diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 2c657cc..c3333ba 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+[build-system]
+requires = ["setuptools>=77"]
+build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
+
 [project]  
 name = "mldebug_xdp"  
 version = "0.1.0"  
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f2958e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# Copyright (C) 2024-2025 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.
+
+"""
+Stamps the git commit into the built package. All metadata lives in pyproject.toml.
+"""
+
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import os
+import subprocess
+
+from setuptools import setup
+from setuptools.command.build_py import build_py
+from setuptools.command.sdist import sdist
+
+ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.resolve()
+
+
+def _git(*args):
+  """
+  Run a git command in the source tree, returning "" on any failure.
+  """
+  try:
+    out = subprocess.run(
+      ["git", "-C", str(ROOT), *args], capture_output=True, text=True, check=True, timeout=5
+    )
+  except (OSError, subprocess.SubprocessError):
+    return ""
+  return out.stdout.strip()
+
+
+def _commit():
+  """
+  Full HEAD commit. Falls back to GITHUB_SHA when building without a .git dir.
+  """
+  commit = _git("rev-parse", "HEAD") or os.environ.get("GITHUB_SHA", "")
+  if not commit:
+    return ""
+  # Scoped to tracked *.py: the LFS binaries under bin/ and backend/ show as modified
+  # after a smudge, and sdist leaves an untracked copy of the tree behind while it runs.
+  if _git("status", "--porcelain", "-uno", "--", "*.py"):
+    commit += "-dirty"
+  return commit
+
+
+def _write_stamp(stamp, version):
+  """
+  Write _build_info.py, or keep the existing one when the commit is unknown.
+  An unknown commit means we are building from an sdist, which already carries
+  the stamp written when the sdist itself was built.
+  """
+  commit = _commit()
+  if not commit:
+    print(f"[WARNING] no git commit found, leaving {stamp} as is")
+    return
+  build_date = datetime.now(timezone.utc).strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%SZ")
+  # sdist hard links files out of the source tree, so replace instead of writing in place.
+  stamp.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+  stamp.write_text(
+    '"""Generated at build time by setup.py."""\n\n'
+    f'VERSION = "{version}"\n'
+    f'COMMIT = "{commit}"\n'
+    f'BUILD_DATE = "{build_date}"\n',
+    encoding="utf-8",
+  )
+  print(f"[INFO] stamped {stamp} with commit '{commit}'")
+
+
+class BuildPyStamped(build_py):
+  """
+  Stamp the build tree after the sources are copied, leaving the source tree untouched.
+  """
+
+  def run(self):
+    super().run()
+    stamp = Path(self.build_lib) / "mldebug" / "_build_info.py"
+    _write_stamp(stamp, self.distribution.get_version())
+
+
+class SdistStamped(sdist):
+  """
+  Stamp the sdist so a wheel built from it keeps the commit.
+  """
+
+  def make_release_tree(self, base_dir, files):
+    super().make_release_tree(base_dir, files)
+    stamp = Path(base_dir) / "src" / "mldebug" / "_build_info.py"
+    _write_stamp(stamp, self.distribution.get_version())
+
+
+setup(cmdclass={"build_py": BuildPyStamped, "sdist": SdistStamped})
diff --git a/src/mldebug/_build_info.py b/src/mldebug/_build_info.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c62fb5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mldebug/_build_info.py
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# Copyright (C) 2024-2025 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.
+
+"""
+Build stamp. setup.py overwrites this inside the built package.
+Values stay empty when running from a source tree.
+"""
+
+VERSION = ""
+COMMIT = ""
+BUILD_DATE = ""
diff --git a/src/mldebug/mldebug_cli.py b/src/mldebug/mldebug_cli.py
index 2c54fd5..eae3ed5 100644
--- a/src/mldebug/mldebug_cli.py
+++ b/src/mldebug/mldebug_cli.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
   create_run_flags,
 )
 from mldebug.interactive_prompt import InteractivePrompt
-from mldebug.utils import setup_logger, close_logger, is_windows
+from mldebug.utils import LOGGER, setup_logger, close_logger, is_windows, version_string
 
 
 def _apply_unsupported_kernels_from_args(args):
@@ -220,6 +220,12 @@ def app():
   top_msg = "AIE Debug for VAIML.\nDefault data dump mode is binary. Files have 8byte header specifying total bytes."
   p = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=top_msg, formatter_class=RawTextHelpFormatter)
 
+  p.add_argument(
+    "--version",
+    action="version",
+    version=version_string(),
+    help="Show version, commit ID and exit.\n",
+  )
   p.add_argument(
     "-b",
     "--buffer_info",
@@ -410,6 +416,7 @@ def app():
   )
   args = p.parse_args()
   setup_logger(args)
+  LOGGER.log(f"[INFO] {version_string()}")
 
   if not check_args(args):
     print("Argument check failed")
diff --git a/src/mldebug/utils.py b/src/mldebug/utils.py
index 0623dd0..2574653 100644
--- a/src/mldebug/utils.py
+++ b/src/mldebug/utils.py
@@ -5,13 +5,14 @@
 Helpful utilities like logging
 """
 
-from pathlib import Path
-
 import os
 import platform
 import sys
 import threading
 import time
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from mldebug import _build_info
 
 
 class Logger:
@@ -106,6 +107,18 @@ def close_logger():
   LOGGER.close()
 
 
+def version_string():
+  """
+  One line banner: version, commit and build date of the installed package.
+  """
+  if not _build_info.COMMIT:
+    return "mldebug (running from source, no build stamp)"
+  return (
+    f"mldebug {_build_info.VERSION} (commit {_build_info.COMMIT})"
+    f" built {_build_info.BUILD_DATE}"
+  )
+
+
 class Version:
   """
   Simple versioning class for (major, minor) version management.