chore: Release v3.8.1 - Dependency fix for langchain-core

Fix dependency constraints to eliminate pip warnings:
- Update langchain-core to allow 1.x versions (was restricted to <1.0.0)
- Enables security fixes in langchain-core 1.2.5+
- Update README What's New to v3.8.0 features

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <[email protected]>

Author: 2 people

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,21 @@ All notable changes to the Empathy Framework will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [3.8.1] - 2026-01-07
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **Dependency constraints**: Updated `langchain-core` to allow 1.x versions (was restricted to <1.0.0)
+  - Eliminates pip dependency warnings during installation
+  - Allows langchain-core 1.2.5+ which includes important security fixes
+  - Maintains backward compatibility with 0.x versions
+  - Updated both core dependencies and optional dependency groups (agents, developer, enterprise, healthcare, full, all)
+
+### Changed
+
+- **README**: Updated "What's New" section to highlight v3.8.0 features (transparent cost claims, intelligent caching)
+- **Documentation**: Clarified that tier routing savings vary by role (34-86% range)
+
 ## [3.8.0] - 2026-01-07
 
 ### Added

README.md

@@ -12,9 +12,34 @@
 pip install empathy-framework[developer]  # Lightweight for individual developers
 ```
 
-## What's New in v3.7.0
+## What's New in v3.8.0
+
+### 🎯 **Transparent Cost Claims: Honest Role-Based Savings (34-86%)**
+
+**Real savings depend on your work role.** Architects using 60% PREMIUM tasks see 34% savings, while junior devs see 86%. See [role-based analysis](docs/cost-analysis/COST_SAVINGS_BY_ROLE_AND_PROVIDER.md) for your specific case.
+
+### 🚀 **Intelligent Response Caching: Up to 57% Hit Rate (Benchmarked)**
+
+**Hash-only cache**: 100% hit rate on identical prompts, ~5μs lookups
+**Hybrid cache**: Up to 57% hit rate on semantically similar prompts (measured on security audit workflow)
+
+```python
+from empathy_os.cache import create_cache
+
+# Hash-only mode (fast, exact matches)
+cache = create_cache(cache_type="hash")
+
+# Hybrid mode (semantic similarity)
+cache = create_cache(cache_type="hybrid", similarity_threshold=0.95)
+```
+
+See [caching docs](docs/caching/) for benchmarks and configuration.
+
+---
+
+### Previous Release: v3.7.0
 
-### 🚀 **XML-Enhanced Prompting: 15-35% Token Reduction + Graceful Validation**
+#### 🚀 **XML-Enhanced Prompting: 15-35% Token Reduction + Graceful Validation**
 
 **Slash your API costs and eliminate response parsing errors with production-ready XML enhancements.**
 

pyproject.toml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "empathy-framework"
-version = "3.8.0"
+version = "3.8.1"
 description = "AI collaboration framework with intelligent caching (up to 57% cache hit rate), tier routing (34-86% cost savings depending on task complexity), XML-enhanced prompts, persistent memory, CrewAI integration, and multi-agent orchestration. Includes HIPAA-compliant healthcare wizards."
 readme = {file = "README.md", content-type = "text/markdown"}
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
@@ -57,8 +57,8 @@ dependencies = [
     "pyyaml>=6.0,<7.0",  # Required by workflows (bug_predict, etc.)
     "anthropic>=0.25.0,<1.0.0",  # Core LLM provider
     "crewai>=0.1.0,<1.0.0",  # CrewAI integration (core feature in v3.7.0)
-    "langchain>=0.1.0,<1.0.0",  # Required for workflows
-    "langchain-core>=0.1.0,<1.0.0",  # Required for workflows
+    "langchain>=0.1.0,<2.0.0",  # Required for workflows
+    "langchain-core>=0.1.0,<2.0.0",  # Required for workflows (1.2.5+ has security fixes)
 ]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]

src/empathy_os/__init__.py

@@ -55,33 +55,33 @@
 Licensed under Fair Source 0.9
 """
 
-__version__ = "1.0.0-beta"
+__version__ = "3.8.1"
 __author__ = "Patrick Roebuck"
 __email__ = "[email protected]"
 
 from .agent_monitoring import AgentMetrics, AgentMonitor, TeamMetrics
 from .config import EmpathyConfig, load_config
