diff --git a/.version b/.version
index 88b8320330d..3eea3c4c0e9 100644
--- a/.version
+++ b/.version
@@ -1 +1 @@
-20.03
\ No newline at end of file
+20.09
diff --git a/lib/trivial.nix b/lib/trivial.nix
index a281cd70fb0..5788dd435e5 100644
--- a/lib/trivial.nix
+++ b/lib/trivial.nix
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ rec {
      On each release the first letter is bumped and a new animal is chosen
      starting with that new letter.
   */
-  codeName = "Markhor";
+  codeName = "Nightingale";
 
   /* Returns the current nixpkgs version suffix as string. */
   versionSuffix =
diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/release-notes.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/release-notes.xml
index 444862c5739..e2913b8a535 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/release-notes.xml
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/release-notes.xml
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
   This section lists the release notes for each stable version of NixOS and
   current unstable revision.
  </para>
+ <xi:include href="rl-2009.xml" />
  <xi:include href="rl-2003.xml" />
  <xi:include href="rl-1909.xml" />
  <xi:include href="rl-1903.xml" />
diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2009.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2009.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..240fa281d79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2009.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+<section xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
+         xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
+         xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
+         version="5.0"
+         xml:id="sec-release-20.09">
+ <title>Release 20.09 (“Markhor”, 2020.09/??)</title>
+
+ <section xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
+         xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
+         xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
+         version="5.0"
+         xml:id="sec-release-20.09-highlights">
+  <title>Highlights</title>
+
+  <para>
+   In addition to numerous new and upgraded packages, this release has the
+   following highlights:
+  </para>
+
+  <itemizedlist>
+   <listitem>
+    <para>
+     Support is planned until the end of October 2020, handing over to 20.09.
+    </para>
+   </listitem>
+  </itemizedlist>
+ </section>
+
+ <section xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
+         xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
+         xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
+         version="5.0"
+         xml:id="sec-release-20.09-new-services">
+  <title>New Services</title>
+
+  <para>
+   The following new services were added since the last release:
+  </para>
+
+  <itemizedlist>
+   <listitem>
+    <para />
+   </listitem>
+  </itemizedlist>
+
+ </section>
+
+ <section xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
+         xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
+         xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
+         version="5.0"
+         xml:id="sec-release-20.09-incompatibilities">
+  <title>Backward Incompatibilities</title>
+
+  <para>
+   When upgrading from a previous release, please be aware of the following
+   incompatible changes:
+  </para>
+
+  <itemizedlist>
+   <listitem>
+    <para />
+   </listitem>
+  </itemizedlist>
+ </section>
+
+ <section xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
+         xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
+         xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
+         version="5.0"
+         xml:id="sec-release-20.09-notable-changes">
+  <title>Other Notable Changes</title>
+
+  <itemizedlist>
+   <listitem>
+    <para />
+   </listitem>
+  </itemizedlist>
+ </section>
+</section>