diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..49d5957
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0.1
diff --git a/makefile b/makefile
index 628f638..ab16706 100644
--- a/makefile
+++ b/makefile
@@ -1,11 +1,17 @@
 BINARY	:= gfu
 PKGS	:= $(shell go list ./... |grep -v /vendor)
-VERSION	:= $(shell git describe --tags)
-BUILD	:= $(shell date -Iminutes)
 
-LDFLAGS	:= -ldflags "-s -X main.version=${VERSION} -X main.build=${BUILD}"
+# version checks git tags. if any errors, they are discarded, and the version is
+# read from the VERSION file
+VERSION	:= $(shell git describe --tags 2> /dev/null)
+ifeq ($(VERSION),)	
+	VERSION := $(shell cat VERSION)
+endif
+BUILD		:= $(shell date -Iminutes)
+
 #ldflags for versioning info: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11354518/application-auto-build-versioning
 #-s flag info: https://blog.spiralscout.com/using-w-and-s-flags-in-golang-97ae59b50e26
+LDFLAGS	:= -ldflags "-s -X main.version=${VERSION} -X main.build=${BUILD}"
 
 build:
 	go build ${LDFLAGS} -o ${BINARY}
@@ -14,12 +20,10 @@ build:
 install:
 	go install ${LDFLAGS}
 
+.PHONY: uninstall
+uninstall:
+	go clean -i
+
 .PHONY: clean
 clean:
 	go clean
-
-.PHONY: test
-test:
-	go test $(PKGS)
-
-