindex/system_workers.yml b/arkindex/system_workers.yml
index 663341b467855d1a5346f1c568e5fbffb008ad4a..a1af9fcc0d82aeb71862765c4464a5f9d69f0f27 100644
--- a/arkindex/system_workers.yml
+++ b/arkindex/system_workers.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # When releasing Arkindex, check that the Docker images set here are up to date,
 # then update the `version` to the current Arkindex version as set in the `VERSION` file
 # to confirm that the images have been manually checked.
-version: 1.7.0
+version: 1.7.1-rc1
 
 features:
     file_import: