diff --git a/.github/workflows/image-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/image-publish.yml
index 2af09a74..e5c97c20 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/image-publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/image-publish.yml
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ jobs:
           cache-to: type=gha,mode=max
           build-args: |
             LATEST_RELEASE=${{ env.LATEST_RELEASE }}
+            CODEGATE_VERSION=${{ steps.version-string.outputs.tag }}
       - name: Capture Image Digest
         id: image-digest
         run: |
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 761cbdfa..68d8cbea 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # Builder stage: Install dependencies and build the application
 FROM python:3.12-slim AS builder
 
+ARG CODEGATE_VERSION=dev
+
 # Install system dependencies
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     gcc \
@@ -21,6 +23,9 @@ RUN poetry config virtualenvs.create false && \
 # Copy the rest of the application
 COPY . /app
 
+# Overwrite the _VERSION variable in the code
+RUN sed -i "s/_VERSION =.*/_VERSION = \"${CODEGATE_VERSION}\"/g" /app/src/codegate/__init__.py
+
 # Build the webapp
 FROM node:23-slim AS webbuilder
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 6db025f5..3c3074d6 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ image-build:
 	DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 $(CONTAINER_BUILD) \
 		-f Dockerfile \
 		--build-arg LATEST_RELEASE=$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/stacklok/codegate-ui/releases/latest" | grep '"zipball_url":' | cut -d '"' -f 4) \
+		--build-arg CODEGATE_VERSION="$(shell git describe --tags --abbrev=0)-$(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD)-dev" \
 		-t codegate \
 		. \
 		-t ghcr.io/stacklok/codegate:$(VER) \
diff --git a/src/codegate/__init__.py b/src/codegate/__init__.py
index 106a1d9d..24f8ce3c 100644
--- a/src/codegate/__init__.py
+++ b/src/codegate/__init__.py
@@ -7,12 +7,19 @@
 from codegate.config import Config
 from codegate.exceptions import ConfigurationError
 
-try:
-    __version__ = metadata.version("codegate")
-    __description__ = metadata.metadata("codegate")["Summary"]
-except metadata.PackageNotFoundError:  # pragma: no cover
-    __version__ = "unknown"
-    __description__ = "codegate"
+_VERSION = "dev"
+_DESC = "CodeGate - A Generative AI security gateway."
+
+def __get_version_and_description() -> tuple[str, str]:
+    try:
+        version = metadata.version("codegate")
+        description = metadata.metadata("codegate")["Summary"]
+    except metadata.PackageNotFoundError:
+        version = _VERSION
+        description = _DESC
+    return version, description
+
+__version__, __description__ = __get_version_and_description()
 
 __all__ = ["Config", "ConfigurationError", "LogFormat", "LogLevel", "setup_logging"]