diff --git a/.github/workflows/beta-release.yml b/.github/workflows/beta-release.yml
index fe747c33..79aae4d6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/beta-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/beta-release.yml
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
           ref: dev
-          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          token: ${{ secrets.GH_PAT }}
 
       - name: Set up Python
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
@@ -86,21 +86,34 @@ jobs:
         id: version
         run: |
           set -e
+          
+          # Fetch all tags to ensure we have the complete tag history
+          git fetch --tags
+          
           CURRENT_VERSION=$(python -c "from datafog.__about__ import __version__; print(__version__)")
           echo "Current version: $CURRENT_VERSION"
 
+          # Extract base version (remove any alpha/beta suffix)
           if [[ $CURRENT_VERSION == *"b"* ]]; then
             BASE_VERSION=$(echo $CURRENT_VERSION | cut -d'b' -f1)
-            BETA_NUM=$(echo $CURRENT_VERSION | cut -d'b' -f2)
-            BETA_VERSION="${BASE_VERSION}b$((BETA_NUM + 1))"
           elif [[ $CURRENT_VERSION == *"a"* ]]; then
             BASE_VERSION=$(echo $CURRENT_VERSION | cut -d'a' -f1)
-            BETA_VERSION="${BASE_VERSION}b1"
           else
-            BASE_VERSION=$(python3 -c "import sys; version='$CURRENT_VERSION'; parts=version.split('.'); parts[1]=str(int(parts[1])+1); parts[2]='0'; print('.'.join(parts))")
-            BETA_VERSION="${BASE_VERSION}b1"
+            BASE_VERSION=$CURRENT_VERSION
           fi
 
+          echo "Base version: $BASE_VERSION"
+
+          # Find the next available beta version by checking existing tags
+          BETA_NUM=1
+          while git tag -l "v${BASE_VERSION}b${BETA_NUM}" | grep -q "v${BASE_VERSION}b${BETA_NUM}"; do
+            echo "Tag v${BASE_VERSION}b${BETA_NUM} already exists"
+            BETA_NUM=$((BETA_NUM + 1))
+          done
+
+          BETA_VERSION="${BASE_VERSION}b${BETA_NUM}"
+          echo "Next available beta version: $BETA_VERSION"
+
           echo "beta_version=$BETA_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           sed -i "s/__version__ = \".*\"/__version__ = \"$BETA_VERSION\"/" datafog/__about__.py
           sed -i "s/version=\".*\"/version=\"$BETA_VERSION\"/" setup.py
@@ -126,9 +139,9 @@ jobs:
           echo "Running integration tests..."
           python run_tests.py -m integration --no-header
           
-          # Run benchmark tests with optimal performance (no memory debugging)
-          echo "Running benchmark tests with performance optimizations..."
-          OMP_NUM_THREADS=4 MKL_NUM_THREADS=4 OPENBLAS_NUM_THREADS=4 python -m pytest tests/benchmark_text_service.py -v --no-header --benchmark-skip
+          # Run simple performance validation (no pytest-benchmark dependency)
+          echo "Running simple performance validation..."
+          OMP_NUM_THREADS=4 MKL_NUM_THREADS=4 OPENBLAS_NUM_THREADS=4 python tests/simple_performance_test.py
 
       - name: Build package
         run: |
@@ -137,7 +150,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Create GitHub release
         env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_PAT }}
         run: |
           BETA_VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.beta_version }}"
           git add datafog/__about__.py setup.py
@@ -169,7 +182,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Cleanup old betas
         env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_PAT }}
         run: |
           BETA_RELEASES=$(gh release list --limit 30 | grep b | tail -n +6 | cut -f3)
 
diff --git a/datafog/__about__.py b/datafog/__about__.py
index 0fd7811c..afcedcd6 100644
--- a/datafog/__about__.py
+++ b/datafog/__about__.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "4.2.0"
+__version__ = "4.2.0b1"
diff --git a/scripts/generate_changelog.py b/scripts/generate_changelog.py
index 8050a8c8..91b4f0f4 100755
--- a/scripts/generate_changelog.py
+++ b/scripts/generate_changelog.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 """Generate changelog for weekly releases."""
 
+import argparse
 import re
 import subprocess
 from datetime import datetime
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ def categorize_commits(commits):
     return categories
 
 
-def generate_changelog():
+def generate_changelog(beta=False):
     """Generate changelog content."""
     latest_tag = get_latest_tag()
     commits = get_commits_since_tag(latest_tag)
@@ -70,8 +71,13 @@ def generate_changelog():
 
     categories = categorize_commits(commits)
 
-    changelog = "# What's New\n\n"
-    changelog += f"*Released: {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}*\n\n"
+    if beta:
+        changelog = "# Beta Release Notes\n\n"
+        changelog += f"*Beta Release: {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}*\n\n"
+        changelog += "⚠️ **This is a beta release for testing purposes.**\n\n"
+    else:
+        changelog = "# What's New\n\n"
+        changelog += f"*Released: {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}*\n\n"
 
     if categories["features"]:
         changelog += "## 🚀 New Features\n"
@@ -121,13 +127,23 @@ def generate_changelog():
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    changelog_content = generate_changelog()
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Generate changelog for releases")
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--beta", action="store_true", help="Generate beta release changelog"
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--output", help="Output file name", default="CHANGELOG_LATEST.md"
+    )
+
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    changelog_content = generate_changelog(beta=args.beta)
 
     # Write to file for GitHub release
-    with open("CHANGELOG_LATEST.md", "w") as f:
+    with open(args.output, "w") as f:
         f.write(changelog_content)
 
-    print("✅ Changelog generated: CHANGELOG_LATEST.md")
+    print(f"✅ Changelog generated: {args.output}")
     print("\nPreview:")
     print("=" * 50)
     print(changelog_content)