diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 731d3fd..d09a907 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -194,8 +194,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           go-version: '1.22.7'
           cache: false
-      - name: Set CLI version number
-        run: bash ./scripts/set-cli-version.sh test
       - name: Run build script
         run: make build
 
@@ -220,8 +218,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           go-version: '1.22.7'
           cache: false  
-      - name: Set CLI version number
-        run: bash ./scripts/set-cli-version.sh test
       - name: Run build script
         run: make build
 
@@ -246,8 +242,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           go-version: '1.22.7'
           cache: false  
-      - name: Set CLI version number
-        run: bash ./scripts/set-cli-version.sh test
       - name: Run build script
         run: make build
 
@@ -272,8 +266,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           go-version: '1.22.7'
           cache: false
-      - name: Set CLI version number
-        run: bash ./scripts/set-cli-version.sh test
       - name: Run build script
         run: make build
 
@@ -298,8 +290,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           go-version: '1.22.7'
           cache: false
-      - name: Set CLI version number
-        run: bash ./scripts/set-cli-version.sh test
       - name: Run build script
         run: make build
 
@@ -324,7 +314,5 @@ jobs:
         with:
           go-version: '1.22.7'
           cache: false
-      - name: Set CLI version number
-        run: bash ./scripts/set-cli-version.sh test
       - name: Run build script
         run: make build
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-cli.yml b/.github/workflows/release-cli.yml
index 958e996..91c18f4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-cli.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-cli.yml
@@ -45,10 +45,8 @@ jobs:
         with:
           go-version: '1.22.7'
           cache: false
-      - name: Set CLI version number
-        run: bash ./scripts/set-cli-version.sh ${{ steps.tagName.outputs.tag }}
       - name: Run build script
-        run: make build
+        run: make build VERSION=${{ steps.tagName.outputs.tag }}
       - name: Append os/arch to binary file name
         run: mv bin/kubetail bin/kubetail-${{ matrix.GOOS }}-${{ matrix.GOARCH }}
       - name: Calculate sha256 checksum
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 8d8e386..337583a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -26,6 +26,12 @@ else
   GOARCH := $(ARCH)
 endif
 
+# Allow version override via CLI argument (default to "dev")
+VERSION ?= dev
+
+# Define ldflags
+LDFLAGS := -ldflags="-s -w -X 'github.com/kubetail-org/kubetail/modules/cli/cmd.version=$(VERSION)'"
+
 # Default target
 all: build
 
@@ -46,20 +52,20 @@ build-dashboard-ui:
 # Build CLI binary for host platform
 build-cli: build-dashboard-ui
 	@echo "Building kubetail CLI binary..."
-	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=$(GOOS) GOARCH=$(GOARCH) CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY) ./main.go
+	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=$(GOOS) GOARCH=$(GOARCH) CGO_ENABLED=0 go build $(LDFLAGS) -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY) ./main.go
 
 # Build all the CLI binaries
 build-cli-all: build-dashboard-ui
 	@echo "Building kubetail CLI binaries..."
-	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=darwin GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY)-darwin-amd64 ./main.go
+	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=darwin GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build $(LDFLAGS) -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY)-darwin-amd64 ./main.go
 	@echo "Built kubetail for darwin-amd64."
-	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY)-darwin-arm64 ./main.go
+	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build $(LDFLAGS) -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY)-darwin-arm64 ./main.go
 	@echo "Built kubetail for darwin-arm64."
-	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY)-linux-amd64 ./main.go
+	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build $(LDFLAGS) -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY)-linux-amd64 ./main.go
 	@echo "Built kubetail for linux-amd64."
-	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY)-linux-arm64 ./main.go
+	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build $(LDFLAGS) -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY)-linux-arm64 ./main.go
 	@echo "Built kubetail for linux-arm64."
-	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY)-windows-adm64 ./main.go
+	@cd $(CLI_DIR) && GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build $(LDFLAGS) -o ../../$(OUTPUT_DIR)/$(CLI_BINARY)-windows-adm64 ./main.go
 	@echo "Built kubetail for windows-amd64."
 	@echo "Kubetail CLI binaries built successfully."
 
diff --git a/modules/cli/cmd/root.go b/modules/cli/cmd/root.go
index 76afb22..b5b1003 100644
--- a/modules/cli/cmd/root.go
+++ b/modules/cli/cmd/root.go
@@ -20,10 +20,12 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
+var version = "dev" // default version for local builds
+
 // rootCmd represents the base command when called without any subcommands
 var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:     "kubetail",
-	Version: "dev",
+	Version: version,
 	Short:   "Kubetail - Kubernetes logging utility",
 }
 
diff --git a/scripts/set-cli-version.sh b/scripts/set-cli-version.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 1c0e65c..0000000
--- a/scripts/set-cli-version.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-# Check if a version number was provided as an argument
-if [ "$#" -ne 1 ]; then
-    echo "Usage: $0 <new-version>"
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-# Assign the new version number from command line arguments
-NEW_VERSION=$1
-CLI_ROOT_GO_FILE="./modules/cli/cmd/root.go"
-
-# Check if the file exists
-if [ ! -f "$CLI_ROOT_GO_FILE" ]; then
-    echo "Error: File $CLI_ROOT_GO_FILE not found."
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-# Update the Version field in the root.go file
-sed -i.bak -E "s/(Version: )\"[^\"]*\"/\1\"$NEW_VERSION\"/" "$CLI_ROOT_GO_FILE" && rm "$CLI_ROOT_GO_FILE.bak"
-
-echo "Version in $CLI_ROOT_GO_FILE updated to '$NEW_VERSION'."