diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8f66b736f..fb820d3ea 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,81 @@
+## [v3.0.0-rc1](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/tree/v3.0.0-rc1) (2024-02-13)
+[All Commits](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/compare/v3.0.0-beta5...v3.0.0-rc1)
+
+**Enhancements:**
+- **[docker,service]** Adds weight on ServersLoadBalancer ([#10372](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10372) by [juliens](https://github.com/juliens))
+- **[file]** Reload provider file configuration on SIGHUP ([#9993](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/9993) by [sokoide](https://github.com/sokoide))
+- **[k8s,k8s/gatewayapi]** Upgrade gateway api to v1.0.0 ([#10205](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10205) by [mmatur](https://github.com/mmatur))
+- **[k8s,k8s/gatewayapi]** Support for cross-namespace references / GatewayAPI ReferenceGrants ([#10346](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10346) by [pascal-hofmann](https://github.com/pascal-hofmann))
+- **[logs]** Introduce static config hints ([#10351](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10351) by [rtribotte](https://github.com/rtribotte))
+- **[metrics,tracing,accesslogs]** Remove observability for internal resources ([#9633](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/9633) by [rtribotte](https://github.com/rtribotte))
+- **[metrics]** Add support for sending DogStatsD metrics over Unix Socket ([#10199](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10199) by [liamvdv](https://github.com/liamvdv))
+- **[middleware,authentication]** Add forwardAuth.addAuthCookiesToResponse ([#8924](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/8924) by [tgunsch](https://github.com/tgunsch))
+- **[middleware]** Implements the includedContentTypes option for the compress middleware ([#10207](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10207) by [rjsocha](https://github.com/rjsocha))
+- **[middleware]** Feat re introduce IpWhitelist middleware as deprecated ([#10341](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10341) by [mmatur](https://github.com/mmatur))
+- **[middleware]** Add ResponseCode to CircuitBreaker ([#10147](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10147) by [fahhem](https://github.com/fahhem))
+- **[middleware]** Add `rejectStatusCode` option to `IPAllowList` middleware ([#10130](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10130) by [jfly](https://github.com/jfly))
+- **[plugins]** Add http-wasm plugin support to Traefik ([#10189](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10189) by [zetaab](https://github.com/zetaab))
+- **[rules]** Bring back v2 rule matchers ([#10339](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10339) by [rtribotte](https://github.com/rtribotte))
+- **[server]** Add SO_REUSEPORT support for EntryPoints ([#9834](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/9834) by [aofei](https://github.com/aofei))
+- **[sticky-session]** Support setting sticky cookie max age  ([#10176](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10176) by [Patrick0308](https://github.com/Patrick0308))
+- **[tracing,otel]** Migrate to opentelemetry ([#10223](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10223) by [zetaab](https://github.com/zetaab))
+- Reintroduce dropped v2 dynamic config ([#10355](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10355) by [rtribotte](https://github.com/rtribotte))
+
+**Bug fixes:**
+- **[k8s/crd,k8s]** Delete warning in Kubernetes CRD provider about the supported version ([#10414](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10414) by [nmengin](https://github.com/nmengin))
+- **[metrics]** Fix OpenTelemetry unit tests ([#10380](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10380) by [mmatur](https://github.com/mmatur))
+- **[middleware,authentication,metrics,tracing]** Align OpenTelemetry tracing and metrics configurations ([#10404](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10404) by [rtribotte](https://github.com/rtribotte))
+- **[middleware]** Fix brotli response status code when compression is disabled ([#10396](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10396) by [rtribotte](https://github.com/rtribotte))
+- **[tls,server]** Compute priority for https forwarder TLS routes ([#10288](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10288) by [rtribotte](https://github.com/rtribotte))
+
+**Documentation:**
+- Update version comment in quick-start.md ([#10383](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10383) by [matthieuwerner](https://github.com/matthieuwerner))
+- Improve migration guide ([#10319](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10319) by [rtribotte](https://github.com/rtribotte))
+
+**Misc:**
+- **[k8s/crd,k8s]** Support file path as input param for Kubernetes token value ([#10232](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10232) by [sssash18](https://github.com/sssash18))
+- **[middleware]** Disable br compression when no Accept-Encoding header is present ([#10178](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10178) by [robin-moser](https://github.com/robin-moser))
+- Merge current v2.11 into v3.0 ([#10382](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10382) by [mmatur](https://github.com/mmatur))
+- Merge back v2.11 into v3.0 ([#10377](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10377) by [mmatur](https://github.com/mmatur))
+- Merge back v2.11 into v3.0 ([#10353](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10353) by [youkoulayley](https://github.com/youkoulayley))
+- Merge current v2.11 into v3.0 ([#10328](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10328) by [mmatur](https://github.com/mmatur))
+- Merge v2.11 into v3.0 ([#10417](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10417) by [mmatur](https://github.com/mmatur))
+
+## [v2.11.0](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/tree/v2.11.0) (2024-02-12)
+[All Commits](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/compare/v2.11.0-rc1...v2.11.0)
+
+**Enhancements:**
+- **[middleware]** Deprecate IPWhiteList middleware in favor of IPAllowList ([#10249](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10249) by [lbenguigui](https://github.com/lbenguigui))
+- **[redis]** Add Redis Sentinel support ([#10245](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10245) by [youkoulayley](https://github.com/youkoulayley))
+- **[server]** Add KeepAliveMaxTime and KeepAliveMaxRequests features to entrypoints ([#10247](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10247) by [juliens](https://github.com/juliens))
+- **[sticky-session]** Hash WRR sticky cookies ([#10243](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10243) by [youkoulayley](https://github.com/youkoulayley))
+
+**Bug fixes:**
+- **[acme]** Update go-acme/lego to v4.15.0 ([#10392](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10392) by [ldez](https://github.com/ldez))
+- **[authentication]** Fix NTLM and Kerberos ([#10405](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10405) by [juliens](https://github.com/juliens))
+- **[file]** Fix file watcher ([#10420](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10420) by [juliens](https://github.com/juliens))
+- **[file]** Update github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify to v1.7.0 ([#10313](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10313) by [ldez](https://github.com/ldez))
+- **[http3]** Update quic-go to v0.40.1 ([#10296](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10296) by [ldez](https://github.com/ldez))
+- **[middleware,tcp]** Add missing TCP IPAllowList middleware constructor ([#10331](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10331) by [youkoulayley](https://github.com/youkoulayley))
+- **[nomad]** Update the Nomad API dependency to v1.7.2 ([#10327](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10327) by [jrasell](https://github.com/jrasell))
+- **[server]** Fix ReadHeaderTimeout for PROXY protocol ([#10320](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10320) by [juliens](https://github.com/juliens))
+- **[webui]** Fixes the Header Button ([#10395](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10395) by [mdeliatf](https://github.com/mdeliatf))
+- **[webui]** Fix URL encode resource's id before calling API endpoints ([#10292](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10292) by [andsarr](https://github.com/andsarr))
+
+**Documentation:**
+- **[acme]** Fix TLS challenge explanation ([#10293](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10293) by [cavokz](https://github.com/cavokz))
+- **[docker]** Update wording of compose example ([#10276](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10276) by [svx](https://github.com/svx))
+- **[docker,acme]** Fix typo ([#10294](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10294) by [youpsla](https://github.com/youpsla))
+- **[ecs]** Mention ECS as supported backend ([#10393](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10393) by [aleyrizvi](https://github.com/aleyrizvi))
+- **[k8s/crd]** Adjust deprecation notice for Kubernetes CRD provider ([#10317](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10317) by [rtribotte](https://github.com/rtribotte))
+- **[middleware]** Update the documentation for RateLimit to provide a better example ([#10298](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10298) by [rmburton](https://github.com/rmburton))
+- **[server]** Fix the keepAlive options for the CLI examples ([#10398](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10398) by [immanuelfodor](https://github.com/immanuelfodor))
+- Prepare release v2.11.0-rc2 ([#10384](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10384) by [rtribotte](https://github.com/rtribotte))
+- Improve Concepts documentation page ([#10315](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10315) by [oliver-dvorski](https://github.com/oliver-dvorski))
+- Prepare release v2.11.0-rc1 ([#10326](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10326) by [mmatur](https://github.com/mmatur))
+- Fix description for anonymous usage statistics references ([#10287](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10287) by [ariyonaty](https://github.com/ariyonaty))
+- Documentation enhancements ([#10261](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/pull/10261) by [svx](https://github.com/svx))
+
 ## [v2.11.0-rc2](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/tree/v2.11.0-rc2) (2024-01-24)
 [All Commits](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/compare/v2.11.0-rc1...v2.11.0-rc2)
 
