diff --git a/.bumpversion.cfg b/.bumpversion.cfg
index 370df83d9d6..40d01e31424 100644
--- a/.bumpversion.cfg
+++ b/.bumpversion.cfg
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [bumpversion]
-current_version = 1.9.0b4
+current_version = 1.9.0rc1
 parse = (?P<major>[\d]+) # major version number
 	\.(?P<minor>[\d]+) # minor version number
 	\.(?P<patch>[\d]+) # patch version number
diff --git a/.changes/1.9.0-rc1.md b/.changes/1.9.0-rc1.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..16e14943876
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/1.9.0-rc1.md
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+## dbt-core 1.9.0-rc1 - November 25, 2024
+
+### Features
+
+- Parseable JSON and text output in quiet mode for `dbt show` and `dbt compile` ([#9840](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/9840))
+- Change gating of microbatch feature to be behind project flag / behavior flag ([#10798](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10798))
+- Add new hard_deletes="new_record" mode for snapshots. ([#10235](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10235))
+- Allow microbatch batches to run in parallel ([#10853](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10853), [#10855](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10855))
+
+### Fixes
+
+-  override materialization python models ([#8520](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/8520))
+- Support disabling unit tests via config. ([#9109](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/9109), [#10540](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10540))
+- unit tests with versioned refs ([#10880](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10880), [#10528](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10528), [#10623](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10623))
+- Fix 'no attribute .config' error when ref-ing a microbatch model from non-Model context ([#10928](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10928))
+- Ensure inferred primary_key is a List[str] with no null values  ([#10983](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10983))
+- Correct when custom microbatch macro deprecation warning is fired ([#10994](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10994))
+- Validate manifest has group_map during group_lookup init ([#10988](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10988))
+- Fix plural of 'partial success' in log message ([#10999](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10999))
+- Emit batch-level exception with node_info on microbatch batch run failure ([#10840](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10840))
+- Fix restrict-access to not apply within a package ([#10134](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10134))
+- Make microbatch models skippable ([#11021](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/11021))
+- Catch DbtRuntimeError for hooks ([#11012](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/11012))
+
+### Under the Hood
+
+- Upgrade protobuf ([#10658](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10658))
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump minimum dbt-adapters version to 1.9.0 ([#10996](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10996))
+
+### Contributors
+- [@devmessias](https://github.com/devmessias) ([#8520](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/8520), [#10880](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10880), [#10528](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10528), [#10623](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10623))
+- [@tsturge](https://github.com/tsturge) ([#9109](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/9109), [#10540](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10540))
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20241113-112043.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Dependencies-20241113-112043.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20241113-112043.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Dependencies-20241113-112043.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Features-20240416-123234.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Features-20240416-123234.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Features-20240416-123234.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Features-20240416-123234.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Features-20241001-161422.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Features-20241001-161422.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Features-20241001-161422.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Features-20241001-161422.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Features-20241104-120053.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Features-20241104-120053.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Features-20241104-120053.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Features-20241104-120053.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Features-20241118-160038.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Features-20241118-160038.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Features-20241118-160038.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Features-20241118-160038.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241002-142638.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241002-142638.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241002-142638.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241002-142638.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241007-121402.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241007-121402.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241007-121402.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241007-121402.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241021-093047.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241021-093047.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241021-093047.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241021-093047.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241105-151459.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241105-151459.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241105-151459.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241105-151459.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241106-144656.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241106-144656.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241106-144656.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241106-144656.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241112-210839.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241112-210839.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241112-210839.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241112-210839.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241113-171516.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241113-171516.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241113-171516.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241113-171516.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241114-112535.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241114-112535.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241114-112535.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241114-112535.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241114-170328.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241114-170328.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241114-170328.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241114-170328.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241119-162338.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241119-162338.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241119-162338.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241119-162338.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241121-112638.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241121-112638.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241121-112638.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241121-112638.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241121-181739.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241121-181739.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241121-181739.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Fixes-20241121-181739.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Under the Hood-20241104-110509.yaml b/.changes/1.9.0/Under the Hood-20241104-110509.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Under the Hood-20241104-110509.yaml
rename to .changes/1.9.0/Under the Hood-20241104-110509.yaml
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 227c92a5ca1..e85fa3a1440 100755
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,43 @@
 - "Breaking changes" listed under a version may require action from end users or external maintainers when upgrading to that version.
 - Do not edit this file directly. This file is auto-generated using [changie](https://github.com/miniscruff/changie). For details on how to document a change, see [the contributing guide](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#adding-changelog-entry)
 
