diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 545c28726..35c865d36 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ models-mnt
 /parallel
 /train-text-from-scratch
 /vdot
-build-info.h
+/common/build-info.cpp
 arm_neon.h
 compile_commands.json
 CMakeSettings.json
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 5618529c7..e77e146f5 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.13)  # for add_link_options
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20)  # for CMP0115
+cmake_policy(SET CMP0115 NEW)  # explicit file extensions
 project("llama.cpp" C CXX)
 
 set(CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS ON)
@@ -100,39 +101,6 @@ option(LLAMA_BUILD_TESTS                "llama: build tests"    ${LLAMA_STANDALO
 option(LLAMA_BUILD_EXAMPLES             "llama: build examples" ${LLAMA_STANDALONE})
 option(LLAMA_BUILD_SERVER               "llama: build server example"                           ON)
 
-#
-# Build info header
-#
-
-if(EXISTS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git")
-    set(GIT_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git")
-
-    # Is git submodule
-    if(NOT IS_DIRECTORY "${GIT_DIR}")
-        file(READ ${GIT_DIR} REAL_GIT_DIR_LINK)
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "gitdir: (.*)\n$" "\\1" REAL_GIT_DIR ${REAL_GIT_DIR_LINK})
-        set(GIT_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${REAL_GIT_DIR}")
-    endif()
-
-    set(GIT_INDEX "${GIT_DIR}/index")
-else()
-    message(WARNING "Git repository not found; to enable automatic generation of build info, make sure Git is installed and the project is a Git repository.")
-    set(GIT_INDEX "")
-endif()
-
-# Add a custom target for build-info.h
-add_custom_target(BUILD_INFO ALL DEPENDS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/build-info.h")
-
-# Add a custom command to rebuild build-info.h when .git/index changes
-add_custom_command(
-    OUTPUT "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/build-info.h"
-    COMMENT "Generating build details from Git"
-    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -DMSVC=${MSVC} -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_VERSION=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER_VERSION} -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_ID=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER_ID} -DCMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_NAME=${CMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_NAME} -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER} -P "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/scripts/build-info.cmake"
-    WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
-    DEPENDS ${GIT_INDEX}
-    VERBATIM
-)
-
 #
 # Compile flags
 #
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c53c1e726..300c1e6c7 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -542,9 +542,9 @@ llama.o: llama.cpp ggml.h ggml-alloc.h ggml-backend.h ggml-cuda.h ggml-metal.h l
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 COMMON_H_DEPS = common/common.h common/sampling.h common/log.h
-COMMON_DEPS   = common.o sampling.o grammar-parser.o
+COMMON_DEPS   = common.o sampling.o grammar-parser.o build-info.o
 
-common.o: common/common.cpp build-info.h $(COMMON_H_DEPS)
+common.o: common/common.cpp $(COMMON_H_DEPS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 sampling.o: common/sampling.cpp $(COMMON_H_DEPS)
@@ -563,46 +563,46 @@ libllama.so: llama.o ggml.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -shared -fPIC -o $@ $^ $(LDFLAGS)
 
 clean:
-	rm -vrf *.o tests/*.o *.so *.dll benchmark-matmult build-info.h *.dot $(COV_TARGETS) $(BUILD_TARGETS) $(TEST_TARGETS)
+	rm -vrf *.o tests/*.o *.so *.dll benchmark-matmult common/build-info.cpp *.dot $(COV_TARGETS) $(BUILD_TARGETS) $(TEST_TARGETS)
 
 #
 # Examples
 #
 
-main: examples/main/main.cpp                                  build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) console.o grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
+main: examples/main/main.cpp                                  ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) console.o grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 	@echo
 	@echo '====  Run ./main -h for help.  ===='
 	@echo
 