diff --git a/docs/content/middlewares/http/ratelimit.md b/docs/content/middlewares/http/ratelimit.md
index 2359b1796..98de1fc52 100644
--- a/docs/content/middlewares/http/ratelimit.md
+++ b/docs/content/middlewares/http/ratelimit.md
@@ -16,15 +16,15 @@ It is based on a [token bucket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Token_bucket) impl
 
 ```yaml tab="Docker & Swarm"
 # Here, an average of 100 requests per second is allowed.
-# In addition, a burst of 50 requests is allowed.
+# In addition, a burst of 200 requests is allowed.
 labels:
   - "traefik.http.middlewares.test-ratelimit.ratelimit.average=100"
-  - "traefik.http.middlewares.test-ratelimit.ratelimit.burst=50"
+  - "traefik.http.middlewares.test-ratelimit.ratelimit.burst=200"
 ```
 
 ```yaml tab="Kubernetes"
 # Here, an average of 100 requests per second is allowed.
-# In addition, a burst of 50 requests is allowed.
+# In addition, a burst of 200 requests is allowed.
 apiVersion: traefik.io/v1alpha1
 kind: Middleware
 metadata:
@@ -32,34 +32,34 @@ metadata:
 spec:
   rateLimit:
     average: 100
-    burst: 50
+    burst: 200
 ```
 
 ```yaml tab="Consul Catalog"
 # Here, an average of 100 requests per second is allowed.
-# In addition, a burst of 50 requests is allowed.
+# In addition, a burst of 200 requests is allowed.
 - "traefik.http.middlewares.test-ratelimit.ratelimit.average=100"
 - "traefik.http.middlewares.test-ratelimit.ratelimit.burst=50"
 ```
 
 ```yaml tab="File (YAML)"
 # Here, an average of 100 requests per second is allowed.
-# In addition, a burst of 50 requests is allowed.
+# In addition, a burst of 200 requests is allowed.
 http:
   middlewares:
     test-ratelimit:
       rateLimit:
         average: 100
-        burst: 50
+        burst: 200
 ```
 
 ```toml tab="File (TOML)"
 # Here, an average of 100 requests per second is allowed.
-# In addition, a burst of 50 requests is allowed.
+# In addition, a burst of 200 requests is allowed.
 [http.middlewares]
   [http.middlewares.test-ratelimit.rateLimit]
     average = 100
-    burst = 50
+    burst = 200
 ```
 
