diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 14dc7bd..22ac932 100755
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 *.egg-info
 dist
 build
-# .venv
+.venv/
 .tox
 
 # go related
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 7acd1cb..02419fa 100755
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-5.5.1
+5.5.2-dev1