-infill: examples/infill/infill.cpp                            build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) console.o grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
+infill: examples/infill/infill.cpp                            ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) console.o grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-simple: examples/simple/simple.cpp                            build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+simple: examples/simple/simple.cpp                            ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-batched: examples/batched/batched.cpp                         build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+batched: examples/batched/batched.cpp                         ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-batched-bench: examples/batched-bench/batched-bench.cpp       build-info.h ggml.o llama.o common.o $(OBJS)
+batched-bench: examples/batched-bench/batched-bench.cpp       build-info.o ggml.o llama.o common.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-quantize: examples/quantize/quantize.cpp                      build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(OBJS)
+quantize: examples/quantize/quantize.cpp                      build-info.o ggml.o llama.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-quantize-stats: examples/quantize-stats/quantize-stats.cpp    build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(OBJS)
+quantize-stats: examples/quantize-stats/quantize-stats.cpp    build-info.o ggml.o llama.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-perplexity: examples/perplexity/perplexity.cpp                build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+perplexity: examples/perplexity/perplexity.cpp                ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-embedding: examples/embedding/embedding.cpp                   build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+embedding: examples/embedding/embedding.cpp                   ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-save-load-state: examples/save-load-state/save-load-state.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+save-load-state: examples/save-load-state/save-load-state.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-server: examples/server/server.cpp examples/server/httplib.h examples/server/json.hpp examples/server/index.html.hpp examples/server/index.js.hpp examples/server/completion.js.hpp examples/llava/clip.cpp examples/llava/clip.h common/stb_image.h build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
+server: examples/server/server.cpp examples/server/httplib.h examples/server/json.hpp examples/server/index.html.hpp examples/server/index.js.hpp examples/server/completion.js.hpp examples/llava/clip.cpp examples/llava/clip.h common/stb_image.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -Iexamples/server $(filter-out %.h,$(filter-out %.hpp,$^)) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS) $(LWINSOCK2) -Wno-cast-qual
 
 gguf: examples/gguf/gguf.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(OBJS)
@@ -614,7 +614,7 @@ train-text-from-scratch: examples/train-text-from-scratch/train-text-from-scratc
 convert-llama2c-to-ggml: examples/convert-llama2c-to-ggml/convert-llama2c-to-ggml.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-llama-bench: examples/llama-bench/llama-bench.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+llama-bench: examples/llama-bench/llama-bench.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
 llava: examples/llava/llava.cpp examples/llava/llava-utils.h examples/llava/clip.cpp examples/llava/clip.h common/stb_image.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
@@ -623,19 +623,19 @@ llava: examples/llava/llava.cpp examples/llava/llava-utils.h examples/llava/clip
 baby-llama: examples/baby-llama/baby-llama.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) train.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-beam-search: examples/beam-search/beam-search.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+beam-search: examples/beam-search/beam-search.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-finetune: examples/finetune/finetune.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) train.o $(OBJS)
+finetune: examples/finetune/finetune.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) train.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-export-lora: examples/export-lora/export-lora.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+export-lora: examples/export-lora/export-lora.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-speculative: examples/speculative/speculative.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
+speculative: examples/speculative/speculative.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-parallel: examples/parallel/parallel.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+parallel: examples/parallel/parallel.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
 ifdef LLAMA_METAL
@@ -648,7 +648,7 @@ swift: examples/batched.swift
 	(cd examples/batched.swift; make build)
 endif
 
-build-info.h: $(wildcard .git/index) scripts/build-info.sh
+common/build-info.cpp: $(wildcard .git/index) scripts/build-info.sh
 	@sh scripts/build-info.sh $(CC) > $@.tmp
 	@if ! cmp -s $@.tmp $@; then \
 		mv $@.tmp $@; \
@@ -656,13 +656,16 @@ build-info.h: $(wildcard .git/index) scripts/build-info.sh
 		rm $@.tmp; \
 	fi
 
+build-info.o: common/build-info.cpp
+	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -c $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@
+
 #
 # Tests
 #
 
 tests: $(TEST_TARGETS)
 