 ## Configuration Options
diff --git a/pkg/provider/file/file.go b/pkg/provider/file/file.go
index 6ddc31084..7b1b79e99 100644
--- a/pkg/provider/file/file.go
+++ b/pkg/provider/file/file.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
+	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"syscall"
@@ -53,18 +54,31 @@ func (p *Provider) Provide(configurationChan chan<- dynamic.Message, pool *safe.
 	logger := log.With().Str(logs.ProviderName, providerName).Logger()
 
 	if p.Watch {
-		var watchItem string
+		var watchItems []string
 
 		switch {
 		case len(p.Directory) > 0:
-			watchItem = p.Directory
+			watchItems = append(watchItems, p.Directory)
+
+			fileList, err := os.ReadDir(p.Directory)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("unable to read directory %s: %w", p.Directory, err)
+			}
+
+			for _, entry := range fileList {
+				if entry.IsDir() {
+					// ignore sub-dir
+					continue
+				}
+				watchItems = append(watchItems, path.Join(p.Directory, entry.Name()))
+			}
 		case len(p.Filename) > 0:
-			watchItem = filepath.Dir(p.Filename)
+			watchItems = append(watchItems, filepath.Dir(p.Filename), p.Filename)
 		default:
 			return errors.New("error using file configuration provider, neither filename nor directory is defined")
 		}
 
-		if err := p.addWatcher(pool, watchItem, configurationChan, p.applyConfiguration); err != nil {
+		if err := p.addWatcher(pool, watchItems, configurationChan, p.applyConfiguration); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}
@@ -98,15 +112,18 @@ func (p *Provider) Provide(configurationChan chan<- dynamic.Message, pool *safe.
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (p *Provider) addWatcher(pool *safe.Pool, directory string, configurationChan chan<- dynamic.Message, callback func(chan<- dynamic.Message) error) error {
+func (p *Provider) addWatcher(pool *safe.Pool, items []string, configurationChan chan<- dynamic.Message, callback func(chan<- dynamic.Message) error) error {
 	watcher, err := fsnotify.NewWatcher()
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error creating file watcher: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	err = watcher.Add(directory)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error adding file watcher: %w", err)
+	for _, item := range items {
+		log.Debug().Msgf("add watcher on: %s", item)
+		err = watcher.Add(item)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("error adding file watcher: %w", err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Process events
diff --git a/script/gcg/traefik-rc-new.toml b/script/gcg/traefik-rc-new.toml
index d98437fc3..8f2f335f1 100644
--- a/script/gcg/traefik-rc-new.toml
+++ b/script/gcg/traefik-rc-new.toml
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ RepositoryName = "traefik"
 OutputType = "file"
 FileName = "traefik_changelog.md"
 
-# example beta5 of v3.0.0
+# example rc1 of v3.0.0
 CurrentRef = "v3.0"
-PreviousRef = "v3.0.0-beta4"
+PreviousRef = "v3.0.0-beta5"
 BaseBranch = "v3.0"
-FutureCurrentRefName = "v3.0.0-beta5"
+FutureCurrentRefName = "v3.0.0-rc1"
 
 ThresholdPreviousRef = 10
 ThresholdCurrentRef = 10