diff --git a/fbs/__init__.py b/fbs/__init__.py
index d65c1f3..6d351fe 100644
--- a/fbs/__init__.py
+++ b/fbs/__init__.py
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-from fbs import _state, _defaults
-from fbs._settings import load_settings, expand_placeholders
+from fbs import _state
 from fbs._state import LOADED_PROFILES
-from fbs_runtime import platform, FbsError
-from fbs_runtime.platform import is_ubuntu, is_linux, is_arch_linux, is_fedora
-from os.path import normpath, join, exists, abspath
+from fbs_runtime import FbsError, _source
+from fbs_runtime._fbs import get_core_settings, get_default_profiles
+from fbs_runtime._settings import load_settings, expand_placeholders
+from fbs_runtime._source import get_settings_paths
+from os.path import abspath
 
 """
 fbs populates SETTINGS with the current build settings. A typical example is
@@ -16,8 +17,8 @@ def init(project_dir):
     Call this if you are invoking neither `fbs` on the command line nor
     fbs.cmdline.main() from Python.
     """
-    SETTINGS['project_dir'] = abspath(project_dir)
-    for profile in _get_default_profiles():
+    SETTINGS.update(get_core_settings(abspath(project_dir)))
+    for profile in get_default_profiles():
         activate_profile(profile)
 
 def activate_profile(profile_name):
@@ -29,13 +30,10 @@ def activate_profile(profile_name):
     production server URL instead of a staging server.
     """
     LOADED_PROFILES.append(profile_name)
-    json_paths = [
-        path_fn('src/build/settings/%s.json' % profile)
-        for path_fn in (_defaults.path, path)
-        for profile in LOADED_PROFILES
-    ]
-    base_settings = {'project_dir': SETTINGS['project_dir']}
-    SETTINGS.update(load_settings(filter(exists, json_paths), base_settings))
+    project_dir = SETTINGS['project_dir']
+    json_paths = get_settings_paths(project_dir, LOADED_PROFILES)
+    core_settings = get_core_settings(project_dir)
+    SETTINGS.update(load_settings(json_paths, core_settings))
 
