diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 92c750a..073034d 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@
 -include .env
 export
 
+# Derive the version from git so `make build` stamps the binary. Falls back to
+# the commit hash if no tag is reachable, and appends "-dirty" for uncommitted changes.
+# When git is unavailable (e.g. a source tarball), VERSION is empty and we omit the
+# ldflag entirely so the in-code default (0.0.0-DEV) is preserved.
+VERSION := $(shell git describe --tags --always --dirty 2>/dev/null)
+VERSION_PKG := github.com/temporalio/cloud-cli/temporalcloudcli
+LDFLAGS := $(if $(VERSION),-X $(VERSION_PKG).Version=$(VERSION))
+
 all: gen build mocks test
 
 # we need to install gen-commands directly because gen-commands does not have its
@@ -18,7 +26,7 @@ gen: install
 	gen-commands -input ./temporalcloudcli/commands.yml -pkg temporalcloudcli > ./temporalcloudcli/commands.gen.go
 
 build:
-	go build ./cmd/temporal-cloud
+	go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" ./cmd/temporal-cloud
 
 test-integration:
 	go test -tags=integration ./...
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6aeb20d..550946f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ Plugin for the Temporal command-line interface to work with [Temporal Cloud](htt
 
 1. Install [Go](https://go.dev/doc/install) (check [go.mod](./go.mod) for the version).
 2. Clone this repository.
-3. From the cloned directory, run `make build` (or `go build ./cmd/temporal-cloud`).
+3. From the cloned directory, run `make build`.
 
 The executable will be at `temporal-cloud` (`temporal-cloud.exe` for Windows). Add it to your `PATH` so the `temporal` CLI can discover it.