diff --git a/src/Makefile b/src/Makefile
index 20d8f6c5..d5d0865b 100644
--- a/src/Makefile
+++ b/src/Makefile
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ else
     endif
 endif
 
-version ?= $(shell if [ -f .version ]; then cat .version; elif  [ -d ../.git ]; then git rev-parse --short HEAD; else echo "unknown"; fi)
+version ?= $(shell if [ -f .version ]; then cat .version; elif  [ -d ../.git ]; then git describe --tags HEAD; else echo "unknown"; fi)
 
 sources := $(sort $(wildcard *.cc))
 objects := $(addprefix ., $(sources:.cc=$(suffix).o))