diff --git a/cmake/modules/AppTarget.cmake b/cmake/modules/AppTarget.cmake
index 2910507..8272a00 100644
--- a/cmake/modules/AppTarget.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/AppTarget.cmake
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ target_compile_definitions(${TARGET_PREFIX}${META_PROJECT_NAME}${TARGET_SUFFIX}
 )
 set_target_properties(${TARGET_PREFIX}${META_PROJECT_NAME}${TARGET_SUFFIX} PROPERTIES
     APP_NAME "${META_APP_NAME}"
+    VERSION "${META_APP_VERSION}"
     CXX_STANDARD "${META_CXX_STANDARD}"
     LINK_SEARCH_START_STATIC ${STATIC_LINKAGE}
     LINK_SEARCH_END_STATIC ${STATIC_LINKAGE}
diff --git a/cmake/modules/BasicConfig.cmake b/cmake/modules/BasicConfig.cmake
index 7fc9e20..6d25d46 100644
--- a/cmake/modules/BasicConfig.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/BasicConfig.cmake
@@ -61,9 +61,29 @@ if(HAS_PARENT)
     endif()
 endif()
 
+# determine version
+set(META_APP_VERSION ${META_VERSION_MAJOR}.${META_VERSION_MINOR}.${META_VERSION_PATCH})
+option(APPEND_GIT_REVISION "whether the build script should attempt to append the git revision and latest commit to the version displayed via --help" ON)
+if(APPEND_GIT_REVISION)
+    execute_process(
+        COMMAND git rev-list --count HEAD
+        WORKING_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}"
+        OUTPUT_VARIABLE META_GIT_REV_COUNT
+    )
+    execute_process(
+        COMMAND git rev-parse --short HEAD
+        WORKING_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}"
+        OUTPUT_VARIABLE META_GIT_LAST_COMMIT_ID
+    )
+    string(REPLACE "\n" "" META_GIT_REV_COUNT "${META_GIT_REV_COUNT}")
+    string(REPLACE "\n" "" META_GIT_LAST_COMMIT_ID "${META_GIT_LAST_COMMIT_ID}")
+    if(META_GIT_REV_COUNT AND META_GIT_LAST_COMMIT_ID)
+        set(META_APP_VERSION ${META_APP_VERSION}-${META_GIT_REV_COUNT}.${META_GIT_LAST_COMMIT_ID})
+    endif()
+endif()
+
 # stringify the meta data
 set(META_PROJECT_NAME_STR "\"${META_PROJECT_NAME}\"")
-set(META_APP_VERSION ${META_VERSION_MAJOR}.${META_VERSION_MINOR}.${META_VERSION_PATCH})
 set(META_APP_NAME_STR "\"${META_APP_NAME}\"")
 set(META_APP_AUTHOR_STR "\"${META_APP_AUTHOR}\"")
 set(META_APP_URL_STR "\"${META_APP_URL}\"")
diff --git a/cmake/modules/LibraryTarget.cmake b/cmake/modules/LibraryTarget.cmake
index 135e6e5..c0ea6c4 100644
--- a/cmake/modules/LibraryTarget.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/LibraryTarget.cmake
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ if(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)
         )
         set_target_properties(${TARGET_PREFIX}${META_PROJECT_NAME}${TARGET_SUFFIX} PROPERTIES
             APP_NAME "${META_APP_NAME}"
-            VERSION "${META_VERSION_MAJOR}.${META_VERSION_MINOR}.${META_VERSION_PATCH}"
+            VERSION "${META_APP_VERSION}"
             SOVERSION "${META_SOVERSION}"
             CXX_STANDARD "${META_CXX_STANDARD}"
             LINK_SEARCH_START_STATIC ${STATIC_LINKAGE}
diff --git a/doc/buildvariables.md b/doc/buildvariables.md
index 4c9d255..0c543a4 100644
--- a/doc/buildvariables.md
+++ b/doc/buildvariables.md
@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ None of these are enabled or set by default, unless stated otherwise.
   (sets `_GLIBCXX_USE_CXX11_ABI=0`)
 * `EXCLUDE_TESTS_FROM_ALL=ON/OFF`: excludes tests from the all target
   (enabled by default)
+* `APPEND_GIT_REVISION=ON/OFF`: whether the build script should attempt to
+  append the Git revision and the latest commit ID to the version displayed
+  via --help (enabled by default but has no effect when the source directory is
+  no Git checkout or Git is not installed)
 
 #### Windows specific
 * `USE_NATIVE_FILE_BUFFER=ON/OFF`: use native function to open file streams