-benchmark-matmult: examples/benchmark/benchmark-matmult.cpp build-info.h ggml.o $(OBJS)
+benchmark-matmult: examples/benchmark/benchmark-matmult.cpp build-info.o ggml.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
 run-benchmark-matmult: benchmark-matmult
@@ -676,40 +679,40 @@ vdot: pocs/vdot/vdot.cpp ggml.o $(OBJS)
 q8dot: pocs/vdot/q8dot.cpp ggml.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $^ -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-llama-grammar: tests/test-llama-grammar.cpp build-info.h ggml.o $(COMMON_DEPS) grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
+tests/test-llama-grammar: tests/test-llama-grammar.cpp ggml.o $(COMMON_DEPS) grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-grammar-parser: tests/test-grammar-parser.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
+tests/test-grammar-parser: tests/test-grammar-parser.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) grammar-parser.o $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-double-float: tests/test-double-float.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+tests/test-double-float: tests/test-double-float.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-grad0: tests/test-grad0.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+tests/test-grad0: tests/test-grad0.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-opt: tests/test-opt.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+tests/test-opt: tests/test-opt.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-quantize-fns: tests/test-quantize-fns.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+tests/test-quantize-fns: tests/test-quantize-fns.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-quantize-perf: tests/test-quantize-perf.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+tests/test-quantize-perf: tests/test-quantize-perf.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-sampling: tests/test-sampling.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+tests/test-sampling: tests/test-sampling.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-tokenizer-0-falcon: tests/test-tokenizer-0-falcon.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+tests/test-tokenizer-0-falcon: tests/test-tokenizer-0-falcon.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-tokenizer-0-llama: tests/test-tokenizer-0-llama.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+tests/test-tokenizer-0-llama: tests/test-tokenizer-0-llama.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-tokenizer-1-bpe: tests/test-tokenizer-1-bpe.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+tests/test-tokenizer-1-bpe: tests/test-tokenizer-1-bpe.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
-tests/test-tokenizer-1-llama: tests/test-tokenizer-1-llama.cpp build-info.h ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
+tests/test-tokenizer-1-llama: tests/test-tokenizer-1-llama.cpp ggml.o llama.o $(COMMON_DEPS) $(OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h,$^) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
 tests/test-c.o: tests/test-c.c llama.h
diff --git a/common/CMakeLists.txt b/common/CMakeLists.txt
index d3dff6060..0150114e3 100644
--- a/common/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/common/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,8 +1,46 @@
 # common
 
+
+# Build info header
+#
+
+if(EXISTS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../.git")
+    set(GIT_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../.git")
+
+    # Is git submodule
+    if(NOT IS_DIRECTORY "${GIT_DIR}")
+        file(READ ${GIT_DIR} REAL_GIT_DIR_LINK)
+        string(REGEX REPLACE "gitdir: (.*)\n$" "\\1" REAL_GIT_DIR ${REAL_GIT_DIR_LINK})
+        set(GIT_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${REAL_GIT_DIR}")
+    endif()
+
+    set(GIT_INDEX "${GIT_DIR}/index")
+else()
+    message(WARNING "Git repository not found; to enable automatic generation of build info, make sure Git is installed and the project is a Git repository.")
+    set(GIT_INDEX "")
+endif()
+
+# Add a custom command to rebuild build-info.cpp when .git/index changes
+add_custom_command(
+    OUTPUT "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/build-info.cpp"
+    COMMENT "Generating build details from Git"
+    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -DMSVC=${MSVC} -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_VERSION=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER_VERSION}
+            -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_ID=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER_ID} -DCMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_NAME=${CMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_NAME}
+            -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER} -P "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../scripts/build-info.cmake"
+    WORKING_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/.."
+    DEPENDS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/build-info.cpp.in" ${GIT_INDEX}
+    VERBATIM
+)
+set(TARGET build_info)
+add_library(${TARGET} OBJECT build-info.cpp)
+if (BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)
+    set_target_properties(${TARGET} PROPERTIES POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON)
+endif()
+
+
 set(TARGET common)
 
-add_library(${TARGET} OBJECT
+add_library(${TARGET} STATIC
     common.h
     common.cpp
     sampling.h
@@ -21,5 +59,4 @@ endif()
 
 target_include_directories(${TARGET} PUBLIC .)
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PUBLIC cxx_std_11)
-target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE llama)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
+target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE llama build_info)
diff --git a/common/build-info.cpp.in b/common/build-info.cpp.in
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0b945aa68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/build-info.cpp.in
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+int LLAMA_BUILD_NUMBER = @BUILD_NUMBER@;
+char const *LLAMA_COMMIT = "@BUILD_COMMIT@";
+char const *LLAMA_COMPILER = "@BUILD_COMPILER@";
+char const *LLAMA_BUILD_TARGET = "@BUILD_TARGET@";
diff --git a/common/common.cpp b/common/common.cpp
index dc4865e80..e4208b72a 100644
--- a/common/common.cpp
+++ b/common/common.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 #include "common.h"
-#include "build-info.h"
 #include "llama.h"
 
