diff --git a/build.rs b/build.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e3375af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+fn main() {
+    let git_version = std::process::Command::new("git")
+        .args(["describe", "--tags", "--always", "--dirty"])
+        .output()
+        .ok()
+        .filter(|o| o.status.success())
+        .and_then(|o| String::from_utf8(o.stdout).ok())
+        .map(|s| {
+            let s = s.trim();
+            let s = s.strip_prefix('v').unwrap_or(s);
+            // "0.13.1"                     → clean tag  → "0.13.1"
+            // "0.13.1-9-ga87f907"          → ahead      → "0.13.1+a87f907"
+            // "0.13.1-9-ga87f907-dirty"    → dirty       → "0.13.1+a87f907-dirty"
+            // "a87f907"                    → no tags     → "0.0.0+a87f907"
+            // "a87f907-dirty"             → no tags     → "0.0.0+a87f907-dirty"
+            if let Some((base, rest)) = s.split_once("-") {
+                // Could be "0.13.1-9-ga87f907[-dirty]" or "a87f907-dirty"
+                if base.contains('.') {
+                    // Tagged: extract sha from "-N-gSHA[-dirty]"
+                    let parts: Vec<&str> = rest.splitn(3, '-').collect();
+                    match parts.as_slice() {
+                        [_n, sha] => format!("{}+{}", base, sha.strip_prefix('g').unwrap_or(sha)),
+                        [_n, sha, "dirty"] => {
+                            format!("{}+{}-dirty", base, sha.strip_prefix('g').unwrap_or(sha))
+                        }
+                        _ => s.to_string(),
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    // Untagged: "sha-dirty"
+                    format!("0.0.0+{}", s)
+                }
+            } else if s.contains('.') {
+                // Exact tag match: "0.13.1"
+                s.to_string()
+            } else {
+                // Bare sha, no tags at all
+                format!("0.0.0+{}", s)
+            }
+        });
+
+    if let Some(v) = git_version {
+        println!("cargo:rustc-env=NUMA_BUILD_VERSION={}", v);
+    }
+
+    println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=.git/HEAD");
+    println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=.git/refs/tags/");
+}
diff --git a/src/api.rs b/src/api.rs
index f8b2702..dd1fe78 100644
--- a/src/api.rs
+++ b/src/api.rs
@@ -540,7 +540,7 @@ async fn stats(State(ctx): State<Arc<ServerCtx>>) -> Json<StatsResponse> {
     };
 
     Json(StatsResponse {
-        version: env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"),
+        version: crate::version(),
         uptime_secs: snap.uptime_secs,
         upstream,
         mode: ctx.upstream_mode.as_str(),
diff --git a/src/health.rs b/src/health.rs
index e55c569..5767f4b 100644
--- a/src/health.rs
+++ b/src/health.rs
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ impl HealthMeta {
     #[cfg(test)]
     pub fn test_fixture() -> Self {
         HealthMeta {
-            version: env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"),
+            version: crate::version(),
             hostname: "test-host".to_string(),
             sni: "numa.numa".to_string(),
             dot_enabled: false,
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ impl HealthMeta {
         }
 
         HealthMeta {
-            version: env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"),
+            version: crate::version(),
             hostname: crate::hostname(),
             sni: "numa.numa".to_string(),
             dot_enabled,
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 8933e2a..a9d38fc 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -34,6 +34,14 @@ pub(crate) mod testutil;
 pub type Error = Box<dyn std::error::Error + Send + Sync>;
 pub type Result<T> = std::result::Result<T, Error>;
 
+/// Build version string. On tagged releases: `0.13.1`. On commits ahead
+/// of a tag: `0.13.1+a87f907`. With uncommitted changes: `0.13.1+a87f907-dirty`.
+/// Falls back to `CARGO_PKG_VERSION` when built outside a git repo (e.g.
+/// from a source tarball).
+pub fn version() -> &'static str {
+    option_env!("NUMA_BUILD_VERSION").unwrap_or(env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"))
+}
+
 /// Detect the machine hostname via the `hostname` command. Returns the
 /// full hostname (e.g., `macbook-pro.local`), or `"numa"` if the command
 /// fails. Call sites that need the short form (e.g., mDNS instance
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index bce7add..faf2e22 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ async fn main() -> numa::Result<()> {
             };
         }
         "version" | "--version" | "-V" => {
-            eprintln!("numa {}", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"));
+            eprintln!("numa {}", numa::version());
             return Ok(());
         }
         "help" | "--help" | "-h" => {
@@ -383,12 +383,10 @@ async fn main() -> numa::Result<()> {
     };
 
     // Title row: center within the box
-    let title = format!(
-        "{b}NUMA{r}  {it}DNS that governs itself{r}  {d}v{}{r}",
-        env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION")
-    );
+    let ver = numa::version();
+    let title = format!("{b}NUMA{r}  {it}DNS that governs itself{r}  {d}v{ver}{r}",);
     // The title contains ANSI codes; visible length is ~38 chars. Pad to fill the box.
-    let title_visible_len = 4 + 2 + 24 + 2 + 1 + env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION").len() + 1;
+    let title_visible_len = 4 + 2 + 24 + 2 + 1 + ver.len() + 1;
     let title_pad = w.saturating_sub(title_visible_len);
     eprintln!("\n{o}  ╔{bar_top}╗{r}");
     eprint!("{o}  ║{r} {title}");