diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..972ef76ad1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0.7.9
diff --git a/src/blenderbim/Makefile b/src/blenderbim/Makefile
index 4a9f3057fc..10d47852d0 100644
--- a/src/blenderbim/Makefile
+++ b/src/blenderbim/Makefile
@@ -35,7 +35,12 @@ SED:=sed -i '' -e
 endif
 endif
 
-VERSION:=`date '+%y%m%d'`
+IS_DEV_BUILD:=TRUE
+VERSION:=`cat '../../VERSION'`
+VERSION_MAJOR:=`cat '../../VERSION' | cut -d '.' -f 1`
+VERSION_MINOR:=`cat '../../VERSION' | cut -d '.' -f 2`
+VERSION_PATCH:=`cat '../../VERSION' | cut -d '.' -f 3`
+VERSION_DATE:=`date '+%y%m%d'`
 LAST_COMMIT_HASH:=$(shell git rev-parse HEAD)
 PYVERSION:=py310
 PYPI_IMP:=cp
@@ -281,10 +286,16 @@ endif
 	rm -rf dist/blenderbim/libs/site/packages/numpy
 	rm -rf dist/blenderbim/libs/site/packages/numpy.libs
 
-	cd dist/blenderbim && $(SED) "s/999999/$(VERSION)/" __init__.py
-	cd dist/blenderbim && $(SED) "s/999999/$(VERSION)/" blender_manifest.toml
+ifeq ($(IS_DEV_BUILD), TRUE)
+	cd dist/blenderbim && $(SED) "s/9, 9, 9/$(VERSION_MAJOR), $(VERSION_MINOR), $(VERSION_PATCH), $(VERSION_DATE)/" __init__.py
+	cd dist/blenderbim && $(SED) "s/9.9.9/$(VERSION).$(VERSION_DATE)/" blender_manifest.toml
 	cd dist/blenderbim/bim && $(SED) "s/8888888/$(LAST_COMMIT_HASH)/" __init__.py
+	cd dist && zip -r blenderbim-$(VERSION).$(VERSION_DATE)-$(PYVERSION)-$(PLATFORM).zip ./*
+else
+	cd dist/blenderbim && $(SED) "s/9, 9, 9/$(VERSION_MAJOR), $(VERSION_MINOR), $(VERSION_PATCH)/" __init__.py
+	cd dist/blenderbim && $(SED) "s/9.9.9/$(VERSION)/" blender_manifest.toml
 	cd dist && zip -r blenderbim-$(VERSION)-$(PYVERSION)-$(PLATFORM).zip ./*
+endif
 	rm -rf dist/blenderbim
 
 .PHONY: test
diff --git a/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/__init__.py b/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/__init__.py
index ae13046dd7..db7ca7fdcc 100644
--- a/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/__init__.py
+++ b/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/__init__.py
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ if IN_BLENDER:
     import bpy
 import platform
 import traceback
-import subprocess
 import webbrowser
 import addon_utils
 from collections import deque
@@ -39,7 +38,7 @@ bl_info = {
     "description": "Transforms Blender into a native Building Information Model authoring platform using IFC.",
     "author": "IfcOpenShell Contributors",
     "blender": (3, 1, 0),
-    "version": (0, 0, 999999),
+    "version": (9, 9, 9),
     "location": "File Menu, Scene Properties Tab. See documentation for more.",
     "doc_url": "https://docs.blenderbim.org/",
     "tracker_url": "https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell/issues",
diff --git a/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/blender_manifest.toml b/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/blender_manifest.toml
index 1e39c56d7c..3f30484bf7 100644
--- a/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/blender_manifest.toml
+++ b/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/blender_manifest.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 schema_version = "1.0.0"
 id = "blenderbim"
-version = "0.0.999999"
+version = "9.9.9"
 name = "BlenderBIM"
 tagline = "Transforms Blender into a native Building Information Model authoring platform using IFC."
 maintainer = "Dion Moult <dion@thinkmoult.com>"
diff --git a/src/blenderbim/docs/conf.py b/src/blenderbim/docs/conf.py
index 5ce2385cac..a63280e398 100644
--- a/src/blenderbim/docs/conf.py
+++ b/src/blenderbim/docs/conf.py
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 # add these directories to sys.path here. If the directory is relative to the
 # documentation root, use os.path.abspath to make it absolute, like shown here.
 #
-# import os
+import os
 # import sys
 # sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('.'))
 
@@ -40,7 +40,9 @@ copyright = "2020-2024 IfcOpenShell Contributors"
 author = "IfcOpenShell Contributors"
 
 # The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags
-release = "0.0.240402"
+cwd = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))
+with open(os.path.join(cwd, "..", "..", "..", "VERSION"), "r") as f:
+    release = f.read().strip()
 
 
 # -- General configuration ---------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/ifcopenshell-python/docs/conf.py b/src/ifcopenshell-python/docs/conf.py
index 9106e4359e..083292ff96 100644
--- a/src/ifcopenshell-python/docs/conf.py
+++ b/src/ifcopenshell-python/docs/conf.py
@@ -36,11 +36,13 @@ sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('..'))
 # -- Project information -----------------------------------------------------
 
 project = "IfcOpenShell"
-copyright = "2011-2024, IfcOpenShell Contributors"
+copyright = "2011-2024 IfcOpenShell Contributors"
 author = "IfcOpenShell Contributors"
 
 # The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags
-release = "0.7.0"
+cwd = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))
+with open(os.path.join(cwd, "..", "..", "..", "VERSION"), "r") as f:
+    release = f.read().strip()
 
 
 # -- General configuration ---------------------------------------------------