 #include <algorithm>
@@ -1135,8 +1134,8 @@ void dump_non_result_info_yaml(FILE * stream, const gpt_params & params, const l
                                const std::string & timestamp, const std::vector<int> & prompt_tokens, const char * model_desc) {
     const llama_sampling_params & sparams = params.sparams;
 
-    fprintf(stream, "build_commit: %s\n", BUILD_COMMIT);
-    fprintf(stream, "build_number: %d\n", BUILD_NUMBER);
+    fprintf(stream, "build_commit: %s\n",        LLAMA_COMMIT);
+    fprintf(stream, "build_number: %d\n",        LLAMA_BUILD_NUMBER);
     fprintf(stream, "cpu_has_arm_fma: %s\n",     ggml_cpu_has_arm_fma()     ? "true" : "false");
     fprintf(stream, "cpu_has_avx: %s\n",         ggml_cpu_has_avx()         ? "true" : "false");
     fprintf(stream, "cpu_has_avx2: %s\n",        ggml_cpu_has_avx2()        ? "true" : "false");
diff --git a/common/common.h b/common/common.h
index 84523a4fb..73926c728 100644
--- a/common/common.h
+++ b/common/common.h
@@ -25,11 +25,17 @@
 #define die(msg)          do { fputs("error: " msg "\n", stderr);                exit(1); } while (0)
 #define die_fmt(fmt, ...) do { fprintf(stderr, "error: " fmt "\n", __VA_ARGS__); exit(1); } while (0)
 
-#define print_build_info() do {                                                             \
-    fprintf(stderr, "%s: build = %d (%s)\n", __func__, BUILD_NUMBER, BUILD_COMMIT);         \
-    fprintf(stderr, "%s: built with %s for %s\n", __func__, BUILD_COMPILER, BUILD_TARGET);  \
+#define print_build_info() do {                                                                     \
+    fprintf(stderr, "%s: build = %d (%s)\n", __func__, LLAMA_BUILD_NUMBER, LLAMA_COMMIT);           \
+    fprintf(stderr, "%s: built with %s for %s\n", __func__, LLAMA_COMPILER, LLAMA_BUILD_TARGET);    \
 } while(0)
 
+// build info
+extern int LLAMA_BUILD_NUMBER;
+extern char const *LLAMA_COMMIT;
+extern char const *LLAMA_COMPILER;
+extern char const *LLAMA_BUILD_TARGET;
+
 //
 // CLI argument parsing
 //
diff --git a/examples/benchmark/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/benchmark/CMakeLists.txt
index 42c3c51c5..2bb47bab5 100644
--- a/examples/benchmark/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/benchmark/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 set(TARGET benchmark)
 add_executable(${TARGET} benchmark-matmult.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
-target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
+target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE llama build_info ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_include_directories(${TARGET} PRIVATE ../../common)
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/benchmark/benchmark-matmult.cpp b/examples/benchmark/benchmark-matmult.cpp
index f1c382aa9..76e3f57cc 100644
--- a/examples/benchmark/benchmark-matmult.cpp
+++ b/examples/benchmark/benchmark-matmult.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-#include "build-info.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "ggml.h"
 
diff --git a/examples/embedding/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/embedding/CMakeLists.txt
index 6ed5416c3..8ffc33868 100644
--- a/examples/embedding/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/embedding/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,4 +3,3 @@ add_executable(${TARGET} embedding.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
 target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE common llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/embedding/embedding.cpp b/examples/embedding/embedding.cpp
index 14075609e..3295cd240 100644
--- a/examples/embedding/embedding.cpp
+++ b/examples/embedding/embedding.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-#include "build-info.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "llama.h"
 
diff --git a/examples/infill/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/infill/CMakeLists.txt
index 0f47af6ab..e4e8028da 100644
--- a/examples/infill/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/infill/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,4 +3,3 @@ add_executable(${TARGET} infill.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
 target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE common llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/infill/infill.cpp b/examples/infill/infill.cpp
index 9c52b7bba..62f5ce3c1 100644
--- a/examples/infill/infill.cpp
+++ b/examples/infill/infill.cpp
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 #include "console.h"
 #include "llama.h"
-#include "build-info.h"
 #include "grammar-parser.h"
 
