diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index c8556aca..0a641c2e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ jobs:
           ACTOR: ${{ github.actor }}
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         run: |
-          make buildimg IMG="${IMAGE}:${TAG}"
+          make buildimg IMG="${IMAGE}:${TAG}" VERSION="$(cat VERSION)"
           podman login -u "${ACTOR}" -p "${GH_TOKEN}" ghcr.io
           podman push "${IMAGE}:${TAG}"
 
diff --git a/Containerfile b/Containerfile
index 04e7f3c5..9d2c2805 100644
--- a/Containerfile
+++ b/Containerfile
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ RUN --mount=type=cache,id=dnf,target=/var/cache/libdnf5 \
 FROM ${GO_BUILDER_IMAGE} AS builder
 
 ARG VERSION=dev
-ARG GIT_COMMIT=unknown
+ARG GIT_COMMIT=
 WORKDIR /workspace
 COPY go.mod go.sum ./
 RUN --mount=type=cache,id=gomod,target=/root/go/pkg/mod \
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 8ea3cf02..778c8edf 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ CONTAINER_TOOL ?= podman
 BINK_CLUSTER_NAME ?= e2e
 KUBECONFIG_BINK ?= ./kubeconfig-$(BINK_CLUSTER_NAME)
 ARTIFACTS ?= $(abspath _output/logs)
-VERSION ?= $(shell git describe --tags --always --dirty)
-GIT_COMMIT ?= $(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD)
+VERSION ?= dev
+GIT_COMMIT ?= $(if $(shell git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no),dirty,$(shell git rev-parse HEAD))
 LDFLAGS := -X github.com/bootc-dev/bootc-operator/internal/version.Version=$(VERSION) \
            -X github.com/bootc-dev/bootc-operator/internal/version.GitCommit=$(GIT_COMMIT)
 DEFAULT_KUBE_MINOR ?= 1.36
@@ -176,7 +176,9 @@ build-daemon: ## Build daemon binary.
 
 .PHONY: buildimg
 buildimg: ## Build container image.
-	$(CONTAINER_TOOL) build -t $(IMG) .
+	$(CONTAINER_TOOL) build \
+		--build-arg VERSION=$(VERSION) --build-arg GIT_COMMIT=$(GIT_COMMIT) \
+		-t $(IMG) .
 
 .PHONY: release-manifest
 release-manifest: kustomize yq ## Build install manifest (override IMG to set the image reference).
diff --git a/cmd/controller/main.go b/cmd/controller/main.go
index f15223d3..96b3d2a7 100644
--- a/cmd/controller/main.go
+++ b/cmd/controller/main.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"flag"
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ func init() {
 
 func main() {
 	var enableLeaderElection bool
+	var showVersion bool
 	var probeAddr string
 	var tagResolutionInterval time.Duration
 	var allowInsecureRegistry bool
@@ -70,11 +72,16 @@ func main() {
 	flag.BoolVar(&enableLeaderElection, "leader-elect", false,
 		"Enable leader election for controller manager. "+
 			"Enabling this will ensure there is only one active controller manager.")
+	flag.BoolVar(&showVersion, "version", false, "Print version and exit.")
 	opts := zap.Options{
 		Development: true,
 	}
 	opts.BindFlags(flag.CommandLine)
 	flag.Parse()
+	if showVersion {
+		fmt.Println(version.String())
+		return
+	}
 
 	ctrl.SetLogger(zap.New(zap.UseFlagOptions(&opts)))
 
diff --git a/cmd/daemon/main.go b/cmd/daemon/main.go
index cdebba84..c5fb680b 100644
--- a/cmd/daemon/main.go
+++ b/cmd/daemon/main.go
@@ -36,18 +36,24 @@ func init() {
 
 func main() {
 	var pollInterval time.Duration
+	var showVersion bool
 	flag.DurationVar(
 		&pollInterval,
 		"bootc-poll-interval",
 		daemon.DefaultPollInterval,
 		"Interval for polling bootc status as a fallback to fsnotify",
 	)
+	flag.BoolVar(&showVersion, "version", false, "Print version and exit.")
 
 	opts := zap.Options{
 		Development: true,
 	}
 	opts.BindFlags(flag.CommandLine)
 	flag.Parse()
+	if showVersion {
+		fmt.Println(version.String())
+		return
+	}
 
 	ctrl.SetLogger(zap.New(zap.UseFlagOptions(&opts)))
 
diff --git a/internal/version/version.go b/internal/version/version.go
index de51aa6f..06ca996c 100644
--- a/internal/version/version.go
+++ b/internal/version/version.go
@@ -3,7 +3,21 @@
 // Package version holds build metadata set via linker flags.
 package version
 
+// dirtyCommit marks builds from a worktree with uncommitted changes.
+const dirtyCommit = "dirty"
+
 var (
 	Version   = "dev"
-	GitCommit = "unknown"
+	GitCommit = ""
 )
+
+// String returns the version and its Git revision when available.
+func String() string {
+	switch GitCommit {
+	case "":
+		return Version
+	case dirtyCommit:
+		return Version + " (" + dirtyCommit + ")"
+	}
+	return Version + " (commit " + GitCommit + ")"
+}