diff --git a/_version.py b/_version.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5635676
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_version.py
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+__version__ = "0.2.11"
diff --git a/config/system_config.yaml b/config/system_config.yaml
index fd9057e..1bc49c2 100644
--- a/config/system_config.yaml
+++ b/config/system_config.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-client_version: "0.2.11"
-
 error_messages:
   template_not_found:
     message: |
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index a79fea8..9efc47c 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "codeplain"
-version = "0.2.11"
+dynamic = ["version"]
 description = "Transform plain language specifications into working code"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = "==3.11"
@@ -40,6 +40,9 @@ dev = [
 [project.scripts]
 codeplain = "plain2code:main"
 
+[tool.hatch.version]
+path = "_version.py"
+
 [tool.hatch.build.targets.wheel]
 include = [
     "*.py",
diff --git a/system_config.py b/system_config.py
index 46c14cc..dcc3721 100644
--- a/system_config.py
+++ b/system_config.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 import yaml
 
+from _version import __version__
 from plain2code_console import console
 
 
@@ -11,12 +12,10 @@ class SystemConfig:
 
     def __init__(self):
         self.config = self._load_config()
-        if "client_version" not in self.config:
-            raise KeyError("Missing 'client_version' in system_config.yaml")
         if "error_messages" not in self.config:
             raise KeyError("Missing 'error_messages' section in system_config.yaml")
 
-        self.client_version = self.config["client_version"]
+        self.client_version = __version__
         self.error_messages = self.config["error_messages"]
 
     def _load_config(self):