 #include <cassert>
@@ -184,8 +183,8 @@ int main(int argc, char ** argv) {
         LOG_TEE("%s: warning: scaling RoPE frequency by %g.\n", __func__, params.rope_freq_scale);
     }
 
-    LOG_TEE("%s: build = %d (%s)\n", __func__, BUILD_NUMBER, BUILD_COMMIT);
-    LOG_TEE("%s: built with %s for %s\n", __func__, BUILD_COMPILER, BUILD_TARGET);
+    LOG_TEE("%s: build = %d (%s)\n",      __func__, LLAMA_BUILD_NUMBER, LLAMA_COMMIT);
+    LOG_TEE("%s: built with %s for %s\n", __func__, LLAMA_COMPILER, LLAMA_BUILD_TARGET);
 
     if (params.seed == LLAMA_DEFAULT_SEED) {
         params.seed = time(NULL);
diff --git a/examples/llama-bench/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/llama-bench/CMakeLists.txt
index 588e234f2..5bdbea4e2 100644
--- a/examples/llama-bench/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/llama-bench/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,4 +3,3 @@ add_executable(${TARGET} llama-bench.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
 target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE common llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/llama-bench/llama-bench.cpp b/examples/llama-bench/llama-bench.cpp
index 780398184..9bd82d565 100644
--- a/examples/llama-bench/llama-bench.cpp
+++ b/examples/llama-bench/llama-bench.cpp
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 #include "ggml.h"
 #include "llama.h"
 #include "common.h"
-#include "build-info.h"
 #include "ggml-cuda.h"
 
 // utils
@@ -641,8 +640,8 @@ struct test {
     }
 };
 
-const std::string test::build_commit = BUILD_COMMIT;
-const int         test::build_number = BUILD_NUMBER;
+const std::string test::build_commit = LLAMA_COMMIT;
+const int         test::build_number = LLAMA_BUILD_NUMBER;
 const bool        test::cuda         = !!ggml_cpu_has_cublas();
 const bool        test::opencl       = !!ggml_cpu_has_clblast();
 const bool        test::metal        = !!ggml_cpu_has_metal();
diff --git a/examples/llava/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/llava/CMakeLists.txt
index b65b8048b..03d32c26e 100644
--- a/examples/llava/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/llava/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,11 +6,9 @@ target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
 if (NOT MSVC)
     target_compile_options(${TARGET} PRIVATE -Wno-cast-qual) # stb_image.h
 endif()
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
 
 set(TARGET llava)
 add_executable(${TARGET} llava.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
 target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE common llama clip ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/main/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/main/CMakeLists.txt
index 8ee0b612d..d532980b7 100644
--- a/examples/main/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/main/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,4 +3,3 @@ add_executable(${TARGET} main.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
 target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE common llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/main/main.cpp b/examples/main/main.cpp
index 8a43b6ab8..8d985c82a 100644
--- a/examples/main/main.cpp
+++ b/examples/main/main.cpp
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 #include "console.h"
 #include "llama.h"
-#include "build-info.h"
 
 #include <cassert>
 #include <cinttypes>
@@ -153,8 +152,8 @@ int main(int argc, char ** argv) {
         LOG_TEE("%s: warning: scaling RoPE frequency by %g.\n", __func__, params.rope_freq_scale);
     }
 
-    LOG_TEE("%s: build = %d (%s)\n", __func__, BUILD_NUMBER, BUILD_COMMIT);
-    LOG_TEE("%s: built with %s for %s\n", __func__, BUILD_COMPILER, BUILD_TARGET);
+    LOG_TEE("%s: build = %d (%s)\n",      __func__, LLAMA_BUILD_NUMBER, LLAMA_COMMIT);
+    LOG_TEE("%s: built with %s for %s\n", __func__, LLAMA_COMPILER, LLAMA_BUILD_TARGET);
 
     if (params.seed == LLAMA_DEFAULT_SEED) {
         params.seed = time(NULL);
diff --git a/examples/parallel/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/parallel/CMakeLists.txt
index 301a72e40..319535a6e 100644
--- a/examples/parallel/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/parallel/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,4 +3,3 @@ add_executable(${TARGET} parallel.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
 target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE common llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/parallel/parallel.cpp b/examples/parallel/parallel.cpp
index 9a0b9c183..a78df305f 100644
--- a/examples/parallel/parallel.cpp
+++ b/examples/parallel/parallel.cpp
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 // A basic application simulating a server with multiple clients.
 // The clients submite requests to the server and they are processed in parallel.
 