 def path(path_str):
     """
@@ -51,20 +49,4 @@ def path(path_str):
         error_message = "Cannot call path(...) until fbs.init(...) has been " \
                         "called."
         raise FbsError(error_message) from None
-    return normpath(join(project_dir, *path_str.split('/')))
-
-def _get_default_profiles():
-    yield 'base'
-    # The "secret" profile lets the user store sensitive settings such as
-    # passwords in src/build/settings/secret.json. When using Git, the user can
-    # exploit this by adding secret.json to .gitignore, thus preventing it from
-    # being uploaded to services such as GitHub.
-    yield 'secret'
-    yield platform.name().lower()
-    if is_linux():
-        if is_ubuntu():
-            yield 'ubuntu'
-        elif is_arch_linux():
-            yield 'arch'
-        elif is_fedora():
-            yield 'fedora'
\ No newline at end of file
+    return _source.path(project_dir, path_str)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/fbs/_defaults/__init__.py b/fbs/_defaults/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 11f2bfc..0000000
--- a/fbs/_defaults/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-from os.path import join, dirname
-
-def path(path_str):
-    return join(dirname(__file__), *path_str.split('/'))
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/fbs/_defaults/src/build/settings/base.json b/fbs/_defaults/src/build/settings/base.json
index f0cf937..a76f65d 100644
--- a/fbs/_defaults/src/build/settings/base.json
+++ b/fbs/_defaults/src/build/settings/base.json
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
         "src/build/docker/fedora/.rpmmacros"
     ],
     "hidden_imports": [],
+    "public_settings": ["app_name", "author", "version"],
     "docker_images": {
         "ubuntu": {
             "build_files": ["requirements/", "src/sign/linux/"],
diff --git a/fbs/_defaults/src/build/settings/linux.json b/fbs/_defaults/src/build/settings/linux.json
index 701875f..4eeb6d3 100644
--- a/fbs/_defaults/src/build/settings/linux.json
+++ b/fbs/_defaults/src/build/settings/linux.json
@@ -6,5 +6,6 @@
     "depends": [],
     "files_to_filter": [
         "src/installer/linux/usr/share/applications/AppName.desktop"
-    ]
+    ],
+    "public_settings": ["categories", "description", "author_email", "url"]
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/fbs/builtin_commands/_docker.py b/fbs/builtin_commands/_docker.py
index 1a1a4ad..f9382f3 100644
--- a/fbs/builtin_commands/_docker.py
+++ b/fbs/builtin_commands/_docker.py
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
-from fbs import path, SETTINGS, _defaults
+from fbs import path, SETTINGS
 from fbs.builtin_commands import require_existing_project
 from fbs.cmdline import command
 from fbs.resources import _copy
 from fbs_runtime import FbsError
+from fbs_runtime._source import default_path
 from os import listdir
 from os.path import exists
 from shutil import rmtree
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ def buildvm(name):
     if exists(build_dir):
         rmtree(build_dir)
     src_root = 'src/build/docker'
-    available_vms = set(listdir(_defaults.path(src_root)))
+    available_vms = set(listdir(default_path(src_root)))
     if exists(path(src_root)):
         available_vms.update(listdir(path(src_root)))
     if name not in available_vms:
@@ -33,10 +34,10 @@ def buildvm(name):
             (name, ''.join(['\n * ' + vm for vm in available_vms]))
         )
     src_dir = src_root + '/' + name
-    for path_fn in _defaults.path, path:
+    for path_fn in default_path, path:
         _copy(path_fn, src_dir, build_dir)
     settings = SETTINGS['docker_images'].get(name, {})
-    for path_fn in _defaults.path, path:
+    for path_fn in default_path, path:
         for p in settings.get('build_files', []):
             _copy(path_fn, p, build_dir)
     args = ['build', '--pull', '-t', _get_docker_id(name), build_dir]
diff --git a/fbs/freeze/__init__.py b/fbs/freeze/__init__.py
index d5bcf5b..db6cacb 100644
--- a/fbs/freeze/__init__.py
+++ b/fbs/freeze/__init__.py
@@ -1,11 +1,16 @@
-from fbs import path, SETTINGS, _defaults
+from fbs import path, SETTINGS
 from fbs._state import LOADED_PROFILES
 from fbs.resources import _copy
+from fbs_runtime._fbs import get_public_settings
+from fbs_runtime._source import default_path
 from fbs_runtime.platform import is_mac
 from os import rename
 from os.path import join
 from pathlib import PurePath
 from subprocess import run
+from tempfile import TemporaryDirectory
+
+import fbs_runtime._frozen
 
 def run_pyinstaller(extra_args=None, debug=False):
     if extra_args is None:
@@ -33,7 +38,9 @@ def run_pyinstaller(extra_args=None, debug=False):
     ])
     if debug:
         args.append('--debug')
-    run(args, check=True)
+    with _PyInstallerRuntimehook() as hook_path:
+        args.extend(['--runtime-hook', hook_path])
+        run(args, check=True)
     output_dir = path('target/' + app_name + ('.app' if is_mac() else ''))
     freeze_dir = path('${freeze_dir}')
     # In most cases, rename(src, dst) silently "works" when src == dst. But on
@@ -41,6 +48,24 @@ def run_pyinstaller(extra_args=None, debug=False):
     if PurePath(output_dir) != PurePath(freeze_dir):
         rename(output_dir, freeze_dir)
 
