diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4ce9c6eb..8c21e145 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ SELINUXOPT ?= $(shell  test -x /usr/sbin/selinuxenabled && selinuxenabled && ech
 GIT_COMMIT := $(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD)
 BUILD_INFO := $(shell date +%s)
 
+VERSION := ${shell cat ./VERSION}
+
 # If GOPATH not specified, use one in the local directory
 ifeq ($(GOPATH),)
 export GOPATH := $(CURDIR)/_output
@@ -29,7 +31,7 @@ GOPKGBASEDIR := $(shell dirname "$(GOPKGDIR)")
 # Update VPATH so make finds .gopathok
 VPATH := $(VPATH):$(GOPATH)
 
-LDFLAGS := -ldflags '-X main.gitCommit=${GIT_COMMIT} -X main.buildInfo=${BUILD_INFO}'
+LDFLAGS := -ldflags '-X main.gitCommit=${GIT_COMMIT} -X main.buildInfo=${BUILD_INFO} -X main.version=${VERSION}'
 
 all: binaries crio.conf docs
 
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..867bf6ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+1.0.0-rc1
diff --git a/cmd/crio/main.go b/cmd/crio/main.go
index acd496e7..cebbd657 100644
--- a/cmd/crio/main.go
+++ b/cmd/crio/main.go
@@ -23,6 +23,14 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/apis/cri/v1alpha1/runtime"
 )
 
+// This is populated by the Makefile from the VERSION file
+// in the repository
+var version = ""
+
+// gitCommit is the commit that the binary is being built from.
+// It will be populated by the Makefile.
+var gitCommit = ""
+
 func validateConfig(config *server.Config) error {
 	switch config.ImageVolumes {
 	case libkpod.ImageVolumesMkdir:
@@ -161,9 +169,17 @@ func main() {
 		return
 	}
 	app := cli.NewApp()
+
+	var v []string
+	if version != "" {
+		v = append(v, version)
+	}
+	if gitCommit != "" {
+		v = append(v, fmt.Sprintf("commit: %s", gitCommit))
+	}
 	app.Name = "crio"
 	app.Usage = "crio server"
-	app.Version = "1.0.0-beta.0"
+	app.Version = strings.Join(v, "\n")
 	app.Metadata = map[string]interface{}{
 		"config": server.DefaultConfig(),
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/crioctl/main.go b/cmd/crioctl/main.go
index 977694da..247906a9 100644
--- a/cmd/crioctl/main.go
+++ b/cmd/crioctl/main.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
@@ -13,6 +14,14 @@ import (
 	pb "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/apis/cri/v1alpha1/runtime"
 )
 
+// This is populated by the Makefile from the VERSION file
+// in the repository
+var version = ""
+
+// gitCommit is the commit that the binary is being built from.
+// It will be populated by the Makefile.
+var gitCommit = ""
+
 func getClientConnection(context *cli.Context) (*grpc.ClientConn, error) {
 	conn, err := grpc.Dial(context.GlobalString("connect"), grpc.WithInsecure(), grpc.WithTimeout(context.GlobalDuration("timeout")),
 		grpc.WithDialer(func(addr string, timeout time.Duration) (net.Conn, error) {
@@ -65,9 +74,17 @@ func loadContainerConfig(path string) (*pb.ContainerConfig, error) {
 
 func main() {
 	app := cli.NewApp()
+	var v []string
+	if version != "" {
+		v = append(v, version)
+	}
+	if gitCommit != "" {
+		v = append(v, fmt.Sprintf("commit: %s", gitCommit))
+	}
+
 	app.Name = "crioctl"
 	app.Usage = "client for crio"
-	app.Version = "1.0.0-beta.0"
+	app.Version = strings.Join(v, "\n")
 
 	app.Commands = []cli.Command{
 		podSandboxCommand,