diff --git a/jupyter_server/_version.py b/jupyter_server/_version.py
index 5fa5f8caaf..46a4d50eef 100644
--- a/jupyter_server/_version.py
+++ b/jupyter_server/_version.py
@@ -2,15 +2,5 @@
 store the current version info of the server.
 
 """
-import re
-
-# Version string must appear intact for tbump versioning
-__version__ = "1.12.1"
-
-# Build up version_info tuple for backwards compatibility
-pattern = r"(?P<major>\d+).(?P<minor>\d+).(?P<patch>\d+)(?P<rest>.*)"
-match = re.match(pattern, __version__)
-parts = [int(match[part]) for part in ["major", "minor", "patch"]]
-if match["rest"]:
-    parts.append(match["rest"])
-version_info = tuple(parts)
+version_info = (1, 12, 1, "", "")
+__version__ = ".".join(map(str, version_info[:3])) + "".join(version_info[3:])
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index b9ea0b60e1..36ef5fb55c 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -30,3 +30,12 @@ tag_template = "v{new_version}"
 
 [[tool.tbump.file]]
 src = "jupyter_server/_version.py"
+version_template = '({major}, {minor}, {patch}, "{channel}", "{release}")'
+
+[[tool.tbump.field]]
+name = "channel"
+default = ""
+
+[[tool.tbump.field]]
+name = "release"
+default = ""