+class _PyInstallerRuntimehook:
+    def __init__(self):
+        self._tmp_dir = TemporaryDirectory()
+    def __enter__(self):
+        module = fbs_runtime._frozen
+        hook_path = join(self._tmp_dir.name, 'fbs_pyinstaller_hook.py')
+        with open(hook_path, 'w') as f:
+            # Inject public settings such as "version" into the binary, so
+            # they're available at run time:
+            f.write('\n'.join([
+                'import importlib',
+                'module = importlib.import_module(%r)' % module.__name__,
+                'module.PUBLIC_SETTINGS = %r' % get_public_settings(SETTINGS)
+            ]))
+        return hook_path
+    def __exit__(self, *_):
+        self._tmp_dir.cleanup()
+
 def _generate_resources():
     """
     Copy the data files from src/main/resources to ${freeze_dir}.
@@ -53,7 +78,7 @@ def _generate_resources():
         resources_dest_dir = join(freeze_dir, 'Contents', 'Resources')
     else:
         resources_dest_dir = freeze_dir
-    for path_fn in _defaults.path, path:
+    for path_fn in default_path, path:
         for profile in LOADED_PROFILES:
             _copy(path_fn, 'src/main/resources/' + profile, resources_dest_dir)
             _copy(path_fn, 'src/freeze/' + profile, freeze_dir)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/fbs/installer/__init__.py b/fbs/installer/__init__.py
index 3016a48..9b6c86d 100644
--- a/fbs/installer/__init__.py
+++ b/fbs/installer/__init__.py
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
-from fbs import _defaults, path, LOADED_PROFILES
+from fbs import path, LOADED_PROFILES
 from fbs.resources import _copy
+from fbs_runtime._source import default_path
 
 def _generate_installer_resources():
-    for path_fn in _defaults.path, path:
+    for path_fn in default_path, path:
         for profile in LOADED_PROFILES:
             _copy(path_fn, 'src/installer/' + profile, path('target/installer'))
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/fbs/repo/fedora.py b/fbs/repo/fedora.py
index 40f9b02..8fc766d 100644
--- a/fbs/repo/fedora.py
+++ b/fbs/repo/fedora.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-from fbs import path, _defaults
+from fbs import path
 from fbs.resources import copy_with_filtering
+from fbs_runtime._source import default_path
 from os import makedirs, rename
 from os.path import exists
 from shutil import rmtree, copy
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ def create_repo_fedora():
     repo_file = path('src/repo/fedora/${app_name}.repo')
     use_default = not exists(repo_file)
     if use_default:
-        repo_file = _defaults.path('src/repo/fedora/AppName.repo')
+        repo_file = default_path('src/repo/fedora/AppName.repo')
     copy_with_filtering(
         repo_file, path('target/repo'), files_to_filter=[repo_file]
     )
diff --git a/fbs/repo/ubuntu.py b/fbs/repo/ubuntu.py
index 0f7a0d7..19ea153 100644
--- a/fbs/repo/ubuntu.py
+++ b/fbs/repo/ubuntu.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-from fbs import path, _defaults
+from fbs import path
 from fbs._gpg import preset_gpg_passphrase
 from fbs.resources import copy_with_filtering
+from fbs_runtime._source import default_path
 from os import makedirs
 from os.path import exists
 from shutil import rmtree
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ def create_repo_ubuntu():
     distr_file = 'src/repo/ubuntu/distributions'
     distr_path = path(distr_file)
     if not exists(distr_path):
-        distr_path = _defaults.path(distr_file)
+        distr_path = default_path(distr_file)
     copy_with_filtering(distr_path, tmp_dir, files_to_filter=[distr_path])
     preset_gpg_passphrase()
     check_call([
diff --git a/fbs_runtime/_fbs.py b/fbs_runtime/_fbs.py
index 3e88a63..cdbb80b 100644
--- a/fbs_runtime/_fbs.py
+++ b/fbs_runtime/_fbs.py
@@ -1,47 +1,27 @@
-from fbs_runtime import platform, FbsError
-from fbs_runtime.platform import is_mac
-from os.path import join, exists, realpath, dirname, pardir
-from pathlib import PurePath
+from fbs_runtime import platform
+from fbs_runtime.platform import is_ubuntu, is_linux, is_arch_linux, is_fedora
 
