diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index e33601f..95f5221 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -40,8 +40,23 @@ target_link_libraries(hype_core PUBLIC
 target_compile_options(hype_core PUBLIC -Wall -Wextra)
 set_target_properties(hype_core PROPERTIES INTERPROCEDURAL_OPTIMIZATION ON)
 
+# The version comes from the release, never from the code: a tag's tarball unpacks as hype-<version>, and a checkout asks git.
+get_filename_component(source_dir_name "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}" NAME)
+if(source_dir_name MATCHES "^hype-([0-9][0-9.]*)$")
+  set(HYPE_VERSION "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
+else()
+  execute_process(COMMAND git describe --tags --always --dirty
+    WORKING_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}"
+    OUTPUT_VARIABLE HYPE_VERSION OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE ERROR_QUIET)
+  string(REGEX REPLACE "^v" "" HYPE_VERSION "${HYPE_VERSION}")
+  if(NOT HYPE_VERSION)
+    set(HYPE_VERSION dev)
+  endif()
+endif()
+
 add_executable(hype src/main.cpp src/resources.qrc)
 target_link_libraries(hype PRIVATE hype_core)
+target_compile_definitions(hype PRIVATE HYPE_VERSION="${HYPE_VERSION}")
 set_target_properties(hype PROPERTIES INTERPROCEDURAL_OPTIMIZATION ON)
 
 enable_testing()
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index bdaf262..c3df95a 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
         qputenv("QT_QPA_PLATFORM", "offscreen");
     QGuiApplication app(argc, argv);
     app.setApplicationName("hype");
-    app.setApplicationVersion("0.6.0");
+    app.setApplicationVersion(HYPE_VERSION);
     app.setDesktopFileName(qEnvironmentVariable("HYPE_DESKTOP_FILE", "hype"));
     if (command)
         return runCli(app.arguments());
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index c604f77..680fab7 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ def test_new_starts_a_themed_presentation_without_overwriting(self):
         self.assertIn('already exists', self.hype('new', self.deck, code=1).stderr)
         self.assertIn('paper', self.hype('new', self.root / 'other.md', '--theme', 'nope', code=1).stderr)
 
+    def test_version_comes_from_the_build(self):
+        self.assertRegex(self.hype('--version').stdout, r'^hype [0-9a-z][^\s]*\n$')
+
     def test_save_applies_a_theme_and_exits(self):
         self.write('# One\n')
         self.hype(self.deck, '--theme', 'paper', '--save')