diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e1ac5cc..eebe5a4 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 SHELL=bash
 GOBIN ?= $(shell go env GOPATH)/bin
 NEOGO ?= $(GOBIN)/cli
-VERSION?=$(shell git describe --tags)
+VERSION ?= $(shell git describe --tags --dirty --always 2>/dev/null || cat VERSION 2>/dev/null || echo "develop")
 
 .PHONY: all build clean test neo-go
 .PHONY: alphabet mainnet morph nns sidechain
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a240c92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+v0.15.2