diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 9678d19e5..e14324810 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
-.git*
 bin/*
 tmp/*
+misc/docker/release/*
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index ac481c72e..ba93313a1 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -39,7 +39,8 @@ WORKDIR $GOPATH
 # Add each directory separately, so our context doesn't include the
 # Dockerfile itself, to permit quicker iteration with docker's
 # caching.
-ADD app /go/src/perkeep.org/app
+ADD .git /go/src/perkeep.org/.git
+add app /go/src/perkeep.org/app
 ADD clients /go/src/perkeep.org/clients
 ADD cmd /go/src/perkeep.org/cmd
 ADD config /go/src/perkeep.org/config
@@ -51,15 +52,19 @@ ADD server /go/src/perkeep.org/server
 ADD vendor /go/src/perkeep.org/vendor
 ADD website /go/src/perkeep.org/website
 ADD make.go /go/src/perkeep.org/make.go
+ADD VERSION /go/src/perkeep.org/VERSION
 
 WORKDIR /go/src/perkeep.org
-RUN echo "0.10" > VERSION
+
 RUN go run make.go --sqlite=true -v
 
 
 
 FROM debian:stretch
 
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+                libsqlite3-dev && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
 RUN mkdir -p /home/keepy/bin
 ENV HOME /home/keepy
 ENV PATH /home/keepy/bin:$PATH
diff --git a/app/hello/main.go b/app/hello/main.go
index 46c6f69f2..e2e028900 100644
--- a/app/hello/main.go
+++ b/app/hello/main.go
@@ -73,11 +73,11 @@ func main() {
 
 	if *flagVersion {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "hello version: %s\nGo version: %s (%s/%s)\n",
-			buildinfo.Version(), runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
+			buildinfo.Summary(), runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
 		return
 	}
 
-	log.Printf("Starting hello version %s; Go %s (%s/%s)", buildinfo.Version(), runtime.Version(),
+	log.Printf("Starting hello version %s; Go %s (%s/%s)", buildinfo.Summary(), runtime.Version(),
 		runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
 
 	listenAddr, err := app.ListenAddress()
diff --git a/app/publisher/main.go b/app/publisher/main.go
index 5356b30da..59aaf4011 100644
--- a/app/publisher/main.go
+++ b/app/publisher/main.go
@@ -270,11 +270,11 @@ func main() {
 
 	if *flagVersion {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "publisher version: %s\nGo version: %s (%s/%s)\n",
-			buildinfo.Version(), runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
+			buildinfo.Summary(), runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
 		return
 	}
 
-	logf("Starting publisher version %s; Go %s (%s/%s)", buildinfo.Version(), runtime.Version(),
+	logf("Starting publisher version %s; Go %s (%s/%s)", buildinfo.Summary(), runtime.Version(),
 		runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
 
 	listenAddr, err := app.ListenAddress()
diff --git a/app/scanningcabinet/main.go b/app/scanningcabinet/main.go
index b77f82dcb..24399083b 100644
--- a/app/scanningcabinet/main.go
+++ b/app/scanningcabinet/main.go
@@ -60,12 +60,12 @@ func main() {
 	if *flagVersion {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "WARNING: THIS APP IS STILL EXPERIMENTAL, AND EVEN ITS DATA SCHEMA MIGHT CHANGE. DO NOT USE IN PRODUCTION.")
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "scanningcabinet version: %s\nGo version: %s (%s/%s)\n",
-			buildinfo.Version(), runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
+			buildinfo.Summary(), runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
 		return
 	}
 
 	logf("WARNING: THIS APP IS STILL EXPERIMENTAL, AND EVEN ITS DATA SCHEMA MIGHT CHANGE. DO NOT USE IN PRODUCTION.")
-	logf("Starting scanning cabinet version %s; Go %s (%s/%s)", buildinfo.Version(), runtime.Version(),
+	logf("Starting scanning cabinet version %s; Go %s (%s/%s)", buildinfo.Summary(), runtime.Version(),
 		runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
 
 	listenAddr, err := app.ListenAddress()
diff --git a/app/scanningcabinet/scancab/scancab.go b/app/scanningcabinet/scancab/scancab.go
index 2e8e33f2d..56547c10f 100644
--- a/app/scanningcabinet/scancab/scancab.go
+++ b/app/scanningcabinet/scancab/scancab.go
@@ -479,7 +479,7 @@ func main() {
 	checkSanity()
 