-#include "build-info.h"
-
 #include "common.h"
 #include "llama.h"
 
diff --git a/examples/perplexity/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/perplexity/CMakeLists.txt
index f771835a0..3c76d3221 100644
--- a/examples/perplexity/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/perplexity/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,4 +3,3 @@ add_executable(${TARGET} perplexity.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
 target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE common llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/perplexity/perplexity.cpp b/examples/perplexity/perplexity.cpp
index bd2c73d87..de60c5227 100644
--- a/examples/perplexity/perplexity.cpp
+++ b/examples/perplexity/perplexity.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-#include "build-info.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "llama.h"
 
diff --git a/examples/quantize-stats/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/quantize-stats/CMakeLists.txt
index cc372440e..e31cf5e38 100644
--- a/examples/quantize-stats/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/quantize-stats/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 set(TARGET quantize-stats)
 add_executable(${TARGET} quantize-stats.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
-target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
+target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE llama build_info ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_include_directories(${TARGET} PRIVATE ../../common)
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/quantize-stats/quantize-stats.cpp b/examples/quantize-stats/quantize-stats.cpp
index dd76b1cee..271282477 100644
--- a/examples/quantize-stats/quantize-stats.cpp
+++ b/examples/quantize-stats/quantize-stats.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 #define LLAMA_API_INTERNAL
-#include "build-info.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "ggml.h"
 #include "llama.h"
diff --git a/examples/quantize/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/quantize/CMakeLists.txt
index 0aa690d2e..6f374a2bd 100644
--- a/examples/quantize/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/quantize/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 set(TARGET quantize)
 add_executable(${TARGET} quantize.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
-target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
+target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE llama build_info ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_include_directories(${TARGET} PRIVATE ../../common)
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/quantize/quantize.cpp b/examples/quantize/quantize.cpp
index be0b2fe1e..d27ea5e91 100644
--- a/examples/quantize/quantize.cpp
+++ b/examples/quantize/quantize.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-#include "build-info.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "llama.h"
 
diff --git a/examples/save-load-state/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/save-load-state/CMakeLists.txt
index e5994f19c..cc6ed8554 100644
--- a/examples/save-load-state/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/save-load-state/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,4 +3,3 @@ add_executable(${TARGET} save-load-state.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
 target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE common llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/save-load-state/save-load-state.cpp b/examples/save-load-state/save-load-state.cpp
index 38d05f4d3..48d801110 100644
--- a/examples/save-load-state/save-load-state.cpp
+++ b/examples/save-load-state/save-load-state.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-#include "build-info.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "llama.h"
 
diff --git a/examples/server/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/server/CMakeLists.txt
index 9c6ee9386..1f0d26f77 100644
--- a/examples/server/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/server/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -11,4 +11,3 @@ if (WIN32)
     TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(${TARGET} PRIVATE ws2_32)
 endif()
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/server/server.cpp b/examples/server/server.cpp
index c163c7f8e..55e221331 100644
--- a/examples/server/server.cpp
+++ b/examples/server/server.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 #include "common.h"
 #include "llama.h"
-#include "build-info.h"
 #include "grammar-parser.h"
 
 #include "../llava/clip.h"
@@ -2209,8 +2208,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
     llama_backend_init(params.numa);
 
-    LOG_INFO("build info", {{"build", BUILD_NUMBER},
-                            {"commit", BUILD_COMMIT}});
+    LOG_INFO("build info", {{"build", LLAMA_BUILD_NUMBER},
+                            {"commit", LLAMA_COMMIT}});
 
     LOG_INFO("system info", {
                                 {"n_threads", params.n_threads},
diff --git a/examples/speculative/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/speculative/CMakeLists.txt
index c35d873d1..810f3c46a 100644
--- a/examples/speculative/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/speculative/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,4 +3,3 @@ add_executable(${TARGET} speculative.cpp)
 install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
 target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE common llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
 target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
-add_dependencies(${TARGET} BUILD_INFO)
diff --git a/examples/speculative/speculative.cpp b/examples/speculative/speculative.cpp
index 323c74652..798684f66 100644
--- a/examples/speculative/speculative.cpp
+++ b/examples/speculative/speculative.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-#include "build-info.h"
-
 #include "common.h"
 #include "llama.h"
 
