diff --git a/fms_mo/__init__.py b/fms_mo/__init__.py
index 64d21082..a49bd8d7 100644
--- a/fms_mo/__init__.py
+++ b/fms_mo/__init__.py
@@ -13,17 +13,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 """FMS Model Optimizer init. Import most commonly used functions and classes here."""
 
-# Standard
-from importlib.metadata import PackageNotFoundError, version
-import logging
-
 # Local
 from fms_mo.prep import qmodel_prep
 from fms_mo.utils.qconfig_utils import qconfig_init
-
-VERSION_FALLBACK = "0.0.0"
-
-try:
-    __version__ = version("fms_mo")
-except PackageNotFoundError:
-    __version__ = VERSION_FALLBACK
+from fms_mo.version import __version__, __version_tuple__
diff --git a/fms_mo/version.py b/fms_mo/version.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a87fffa0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fms_mo/version.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# Copyright The FMS Model Optimizer Authors
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+"""FMS Model Optimizer version"""
+
+try:
+    # Local
+    from ._version import (  # pylint: disable=unused-import
+        __version__,
+        __version_tuple__,
+    )
+except ImportError as e:
+    # Standard
+    import warnings
+
+    warnings.warn(f"Failed to read commit hash:\n{e}", RuntimeWarning, stacklevel=2)
+
+    __version__ = "dev"
+    __version_tuple__ = (0, 0, __version__)
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 6df9523a..fe5f086e 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [build-system]
 build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
-requires = ["setuptools>=60", "setuptools-scm>=8.0"]
+requires = ["setuptools>=64", "setuptools-scm>=8.0"]
 
 [project]
 name = "fms-model-optimizer"
@@ -56,9 +56,15 @@ source = "https://github.com/foundation-model-stack/fms-model-optimizer"
 issues = "https://github.com/foundation-model-stack/fms-model-optimizer/issues"
 
 [tool.setuptools_scm]
+# Version files are optional, this just marginally speeds up version inspection
+# at runtime
 version_file = "fms_mo/_version.py"
-# do not include +gREV local version, required for Test PyPI upload
+# Do not include +gREV local version, required for Test PyPI upload
+# Version strings are formatted as `{version}+{local}`, e.g. "0.1.dev1+gb1a7032"
+# Local versioning is incompatible with pypi, so we disable it by default.
 local_scheme = "no-local-version"
+# For more version configuration, see 
+# https://setuptools-scm.readthedocs.io/en/latest/config/
 
 [tool.setuptools.packages.find]
 where = [""]