diff --git a/src/.gitignore b/src/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dfe700b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+bees-version.h
diff --git a/src/Makefile b/src/Makefile
index 1db2927..4f7cb20 100644
--- a/src/Makefile
+++ b/src/Makefile
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ LIBS = -lcrucible -lpthread
 LDFLAGS = -L../lib -Wl,-rpath=$(shell realpath ../lib)
 
 depends.mk: Makefile *.cc
+	echo "#define BEES_VERSION \"$(shell git describe --always --dirty || echo UNKNOWN)\"" > bees-version.new.h
+	mv -f bees-version.new.h bees-version.h
 	for x in *.cc; do $(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -M "$$x"; done > depends.mk.new
 	mv -fv depends.mk.new depends.mk
 
@@ -36,4 +38,4 @@ BEES_OBJS = \
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -o "$@" $(BEES_OBJS) $(LDFLAGS) $(LIBS)
 
 clean:
-	-rm -fv *.o
+	-rm -fv *.o bees-version.h
diff --git a/src/bees-hash.cc b/src/bees-hash.cc
index 873153c..32a3480 100644
--- a/src/bees-hash.cc
+++ b/src/bees-hash.cc
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+#include "bees-version.h"
 #include "bees.h"
 
 #include "crucible/crc64.h"
@@ -259,6 +260,7 @@ BeesHashTable::prefetch_loop()
 
 		graph_blob << "Now:     " << format_time(time(NULL)) << "\n";
 		graph_blob << "Uptime:  " << m_ctx->total_timer().age() << " seconds\n";
+		graph_blob << "Version: " << BEES_VERSION << "\n";
 
 		graph_blob 
 			<< "\nHash table page occupancy histogram (" << occupied_count << "/" << total_count << " cells occupied, " << (occupied_count * 100 / total_count) << "%)\n" 
diff --git a/src/bees.cc b/src/bees.cc
index 64e4b32..206119e 100644
--- a/src/bees.cc
+++ b/src/bees.cc
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+#include "bees-version.h"
 #include "bees.h"
 
 #include "crucible/interp.h"
@@ -557,7 +558,7 @@ bees_main(ArgList args)
 	list<shared_ptr<BeesContext>> all_contexts;
 	shared_ptr<BeesContext> bc;
 
-	// Subscribe to fanotify events
+	// Create a context and start crawlers
 	bool did_subscription = false;
 	for (string arg : args) {
 		catch_all([&]() {
@@ -585,6 +586,8 @@ bees_main(ArgList args)
 int
 main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
+	cerr << "bees version " << BEES_VERSION << endl;
+
 	if (argc < 2) {
 		do_cmd_help(argv);
 		return 2;