-import errno
-import inspect
-import os
-import sys
+def get_core_settings(project_dir):
+    return {
+        'project_dir': project_dir
+    }
 
-class ResourceLocator:
-    def __init__(self, resource_dirs):
-        self._dirs = resource_dirs
-    def locate(self, *rel_path):
-        for resource_dir in self._dirs:
-            resource_path = join(resource_dir, *rel_path)
-            if exists(resource_path):
-                return realpath(resource_path)
-        raise FileNotFoundError(
-            errno.ENOENT, 'Could not locate resource', os.sep.join(rel_path)
-        )
+def get_default_profiles():
+    result = ['base']
+    # The "secret" profile lets the user store sensitive settings such as
+    # passwords in src/build/settings/secret.json. When using Git, the user can
+    # exploit this by adding secret.json to .gitignore, thus preventing it from
+    # being uploaded to services such as GitHub.
+    result.append('secret')
+    result.append(platform.name().lower())
+    if is_linux():
+        if is_ubuntu():
+            result.append('ubuntu')
+        elif is_arch_linux():
+            result.append('arch')
+        elif is_fedora():
+            result.append('fedora')
+    return result
 
-def get_resource_dirs_frozen():
-    app_dir = dirname(sys.executable)
-    return [join(app_dir, pardir, 'Resources') if is_mac() else app_dir]
-
-def get_resource_dirs_source(appctxt_cls):
-    project_dir = _get_project_base_dir(appctxt_cls)
-    resources_dir = join(project_dir, 'src', 'main', 'resources')
-    return [
-        join(resources_dir, platform.name().lower()),
-        join(resources_dir, 'base'),
-        join(project_dir, 'src', 'main', 'icons')
-    ]
-
-def _get_project_base_dir(appctxt_cls):
-    class_file = inspect.getfile(appctxt_cls)
-    p = PurePath(class_file)
-    while p != p.parent:
-        parent_names = [p.parents[2].name, p.parents[1].name, p.parent.name]
-        if parent_names == ['src', 'main', 'python']:
-            return str(p.parents[3])
-        p = p.parent
-    raise FbsError(
-        'Could not determine project base directory for %s. Is it in '
-        'src/main/python?' % appctxt_cls
-    )
\ No newline at end of file
+def get_public_settings(settings):
+    return {k: settings[k] for k in settings['public_settings']}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/fbs_runtime/_frozen.py b/fbs_runtime/_frozen.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cf29190
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fbs_runtime/_frozen.py
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+"""
+This module contains functions that should only be called when running the
+frozen form of the app.
+"""
+
+from os.path import dirname, join, pardir
+from fbs_runtime.platform import is_mac
+
+import sys
+
+# The contents of this dictionary are injected via a PyInstaller runtime hook.
+# See: `fbs.freeze._PyInstallerRuntimehook`.
+PUBLIC_SETTINGS = {}
+
+def get_resource_dirs():
+    app_dir = dirname(sys.executable)
+    return [join(app_dir, pardir, 'Resources') if is_mac() else app_dir]
+
+def load_public_settings():
+    return PUBLIC_SETTINGS
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/fbs_runtime/_resources.py b/fbs_runtime/_resources.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc7ccb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fbs_runtime/_resources.py
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+from os.path import join, exists, realpath
+
+import errno
+import os
+
+class ResourceLocator:
+    def __init__(self, resource_dirs):
+        self._dirs = resource_dirs
+    def locate(self, *rel_path):
+        for resource_dir in self._dirs:
+            resource_path = join(resource_dir, *rel_path)
+            if exists(resource_path):
+                return realpath(resource_path)
+        raise FileNotFoundError(
+            errno.ENOENT, 'Could not locate resource', os.sep.join(rel_path)
+        )
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/fbs/_settings.py b/fbs_runtime/_settings.py
similarity index 100%
rename from fbs/_settings.py
rename to fbs_runtime/_settings.py