+## dbt-core 1.9.0-rc1 - November 25, 2024
+
+### Features
+
+- Parseable JSON and text output in quiet mode for `dbt show` and `dbt compile` ([#9840](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/9840))
+- Change gating of microbatch feature to be behind project flag / behavior flag ([#10798](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10798))
+- Add new hard_deletes="new_record" mode for snapshots. ([#10235](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10235))
+- Allow microbatch batches to run in parallel ([#10853](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10853), [#10855](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10855))
+
+### Fixes
+
+-  override materialization python models ([#8520](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/8520))
+- Support disabling unit tests via config. ([#9109](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/9109), [#10540](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10540))
+- unit tests with versioned refs ([#10880](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10880), [#10528](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10528), [#10623](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10623))
+- Fix 'no attribute .config' error when ref-ing a microbatch model from non-Model context ([#10928](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10928))
+- Ensure inferred primary_key is a List[str] with no null values  ([#10983](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10983))
+- Correct when custom microbatch macro deprecation warning is fired ([#10994](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10994))
+- Validate manifest has group_map during group_lookup init ([#10988](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10988))
+- Fix plural of 'partial success' in log message ([#10999](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10999))
+- Emit batch-level exception with node_info on microbatch batch run failure ([#10840](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10840))
+- Fix restrict-access to not apply within a package ([#10134](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10134))
+- Make microbatch models skippable ([#11021](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/11021))
+- Catch DbtRuntimeError for hooks ([#11012](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/11012))
+
+### Under the Hood
+
+- Upgrade protobuf ([#10658](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10658))
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump minimum dbt-adapters version to 1.9.0 ([#10996](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10996))
+
+### Contributors
+- [@devmessias](https://github.com/devmessias) ([#8520](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/8520), [#10880](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10880), [#10528](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10528), [#10623](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10623))
+- [@tsturge](https://github.com/tsturge) ([#9109](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/9109), [#10540](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10540))
+
+
 ## dbt-core 1.9.0-b4 - November 06, 2024
 
 ### Features
@@ -25,7 +62,6 @@
 ### Contributors
 - [@DevonFulcher](https://github.com/DevonFulcher) ([#10959](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10959), [#10960](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/issues/10960))
 
-
 ## dbt-core 1.9.0-b3 - October 30, 2024
 
 ### Features
@@ -209,7 +245,6 @@
 For information on prior major and minor releases, see their changelogs:
 
 
-* [1.8](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/blob/1.8.latest/CHANGELOG.md)
 * [1.7](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/blob/1.7.latest/CHANGELOG.md)
 * [1.6](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/blob/1.6.latest/CHANGELOG.md)
 * [1.5](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/blob/1.5.latest/CHANGELOG.md)
diff --git a/core/dbt/version.py b/core/dbt/version.py
index 41881a6b649..7d89310d18e 100644
--- a/core/dbt/version.py
+++ b/core/dbt/version.py
@@ -231,5 +231,5 @@ def _get_adapter_plugin_names() -> Iterator[str]:
             yield plugin_name
 
 
-__version__ = "1.9.0b4"
+__version__ = "1.9.0rc1"
 installed = get_installed_version()
diff --git a/core/setup.py b/core/setup.py
index acc083eac6d..3c3fee03ef4 100644
--- a/core/setup.py
+++ b/core/setup.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 
 
 package_name = "dbt-core"
-package_version = "1.9.0b4"
+package_version = "1.9.0rc1"
 description = """With dbt, data analysts and engineers can build analytics \
 the way engineers build applications."""