 from .coordination import (
-                           AgentCoordinator,
-                           AgentTask,
-                           ConflictResolver,
-                           ResolutionResult,
-                           ResolutionStrategy,
-                           TeamPriorities,
-                           TeamSession,
+    AgentCoordinator,
+    AgentTask,
+    ConflictResolver,
+    ResolutionResult,
+    ResolutionStrategy,
+    TeamPriorities,
+    TeamSession,
 )
 from .core import EmpathyOS
 from .emergence import EmergenceDetector
 from .exceptions import (
-                           CollaborationStateError,
-                           ConfidenceThresholdError,
-                           EmpathyFrameworkError,
-                           EmpathyLevelError,
-                           FeedbackLoopError,
-                           LeveragePointError,
-                           PatternNotFoundError,
-                           TrustThresholdError,
-                           ValidationError,
+    CollaborationStateError,
+    ConfidenceThresholdError,
+    EmpathyFrameworkError,
+    EmpathyLevelError,
+    FeedbackLoopError,
+    LeveragePointError,
+    PatternNotFoundError,
+    TrustThresholdError,
+    ValidationError,
 )
 from .feedback_loops import FeedbackLoopDetector
 from .levels import Level1Reactive, Level2Guided, Level3Proactive, Level4Anticipatory, Level5Systems
@@ -90,41 +90,41 @@
 
 # Memory module (unified short-term + long-term + security)
 from .memory import (
-                           AccessTier,
-                           AgentCredentials,  # Memory module imports
-                           AuditEvent,
-                           AuditLogger,
-                           Classification,
-                           ClassificationRules,
-                           ClaudeMemoryConfig,
-                           ClaudeMemoryLoader,
-                           ConflictContext,
-                           EncryptionManager,
-                           Environment,
-                           MemDocsStorage,
-                           MemoryConfig,
-                           MemoryPermissionError,
-                           PatternMetadata,
-                           PIIDetection,
-                           PIIPattern,
-                           PIIScrubber,
-                           RedisShortTermMemory,
-                           SecretDetection,
-                           SecretsDetector,
-                           SecretType,
-                           SecureMemDocsIntegration,
-                           SecurePattern,
-                           SecurityError,
-                           SecurityViolation,
-                           Severity,
-                           StagedPattern,
-                           TTLStrategy,
-                           UnifiedMemory,
-                           check_redis_connection,
-                           detect_secrets,
-                           get_railway_redis,
-                           get_redis_config,
-                           get_redis_memory,
+    AccessTier,
+    AgentCredentials,  # Memory module imports
+    AuditEvent,
+    AuditLogger,
+    Classification,
+    ClassificationRules,
+    ClaudeMemoryConfig,
+    ClaudeMemoryLoader,
+    ConflictContext,
+    EncryptionManager,
+    Environment,
+    MemDocsStorage,
+    MemoryConfig,
+    MemoryPermissionError,
+    PatternMetadata,
+    PIIDetection,
+    PIIPattern,
+    PIIScrubber,
+    RedisShortTermMemory,
+    SecretDetection,
+    SecretsDetector,
+    SecretType,
+    SecureMemDocsIntegration,
+    SecurePattern,
+    SecurityError,
+    SecurityViolation,
+    Severity,
+    StagedPattern,
+    TTLStrategy,
+    UnifiedMemory,
+    check_redis_connection,
+    detect_secrets,
+    get_railway_redis,
+    get_redis_config,
+    get_redis_memory,
 )
 from .pattern_library import Pattern, PatternLibrary, PatternMatch
 from .persistence import MetricsCollector, PatternPersistence, StateManager