diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a24b2fea..f0541c2f 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 .PHONY: runtime
 
+VERSION = "$(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD)"
+
 build: runtime
 	go get -d ./cmd/micro
-	go build -o micro ./cmd/micro
+	go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$(VERSION)" -o micro ./cmd/micro
 
 install: build runtime
 	mv micro $(GOPATH)/bin
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 44ef0f22..a88bfb4f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -111,6 +111,10 @@ You can move the cursor around with the arrow keys and mouse.
 You can also use the mouse to manipulate the text. Simply clicking and dragging will select text. You can also double click
 to enable word selection, and triple click to enable line selection.
 
+You can also run `$ micro -version` to get the version number. Since there is no release, this just gives you the
+commit hash. The version is unknown if you built with `go get`, instead use `make install` or `make` to get a binary
+with a version number defined.
+
 # Configuration
 
 Configuration directory:
diff --git a/cmd/micro/micro.go b/cmd/micro/micro.go
index 829a4e24..69c7352a 100644
--- a/cmd/micro/micro.go
+++ b/cmd/micro/micro.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
@@ -33,6 +34,10 @@ var (
 	// This should be $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/micro
 	// If $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not set, it is ~/.config/micro
 	configDir string
+
+	// Version is the version number.
+	// This should be set by the linker
+	Version = "Unknown"
 )
 
 // LoadInput loads the file input for the editor
@@ -101,7 +106,15 @@ func InitConfigDir() {
 	}
 }
 
+var flagVersion = flag.Bool("version", false, "Show version number")
+
 func main() {
+	flag.Parse()
+	if *flagVersion {
+		fmt.Println("Micro version:", Version)
+		os.Exit(0)
+	}
+
 	filename, input, err := LoadInput()
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Println(err)
diff --git a/tools/cross-compile.sh b/tools/cross-compile.sh
index 4f5511de..6d476c61 100755
--- a/tools/cross-compile.sh
+++ b/tools/cross-compile.sh
@@ -6,53 +6,55 @@ mkdir -p micro
 cp LICENSE micro
 cp README.md micro
 
+VERSION="$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)"
+
 # Mac
 echo "OSX 64"
-GOOS=darwin GOARCH=amd64 go build -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=darwin GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
 tar -czf micro-osx.tar.gz micro
 mv micro-osx.tar.gz binaries
 
 # Linux
 echo "Linux 64"
-GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
 tar -czf micro-linux64.tar.gz micro
 mv micro-linux64.tar.gz binaries
 echo "Linux 32"
-GOOS=linux GOARCH=386 go build -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=linux GOARCH=386 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
 tar -czf micro-linux32.tar.gz micro
 mv micro-linux32.tar.gz binaries
 echo "Linux arm"
-GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm go build -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
 tar -czf micro-linux-arm.tar.gz micro
 mv micro-linux-arm.tar.gz binaries
 
 # NetBSD
 echo "NetBSD 64"
-GOOS=netbsd GOARCH=amd64 go build -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=netbsd GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
 tar -czf micro-netbsd64.tar.gz micro
 mv micro-netbsd64.tar.gz binaries
 echo "NetBSD 32"
-GOOS=netbsd GOARCH=386 go build -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=netbsd GOARCH=386 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
 tar -czf micro-netbsd32.tar.gz micro
 mv micro-netbsd32.tar.gz binaries
 
 # OpenBSD
 echo "OpenBSD 64"
-GOOS=openbsd GOARCH=amd64 go build -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=openbsd GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
 tar -czf micro-openbsd64.tar.gz micro
 mv micro-openbsd64.tar.gz binaries
 echo "OpenBSD 32"
-GOOS=openbsd GOARCH=386 go build -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=openbsd GOARCH=386 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
 tar -czf micro-openbsd32.tar.gz micro
 mv micro-openbsd32.tar.gz binaries
 
 # FreeBSD
 echo "FreeBSD 64"
-GOOS=freebsd GOARCH=amd64 go build -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=freebsd GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
 tar -czf micro-freebsd64.tar.gz micro
 mv micro-freebsd64.tar.gz binaries
 echo "FreeBSD 32"
-GOOS=freebsd GOARCH=386 go build -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=freebsd GOARCH=386 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro ./cmd/micro
 tar -czf micro-freebsd32.tar.gz micro
 mv micro-freebsd32.tar.gz binaries
 
@@ -60,11 +62,11 @@ rm micro/micro
 
 # Windows
 echo "Windows 64"
-GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 go build -o micro/micro.exe ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro.exe ./cmd/micro
 zip -r -q -T micro-win64.zip micro
 mv micro-win64.zip binaries
 echo "Windows 32"
-GOOS=windows GOARCH=386 go build -o micro/micro.exe ./cmd/micro
+GOOS=windows GOARCH=386 go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$VERSION" -o micro/micro.exe ./cmd/micro
 zip -r -q -T micro-win32.zip micro
 mv micro-win32.zip binaries