diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index e0e0fe08..c284a26e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions-rs/cargo@v1
         with:
           command: test
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v2
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: '3.8'
+          python-version: '3.12'
           architecture: 'x64'
       - run: cargo test --features rp
       - run: cargo test --features jem
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        os: [macos-11]
+        os: [macos-latest]
     env:
       DO_DOCKER: 0
     steps:
@@ -50,10 +50,9 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions-rs/cargo@v1
         with:
           command: test
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v2
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: '3.8'
-          architecture: 'x64'
+          python-version: '3.12'
       - run: cargo test --features rp
       - run: cargo test --features jem
       - run: bash ./ci/script.sh
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dox.yml b/.github/workflows/dox.yml
index 974068d1..2ebe1d25 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dox.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dox.yml
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ jobs:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v2
 
     # Install sphinx
-    - uses: actions/setup-python@v2
+    - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
       with:
-        python-version: '3.8'
+        python-version: '3.12'
     - name: Build and deploy docs
       run: bash ci/sphinx-documentation.sh
 
diff --git a/ci/script.sh b/ci/script.sh
index 04cb472a..91a72407 100755
--- a/ci/script.sh
+++ b/ci/script.sh
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ regular_test() {
     pip install virtualenv
 
     # --- create virtualenv
-    virtualenv -p python3.8 venv
+    virtualenv -p python3.12 venv
 
     # --- activate venv
     source venv/bin/activate
diff --git a/open-codegen/CHANGELOG.md b/open-codegen/CHANGELOG.md
index 81a2df78..2e5bcb07 100644
--- a/open-codegen/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/open-codegen/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,14 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
 
 Note: This is the Changelog file of `opengen` - the Python interface of OpEn
 
+## [0.8.1] - 2024-07-17
+
+### Added
+
+* Python direct interface support for ARM-based Macs
+* Updated GitHub Actions to use the macos-latest runner
+* Updated GitHub Actions to use Python3.12 (required for above)
+
 ## [0.8.0] - 2024-03-20
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/open-codegen/VERSION b/open-codegen/VERSION
index 8adc70fd..c18d72be 100644
--- a/open-codegen/VERSION
+++ b/open-codegen/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.8.0
\ No newline at end of file
+0.8.1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/open-codegen/opengen/templates/python/cargo_config b/open-codegen/opengen/templates/python/cargo_config
index 15d5d329..49314f34 100644
--- a/open-codegen/opengen/templates/python/cargo_config
+++ b/open-codegen/opengen/templates/python/cargo_config
@@ -3,3 +3,8 @@ rustflags = [
   "-C", "link-arg=-undefined",
   "-C", "link-arg=dynamic_lookup",
 ]
+[target.aarch64-apple-darwin]
+rustflags = [
+  "-C", "link-arg=-undefined",
+  "-C", "link-arg=dynamic_lookup",
+]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/open-codegen/setup.py b/open-codegen/setup.py
index 3a19e60f..886b379b 100755
--- a/open-codegen/setup.py
+++ b/open-codegen/setup.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
           exclude=["icasadi", "templates"]),
       include_package_data=True,
       install_requires=[
-          'jinja2', 'casadi', 'pyyaml', 'retry', 'numpy'
+          'jinja2', 'casadi', 'pyyaml', 'retry', 'numpy', 'setuptools'
       ],
       classifiers=[
           'Development Status :: 4 - Beta',