diff --git a/fbs_runtime/_source.py b/fbs_runtime/_source.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0fc65ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fbs_runtime/_source.py
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+"""
+This module contains functions that should only be called by module `fbs`, or
+when running from source.
+"""
+
+from fbs_runtime import FbsError
+from fbs_runtime._fbs import get_default_profiles, get_core_settings, \
+    get_public_settings
+from fbs_runtime._settings import load_settings
+from os.path import join, normpath, dirname, pardir, exists
+from pathlib import PurePath
+
+import inspect
+
+def get_project_dir(appctxt_cls):
+    class_file = inspect.getfile(appctxt_cls)
+    p = PurePath(class_file)
+    while p != p.parent:
+        parent_names = [p.parents[2].name, p.parents[1].name, p.parent.name]
+        if parent_names == ['src', 'main', 'python']:
+            return str(p.parents[3])
+        p = p.parent
+    raise FbsError(
+        'Could not determine project base directory for %s. Is it in '
+        'src/main/python?' % appctxt_cls
+    )
+
+def get_resource_dirs(project_dir):
+    resources = path(project_dir, 'src/main/resources')
+    result = [join(resources, profile) for profile in get_default_profiles()]
+    result.append(path(project_dir, 'src/main/icons'))
+    return result
+
+def load_public_settings(project_dir):
+    core_settings = get_core_settings(project_dir)
+    profiles = get_default_profiles()
+    json_paths = get_settings_paths(project_dir, profiles)
+    all_settings = load_settings(json_paths, core_settings)
+    return get_public_settings(all_settings)
+
+def get_settings_paths(project_dir, profiles):
+    return list(filter(exists, (
+        path_fn('src/build/settings/%s.json' % profile)
+        for path_fn in (default_path, lambda p: path(project_dir, p))
+        for profile in profiles
+    )))
+
+def default_path(path_str):
+    defaults_dir = join(dirname(__file__), pardir, 'fbs', '_defaults')
+    return path(defaults_dir, path_str)
+
+def path(base_dir, path_str):
+    return normpath(join(base_dir, *path_str.split('/')))
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/fbs_runtime/application_context.py b/fbs_runtime/application_context.py
index 00970b4..1379b6b 100644
--- a/fbs_runtime/application_context.py
+++ b/fbs_runtime/application_context.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
-from fbs_runtime import _state
-from fbs_runtime._fbs import ResourceLocator, get_resource_dirs_frozen, \
-    get_resource_dirs_source
+from fbs_runtime import _state, _frozen, _source
+from fbs_runtime._resources import ResourceLocator
 from fbs_runtime._signal import SignalWakeupHandler
 from fbs_runtime.excepthook import Excepthook
 from fbs_runtime.platform import is_windows, is_mac
@@ -69,6 +68,15 @@ def excepthook(self):
         Just return an object with a .install() method.
         """
         return Excepthook()
+    @cached_property
+    def public_settings(self):
+        """
+        This dictionary contains the values of the settings listed in setting
+        "public_settings". Eg. `self.public_settings['version']`.
+        """
+        if is_frozen():
+            return _frozen.load_public_settings()
+        return _source.load_public_settings(self._project_dir)
     def get_resource(self, *rel_path):
         """
         Return the absolute path to the data file with the given name or
@@ -80,10 +88,14 @@ def get_resource(self, *rel_path):
     @cached_property
     def _resource_locator(self):
         if is_frozen():
-            resource_dirs = get_resource_dirs_frozen()
+            resource_dirs = _frozen.get_resource_dirs()
         else:
-            resource_dirs = get_resource_dirs_source(self.__class__)
+            resource_dirs = _source.get_resource_dirs(self._project_dir)
         return ResourceLocator(resource_dirs)
+    @cached_property
+    def _project_dir(self):
+        assert not is_frozen(), 'Only available when running from source'
+        return _source.get_project_dir(self.__class__)
     def run(self):
         raise NotImplementedError()
 
