diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9084ec4d..ec14c4db 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,14 +1,15 @@
 PREFIX ?= /usr/local
 MANDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/share/man/man1/
 BUILDTYPE ?= Release
+BUILD_INFO ?=
 SHELL = /bin/sh
 
 
 # inherit from env if set
 CC := $(CC)
 CXX := $(CXX)
-CFLAGS := $(CFLAGS) -fPIE
-CXXFLAGS := $(CXXFLAGS) -std=c++17 -fPIE
+CFLAGS := $(CFLAGS) -fPIE -DBUILD_INFO=$(BUILD_INFO)
+CXXFLAGS := $(CXXFLAGS) -std=c++17 -fPIE -DBUILD_INFO=$(BUILD_INFO)
 LDFLAGS := $(LDFLAGS)
 WARNING_FLAGS := -Wall -Wshadow -Wsign-compare -Wextra -Wunreachable-code -Wuninitialized -Wshadow
 RELEASE_FLAGS := -O3 -DNDEBUG
diff --git a/main.cpp b/main.cpp
index dad6a05d..54595bc6 100644
--- a/main.cpp
+++ b/main.cpp
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@
 #include "tile.hpp"
 #include "pool.hpp"
 #include "projection.hpp"
-#include "version.hpp"
 #include "memfile.hpp"
 #include "main.hpp"
 #include "geojson.hpp"
@@ -3608,7 +3607,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
 		}
 
 		case 'v':
-			fprintf(stderr, "tippecanoe %s\n", VERSION);
+			fprintf(stderr, "tippecanoe %s\n", version_str().c_str());
 			exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
 
 		case 'P':
diff --git a/mbtiles.cpp b/mbtiles.cpp
index 8dcc0e33..a489e7da 100644
--- a/mbtiles.cpp
+++ b/mbtiles.cpp
@@ -654,6 +654,17 @@ static double sixdig(double val) {
 	return std::round(val * 1e6) / 1e6;
 }
 
+#define str(x) #x
+#define xstr(x) str(x)
+std::string version_str() {
+	std::string s = VERSION;
+	std::string build_info = xstr(BUILD_INFO);
+	if (build_info.size() > 0) {
+		s += " " + build_info;
+	}
+	return s;
+}
+
 metadata make_metadata(const char *fname, int minzoom, int maxzoom, double minlat, double minlon, double maxlat, double maxlon, double minlat2, double minlon2, double maxlat2, double maxlon2, double midlat, double midlon, const char *attribution, std::map<std::string, layermap_entry> const &layermap, bool vector, const char *description, bool do_tilestats, std::map<std::string, std::string> const &attribute_descriptions, std::string const &program, std::string const &commandline, std::vector<strategy> const &strategies, int basezoom, double droprate, int retain_points_multiplier) {
 	metadata m;
 
@@ -684,7 +695,7 @@ metadata make_metadata(const char *fname, int minzoom, int maxzoom, double minla
 		m.attribution = attribution;
 	}
 
-	m.generator = program + " " + VERSION;
+	m.generator = program + " " + version_str();
 	m.generator_options = commandline;
 
 	m.strategies_json = stringify_strategies(strategies);
diff --git a/mbtiles.hpp b/mbtiles.hpp
index 8863df60..661f5a65 100644
--- a/mbtiles.hpp
+++ b/mbtiles.hpp
@@ -77,5 +77,6 @@ std::map<std::string, layermap_entry> merge_layermaps(std::vector<std::map<std::
 std::map<std::string, layermap_entry> merge_layermaps(std::vector<std::map<std::string, layermap_entry> > const &maps, bool trunc);
 
 void add_to_tilestats(std::map<std::string, tilestat> &tilestats, std::string const &layername, serial_val const &val);
+std::string version_str();
 
 #endif