 	if *flagVersion {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "scancab version: %s\n", buildinfo.Version())
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "scancab version: %s\n", buildinfo.Summary())
 		return
 	}
 
diff --git a/cmd/pk-get/get.go b/cmd/pk-get/get.go
index 07b46477f..b7f325e9a 100644
--- a/cmd/pk-get/get.go
+++ b/cmd/pk-get/get.go
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ func main() {
 	}
 
 	if *flagVersion {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "pk-get version: %s\n", buildinfo.Version())
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "pk-get version: %s\n", buildinfo.Summary())
 		return
 	}
 
diff --git a/make.go b/make.go
index 1c7ca105d..fd792477f 100644
--- a/make.go
+++ b/make.go
@@ -95,10 +95,11 @@ func main() {
 	verifyGoVersion()
 	verifyPerkeepRoot()
 	version := getVersion()
+	gitRev := getGitVersion()
 	sql := withSQLite()
 
 	if *verbose {
-		log.Printf("Perkeep version = %s", version)
+		log.Printf("Perkeep version = %q, git = %q", version, gitRev)
 		log.Printf("SQLite included: %v", sql)
 		log.Printf("Project source: %s", pkRoot)
 		log.Printf("Output binaries: %s", actualBinDir())
@@ -184,7 +185,7 @@ func main() {
 		baseArgs = append(baseArgs, "-race")
 	}
 	if *verbose {
-		log.Printf("version to stamp is %q", version)
+		log.Printf("version to stamp is %q, %q", version, gitRev)
 	}
 	var ldFlags string
 	if *static {
@@ -194,7 +195,8 @@ func main() {
 		if ldFlags != "" {
 			ldFlags += " "
 		}
-		ldFlags += "-X \"perkeep.org/pkg/buildinfo.GitInfo=" + version + "\""
+		ldFlags += "-X \"perkeep.org/pkg/buildinfo.GitInfo=" + gitRev + "\""
+		ldFlags += "-X \"perkeep.org/pkg/buildinfo.Version=" + version + "\""
 	}
 	if ldFlags != "" {
 		baseArgs = append(baseArgs, "--ldflags="+ldFlags)
@@ -646,18 +648,28 @@ func buildBin(pkg string) error {
 // or from git.
 func getVersion() string {
 	slurp, err := ioutil.ReadFile(filepath.Join(pkRoot, "VERSION"))
-	if err == nil {
-		return strings.TrimSpace(string(slurp))
+	v := strings.TrimSpace(string(slurp))
+	if err != nil && !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		log.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	return gitVersion()
+	if v == "" {
+		return "unknown"
+	}
+	return v
 }
 
 var gitVersionRx = regexp.MustCompile(`\b\d\d\d\d-\d\d-\d\d-[0-9a-f]{10,10}\b`)
 
-// gitVersion returns the git version of the git repo at pkRoot as a
+// getGitVersion returns the git version of the git repo at pkRoot as a
 // string of the form "yyyy-mm-dd-xxxxxxx", with an optional trailing
 // '+' if there are any local uncommitted modifications to the tree.
-func gitVersion() string {
+func getGitVersion() string {
+	if _, err := exec.LookPath("git"); err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(pkRoot, ".git")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return ""
+	}
 	cmd := exec.Command("git", "rev-list", "--max-count=1", "--pretty=format:'%ad-%h'",
 		"--date=short", "--abbrev=10", "HEAD")
 	cmd.Dir = pkRoot
diff --git a/pkg/buildinfo/buildinfo.go b/pkg/buildinfo/buildinfo.go
index c3cfa01d0..859c880dc 100644
--- a/pkg/buildinfo/buildinfo.go
+++ b/pkg/buildinfo/buildinfo.go
@@ -25,12 +25,21 @@ import "flag"
 // $ go install --ldflags="-X camlistore.org/pkg/buildinfo.GitInfo "`./misc/gitversion` camlistore.org/server/perkeepd
 var GitInfo string
 