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 5b45c9f..32a23c2 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -30,8 +30,7 @@ def _get_package_data(pkg_dir, data_subdir):
     url='https://build-system.fman.io',
     packages=find_packages(exclude=('tests', 'tests.*')),
     package_data={
-        'fbs._defaults': _get_package_data('fbs/_defaults', 'requirements') +
-                         _get_package_data('fbs/_defaults', 'src'),
+        'fbs': _get_package_data('fbs', '_defaults'),
         'fbs.builtin_commands':
             _get_package_data('fbs/builtin_commands', 'project_template'),
         'fbs.builtin_commands._gpg':
diff --git a/tests/test_fbs/test_settings.py b/tests/test_fbs/test_settings.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7067e88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_fbs/test_settings.py
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+from fbs import SETTINGS
+from tests.test_fbs import FbsTest
+
+class LinuxSettingsTest(FbsTest):
+    def test_default_does_not_overwrite(self):
+        # Consider the following scenario: The user sets "url" in base.json
+        # instead of the usual linux.json. If we loaded settings in the
+        # following order:
+        #  1) default base
+        #  2) user base
+        #  3) default linux
+        #  4) user linux
+        # Then 3) would overwrite 2) and thus the user's "url" setting.
+        # This test ensures that the load order is instead:
+        #  1) default base
+        #  2) default linux
+        #  3) user base
+        #  4) user linux.
+        self._update_settings('base.json', {'url': 'build-system.fman.io'})
+
+        # The project template's linux.json sets url="". This defeats the
+        # purpose of this test. So delete the setting:
+        linux_settings = self._read_settings('linux.json')
+        del linux_settings['url']
+        self._write_settings('linux.json', linux_settings)
+
+        self.init_fbs('Linux')
+        self.assertEqual('build-system.fman.io', SETTINGS['url'])
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/test_fbs_runtime/__init__.py b/tests/test_fbs_runtime/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/test_fbs/test__settings.py b/tests/test_fbs_runtime/test__settings.py
similarity index 69%
rename from tests/test_fbs/test__settings.py
rename to tests/test_fbs_runtime/test__settings.py
index 8f1936c..fbfade5 100644
--- a/tests/test_fbs/test__settings.py
+++ b/tests/test_fbs_runtime/test__settings.py
@@ -1,38 +1,11 @@
-from fbs import load_settings, SETTINGS
+from fbs_runtime._settings import load_settings
 from os import listdir
 from os.path import join
 from tempfile import TemporaryDirectory
-from tests.test_fbs import FbsTest
 from unittest import TestCase
 
 import json
 
-class LinuxSettingsTest(FbsTest):
-    def test_default_does_not_overwrite(self):
-        # Consider the following scenario: The user sets "url" in base.json
-        # instead of the usual linux.json. If we loaded settings in the
-        # following order:
-        #  1) default base
-        #  2) user base
-        #  3) default linux
-        #  4) user linux
-        # Then 3) would overwrite 2) and thus the user's "url" setting.
-        # This test ensures that the load order is instead:
-        #  1) default base
-        #  2) default linux
-        #  3) user base
-        #  4) user linux.
-        self._update_settings('base.json', {'url': 'build-system.fman.io'})
-
-        # The project template's linux.json sets url="". This defeats the
-        # purpose of this test. So delete the setting:
-        linux_settings = self._read_settings('linux.json')
-        del linux_settings['url']
-        self._write_settings('linux.json', linux_settings)
-
-        self.init_fbs('Linux')
-        self.assertEqual('build-system.fman.io', SETTINGS['url'])
-
 class LoadSettingsTest(TestCase):
     def test_empty(self):
         self._check({})