diff --git a/scripts/build-info.cmake b/scripts/build-info.cmake
index 89713ba2c..73853dfa4 100644
--- a/scripts/build-info.cmake
+++ b/scripts/build-info.cmake
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-set(TEMPLATE_FILE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/scripts/build-info.h.in")
-set(HEADER_FILE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/build-info.h")
+set(TEMPLATE_FILE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/common/build-info.cpp.in")
+set(OUTPUT_FILE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/common/build-info.cpp")
 set(BUILD_NUMBER 0)
 set(BUILD_COMMIT "unknown")
 set(BUILD_COMPILER "unknown")
@@ -59,22 +59,22 @@ else()
     set(BUILD_TARGET ${OUT})
 endif()
 
-# Only write the header if it's changed to prevent unnecessary recompilation
-if(EXISTS ${HEADER_FILE})
-    file(READ ${HEADER_FILE} CONTENTS)
-    string(REGEX MATCH "BUILD_COMMIT \"([^\"]*)\"" _ ${CONTENTS})
+# Only write the build info if it changed
+if(EXISTS ${OUTPUT_FILE})
+    file(READ ${OUTPUT_FILE} CONTENTS)
+    string(REGEX MATCH "LLAMA_COMMIT = \"([^\"]*)\";" _ ${CONTENTS})
     set(OLD_COMMIT ${CMAKE_MATCH_1})
-    string(REGEX MATCH "BUILD_COMPILER \"([^\"]*)\"" _ ${CONTENTS})
+    string(REGEX MATCH "LLAMA_COMPILER = \"([^\"]*)\";" _ ${CONTENTS})
     set(OLD_COMPILER ${CMAKE_MATCH_1})
-    string(REGEX MATCH "BUILD_TARGET \"([^\"]*)\"" _ ${CONTENTS})
+    string(REGEX MATCH "LLAMA_BUILD_TARGET = \"([^\"]*)\";" _ ${CONTENTS})
     set(OLD_TARGET ${CMAKE_MATCH_1})
     if (
         NOT OLD_COMMIT   STREQUAL BUILD_COMMIT   OR
         NOT OLD_COMPILER STREQUAL BUILD_COMPILER OR
         NOT OLD_TARGET   STREQUAL BUILD_TARGET
     )
-        configure_file(${TEMPLATE_FILE} ${HEADER_FILE})
+        configure_file(${TEMPLATE_FILE} ${OUTPUT_FILE})
     endif()
 else()
-    configure_file(${TEMPLATE_FILE} ${HEADER_FILE})
+    configure_file(${TEMPLATE_FILE} ${OUTPUT_FILE})
 endif()
diff --git a/scripts/build-info.h.in b/scripts/build-info.h.in
deleted file mode 100644
index e996faef0..000000000
--- a/scripts/build-info.h.in
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-#ifndef BUILD_INFO_H
-#define BUILD_INFO_H
-
-#define BUILD_NUMBER @BUILD_NUMBER@
-#define BUILD_COMMIT "@BUILD_COMMIT@"
-#define BUILD_COMPILER "@BUILD_COMPILER@"
-#define BUILD_TARGET "@BUILD_TARGET@"
-
-#endif // BUILD_INFO_H
diff --git a/scripts/build-info.sh b/scripts/build-info.sh
index 3c8b1fb85..32682afbd 100755
--- a/scripts/build-info.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-info.sh
@@ -24,12 +24,7 @@ if out=$($CC -dumpmachine); then
   build_target=$out
 fi
 
-echo "#ifndef BUILD_INFO_H"
-echo "#define BUILD_INFO_H"
-echo
-echo "#define BUILD_NUMBER $build_number"
-echo "#define BUILD_COMMIT \"$build_commit\""
-echo "#define BUILD_COMPILER \"$build_compiler\""
-echo "#define BUILD_TARGET \"$build_target\""
-echo
-echo "#endif // BUILD_INFO_H"
+echo "int LLAMA_BUILD_NUMBER = ${build_number};"
+echo "char const *LLAMA_COMMIT = \"${build_commit}\";"
+echo "char const *LLAMA_COMPILER = \"${build_compiler}\";"
+echo "char const *LLAMA_BUILD_TARGET = \"${build_target}\";"