-// Version returns the git version of this binary.
+// Version is a string like "0.10" or "1.0", if applicable.
+var Version string
+
+// Summary returns the version and/or git version of this binary.
 // If the linker flags were not provided, the return value is "unknown".
-func Version() string {
+func Summary() string {
+	if Version != "" && GitInfo != "" {
+		return Version + ", " + GitInfo
+	}
 	if GitInfo != "" {
 		return GitInfo
 	}
+	if Version != "" {
+		return Version
+	}
 	return "unknown"
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/client/client.go b/pkg/client/client.go
index 3c19c2f30..679b1fda3 100644
--- a/pkg/client/client.go
+++ b/pkg/client/client.go
@@ -879,8 +879,8 @@ func (c *Client) SearchExistingFileSchema(ctx context.Context, wholeRef ...blob.
 // the client was built at or after 2018-01-13.
 func (c *Client) versionMismatch(ctx context.Context) (bool, error) {
 	const shortRFC3339 = "2006-01-02"
-	version := buildinfo.Version()
-	if version == "unknown" {
+	version := buildinfo.GitInfo
+	if version == "" {
 		return false, errors.New("unknown client version")
 	}
 	version = version[:10] // keep only the date part
diff --git a/pkg/server/root.go b/pkg/server/root.go
index 1c00d62a7..d6335e0ac 100644
--- a/pkg/server/root.go
+++ b/pkg/server/root.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ package server
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"html"
 	"log"
 	"net/http"
 	"sort"
@@ -208,7 +209,8 @@ func (rh *RootHandler) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		fmt.Fprintf(w, p, a...)
 	}
 	f("<html><body><p>This is perkeepd (%s), a "+
-		"<a href='http://perkeep.org'>Perkeep</a> server.</p>", buildinfo.Version())
+		"<a href='http://perkeep.org'>Perkeep</a> server.</p>",
+		html.EscapeString(buildinfo.Summary()))
 	if rh.ui != nil {
 		f("<p>To manage your content, access the <a href='%s'>%s</a>.</p>", rh.ui.prefix, rh.ui.prefix)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/server/status.go b/pkg/server/status.go
index 7453d96f5..87b6ceded 100644
--- a/pkg/server/status.go
+++ b/pkg/server/status.go
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ type storageStatus struct {
 
 func (sh *StatusHandler) currentStatus() *status {
 	res := &status{
-		Version: buildinfo.Version(),
+		Version: buildinfo.Summary(),
 		GoInfo:  fmt.Sprintf("%s %s/%s cgo=%v", runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH, cgoEnabled),
 		Storage: make(map[string]storageStatus),
 		Sync:    make(map[string]syncStatus),
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ func (sh *StatusHandler) serveStatusHTML(rw http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Reque
 	if env.OnGCE() {
 		envStr = " (on GCE)"
 	}
-	f("<li><b>Perkeep</b>: %s%s</li>", html.EscapeString(buildinfo.Version()), envStr)
+	f("<li><b>Perkeep</b>: %s%s</li>", html.EscapeString(buildinfo.Summary()), envStr)
 	f("<li><b>Go</b>: %s/%s %s, cgo=%v</li>", runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH, runtime.Version(), cgoEnabled)
 	f("<li><b>djpeg</b>: %s", html.EscapeString(buildinfo.DjpegStatus()))
 	f("</ul>")
diff --git a/server/perkeepd/camlistored.go b/server/perkeepd/camlistored.go
index 1be56a6e0..2a2b939ba 100644
--- a/server/perkeepd/camlistored.go
+++ b/server/perkeepd/camlistored.go
@@ -901,7 +901,7 @@ func Main(up chan<- struct{}, down <-chan struct{}) {
 
 	if *flagVersion {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "perkeepd version: %s\nGo version: %s (%s/%s)\n",
-			buildinfo.Version(), runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
+			buildinfo.Summary(), runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
 		return
 	}
 	if *flagHelp {
@@ -932,7 +932,7 @@ func Main(up chan<- struct{}, down <-chan struct{}) {
 		}
 	}()
 
-	log.Printf("Starting perkeepd version %s; Go %s (%s/%s)", buildinfo.Version(), runtime.Version(),
+	log.Printf("Starting perkeepd version %s; Go %s (%s/%s)", buildinfo.Summary(), runtime.Version(),
 		runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
 
 	shutdownc := make(chan io.Closer, 1) // receives io.Closer to cleanly shut down