diff --git a/build.rs b/build.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7044b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+use std::process::Command;
+
+fn main() {
+    println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=.git/HEAD");
+    if let Ok(head) = std::fs::read_to_string(".git/HEAD") {
+        if let Some(reference) = head.strip_prefix("ref: ") {
+            println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=.git/{}", reference.trim());
+        }
+    }
+
+    let short = Command::new("git")
+        .args(["rev-parse", "--short=8", "HEAD"])
+        .output()
+        .ok()
+        .filter(|output| output.status.success())
+        .and_then(|output| String::from_utf8(output.stdout).ok())
+        .map(|value| value.trim().to_string())
+        .filter(|value| !value.is_empty())
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| "unknown".to_string());
+
+    println!("cargo:rustc-env=PEERSPEAK_GIT_SHORT={short}");
+}
diff --git a/src/app/mod.rs b/src/app/mod.rs
index ef6f6c6..3c704f4 100644
--- a/src/app/mod.rs
+++ b/src/app/mod.rs
@@ -34,6 +34,17 @@ use tokio::sync::Mutex;
 
 static UI_RX: OnceLock<Mutex<Option<tokio::sync::mpsc::Receiver<UiEvent>>>> = OnceLock::new();
 
+const APP_VERSION: &str = env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION");
+const GIT_SHORT: &str = env!("PEERSPEAK_GIT_SHORT");
+
+fn app_build_label() -> String {
+    if GIT_SHORT == "unknown" {
+        format!("PeerSpeak v{APP_VERSION}")
+    } else {
+        format!("PeerSpeak v{APP_VERSION} ({GIT_SHORT})")
+    }
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
 pub enum Screen {
     Home,
@@ -1100,10 +1111,7 @@ fn effective_background_bytes(
 }
 
 pub fn run_gui() -> iced::Result {
-    crate::log_msg(&format!(
-        "PeerSpeak v{} starting",
-        env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION")
-    ));
+    crate::log_msg(&format!("{} starting", app_build_label()));
     // Restore the last window size (saved on close). Position is restored too,
     // but only on X11 — Wayland's xdg-shell gives clients no way to set their own
     // position, so we center there and leave placement to the compositor.
@@ -3810,6 +3818,7 @@ fn connect_card(state: &AppState) -> Element<'_, AppMessage> {
     let subtitle = text("NAT-traversing full-mesh voice chat")
         .size(16)
         .color(color_subtext);
+    let build_label = text(app_build_label()).size(11).color(color_subtext);
 
     let nickname_input = column![
         text("Nickname").size(14).color(color_subtext),
@@ -3865,6 +3874,7 @@ fn connect_card(state: &AppState) -> Element<'_, AppMessage> {
         column![
             logo,
             subtitle,
+            build_label,
             vertical_space(20.0),
             nickname_input,
             vertical_space(16.0),
@@ -5246,11 +5256,7 @@ fn view(state: &AppState) -> Element<'_, AppMessage> {
         }
         settings_nav = settings_nav
             .push(iced::widget::Space::new().height(iced::Length::Fill))
-            .push(
-                text(format!("PeerSpeak v{}", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION")))
-                    .size(11)
-                    .color(color_subtext),
-            );
+            .push(text(app_build_label()).size(11).color(color_subtext));
         let settings_nav = container(settings_nav)
             .padding(12)
             .width(iced::Length::Fixed(220.0))
@@ -5270,9 +5276,7 @@ fn view(state: &AppState) -> Element<'_, AppMessage> {
                     vertical_space(10.0),
                     settings_body,
                     vertical_space(10.0),
-                    text(format!("PeerSpeak v{}", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION")))
-                        .size(11)
-                        .color(color_subtext),
+                    text(app_build_label()).size(11).color(color_subtext),
                 ]
                 .spacing(8)
                 .width(iced::Length::Fill),