diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
index b13eb725e..8b364913c 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/MANIFEST.in
@@ -2,5 +2,6 @@ include requirements.txt
 include dev-requirements.txt
 include README.md
 include LICENSE
+include mentat/VERSION
 graft mentat/resources
 graft benchmarks/resources
diff --git a/docs/source/conf.py b/docs/source/conf.py
index fe1049d07..f2a2e53f7 100644
--- a/docs/source/conf.py
+++ b/docs/source/conf.py
@@ -8,7 +8,13 @@
 
 # AXJ, Version
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath("../.."))
-from mentat import __version__  # noqa: E402
+
+with open(
+    os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", "..", "mentat/VERSION"),
+    "r",
+    encoding="utf-8",
+) as f:
+    VERSION = f.read().strip()
 
 # -- Project information -----------------------------------------------------
 # https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#project-information
@@ -16,7 +22,7 @@
 project = "Mentat"
 copyright = "2024, Abante AI"
 author = "Multiple Authors"
-release = __version__
+release = VERSION
 
 # -- General configuration ---------------------------------------------------
 # https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#general-configuration
diff --git a/mentat/VERSION b/mentat/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..66c4c2263
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mentat/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+1.0.9
diff --git a/mentat/sentry.py b/mentat/sentry.py
index 00df86866..b142aa53e 100644
--- a/mentat/sentry.py
+++ b/mentat/sentry.py
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
 import platform
 from uuid import UUID, uuid4
 
-import pkg_resources
 import sentry_sdk
 
 from mentat.app_conf import IS_DEV
 from mentat.utils import mentat_dir_path
+from mentat.version import __version__
 
 user_id_path = mentat_dir_path / ".user"
 
@@ -41,8 +41,7 @@ def sentry_init():
         enable_tracing=True,
         traces_sample_rate=1.0,
     )
-    version = pkg_resources.require("mentat")[0].version
-    sentry_sdk.set_tag("version", version)
+    sentry_sdk.set_tag("version", __version__)
     sentry_sdk.set_user({"id": _get_user()})
     uname = platform.uname()
     sentry_sdk.set_context(
diff --git a/mentat/splash_messages.py b/mentat/splash_messages.py
index 573720b97..933af9787 100644
--- a/mentat/splash_messages.py
+++ b/mentat/splash_messages.py
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
 from typing import Optional
 
 import packaging.version
-import pkg_resources
 import requests
 
 from mentat.session_context import SESSION_CONTEXT
 from mentat.utils import mentat_dir_path
+from mentat.version import __version__
 
 
 def get_changelog() -> Optional[str]:
@@ -41,9 +41,8 @@ def check_version():
         response = requests.get("https://pypi.org/pypi/mentat/json")
         data = response.json()
         latest_version = data["info"]["version"]
-        current_version = pkg_resources.require("mentat")[0].version
 
-        if packaging.version.parse(current_version) < packaging.version.parse(
+        if packaging.version.parse(__version__) < packaging.version.parse(
             latest_version
         ):
             ctx.stream.send(
@@ -66,15 +65,15 @@ def check_version():
                     last_version_check = f.read()
                 if packaging.version.parse(
                     last_version_check
-                ) < packaging.version.parse(current_version):
+                ) < packaging.version.parse(__version__):
                     changelog = get_latest_changelog()
                     if changelog:
                         ctx.stream.send(
-                            f"Thanks for upgrading to v{current_version}.", style="info"
+                            f"Thanks for upgrading to v{__version__}.", style="info"
                         )
                         ctx.stream.send("Changes in this version:", style="info")
                         ctx.stream.send(changelog, style="info")
             with open(last_version_check_file, "w") as f:
-                f.write(current_version)
+                f.write(__version__)
     except Exception as err:
         ctx.stream.send(f"Error checking for most recent version: {err}", style="error")
diff --git a/mentat/version.py b/mentat/version.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dec0935b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mentat/version.py
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+
+with open(Path(__file__).parent / "VERSION", "r") as file:
+    __version__ = file.read().strip()
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 1cbd18632..a905b630a 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -9,9 +9,13 @@
     long_description = f.read()
 
 
+version_path = os.path.join(Path(__file__).parent, "mentat/VERSION")
+with open(version_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+    VERSION = f.read().strip()
+
 setup(
     name="mentat",
-    version="1.0.9",
+    version=VERSION,
     python_requires=">=3.10",
     packages=find_packages(
         include=["mentat", "mentat.*", "benchmarks", "benchmarks.*"]