diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c9eb8a1..89e60bd 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -12,3 +12,4 @@ winpty.opensdf
 /ship/packages
 /src/Default
 /src/Release
+/src/gen
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e7464f2..8b3d0ae 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -45,15 +45,12 @@ ifeq "$(wildcard config.mk)" ""
 endif
 include config.mk
 
-VERSION_TXT_CONTENT := $(shell cat VERSION.txt | tr -d '\r\n')
 COMMON_CXXFLAGS += \
-	-DWINPTY_VERSION=$(VERSION_TXT_CONTENT) \
-	-DWINPTY_VERSION_SUFFIX=$(VERSION_SUFFIX) \
-	-DWINPTY_COMMIT_HASH=$(COMMIT_HASH) \
 	-MMD -Wall \
 	-DUNICODE \
 	-D_UNICODE \
-	-D_WIN32_WINNT=0x0501
+	-D_WIN32_WINNT=0x0501 \
+	-Ibuild/gen
 
 UNIX_CXXFLAGS += \
 	$(COMMON_CXXFLAGS)
@@ -73,6 +70,11 @@ else
 PCH_DEP :=
 endif
 
+build/gen/GenVersion.h : VERSION.txt $(COMMIT_HASH_DEP) | $$(@D)/.mkdir
+	$(info Updating build/gen/GenVersion.h)
+	@echo "const char GenVersion_Version[] = \"$(shell cat VERSION.txt | tr -d '\r\n')\";" > build/gen/GenVersion.h
+	@echo "const char GenVersion_Commit[] = \"$(COMMIT_HASH)\";" >> build/gen/GenVersion.h
+
 build/mingw/PrecompiledHeader.h : src/shared/PrecompiledHeader.h | $$(@D)/.mkdir
 	$(info Copying $< to $@)
 	@cp $< $@
@@ -84,13 +86,13 @@ build/mingw/PrecompiledHeader.h.gch : build/mingw/PrecompiledHeader.h | $$(@D)/.
 -include build/mingw/PrecompiledHeader.h.d
 
 define def_unix_target
-build/$1/%.o : src/%.cc VERSION.txt | $$$$(@D)/.mkdir
+build/$1/%.o : src/%.cc | $$$$(@D)/.mkdir
 	$$(info Compiling $$<)
 	@$$(UNIX_CXX) $$(UNIX_CXXFLAGS) $2 -I src/include -c -o $$@ $$<
 endef
 
 define def_mingw_target
-build/$1/%.o : src/%.cc VERSION.txt $$(PCH_DEP) | $$$$(@D)/.mkdir
+build/$1/%.o : src/%.cc $$(PCH_DEP) | $$$$(@D)/.mkdir
 	$$(info Compiling $$<)
 	@$$(MINGW_CXX) $$(MINGW_CXXFLAGS) $2 -I src/include -c -o $$@ $$<
 endef
@@ -147,7 +149,7 @@ clean :
 
 .PHONY : clean-msvc
 clean-msvc :
-	rm -fr src/Default src/Release src/.vs
+	rm -fr src/Default src/Release src/.vs src/gen
 	rm -f src/*.vcxproj src/*.vcxproj.filters src/*.sln src/*.sdf
 
 .PHONY : distclean
diff --git a/VERSION.txt b/VERSION.txt
index 2b7c5ae..7532512 100644
--- a/VERSION.txt
+++ b/VERSION.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.4.2
+0.4.2-dev
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index e677c6b..6d37d65 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -156,22 +156,12 @@ if test $IS_MSYS1 = 1; then
     echo MINGW_ENABLE_CXX11_FLAG := -std=gnu++11 >> config.mk
 fi
 
-# Figure out how to embed build info (e.g. git commit) into the binary.
-if test -f BUILD_INFO.txt; then
-    echo "Build info: source package"
-    eval $(grep '^VERSION_SUFFIX=' BUILD_INFO.txt | tr -d '\r')
-    eval $(grep '^COMMIT_HASH=' BUILD_INFO.txt | tr -d '\r')
-    echo "VERSION_SUFFIX := ${VERSION_SUFFIX}" >> config.mk
-    echo "COMMIT_HASH := ${COMMIT_HASH}" >> config.mk
-    echo "BUILD_INFO_DEP := config.mk" >> config.mk
-elif test -d .git && git rev-parse HEAD >&/dev/null; then
-    echo "Build info: git"
-    echo 'VERSION_SUFFIX := -dev' >> config.mk
-    echo 'COMMIT_HASH := $(shell git rev-parse HEAD)' >> config.mk
-    echo 'BUILD_INFO_DEP := config.mk .git/HEAD' >> config.mk
+if test -d .git -a -f .git/HEAD -a -f .git/index && git rev-parse HEAD >&/dev/null; then
+    echo "Commit info: git"
+    echo 'COMMIT_HASH = $(shell git rev-parse HEAD)' >> config.mk
+    echo 'COMMIT_HASH_DEP := config.mk .git/HEAD .git/index' >> config.mk
 else
-    echo "Build info: none"
-    echo 'VERSION_SUFFIX := -dev' >> config.mk
+    echo "Commit info: none"
     echo 'COMMIT_HASH := none' >> config.mk
-    echo 'BUILD_INFO_DEP := config.mk' >> config.mk
+    echo 'COMMIT_HASH_DEP := config.mk' >> config.mk
 fi
diff --git a/ship/common_ship.py b/ship/common_ship.py
index fa229d5..b46cd5b 100644
--- a/ship/common_ship.py
+++ b/ship/common_ship.py
@@ -16,11 +16,6 @@ topDir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(__file__)))
 with open(topDir + "/VERSION.txt", "rt") as f:
     winptyVersion = f.read().strip()
 
-def writeBuildInfo():
-    with open(topDir + "/BUILD_INFO.txt", "w") as f:
-        f.write("VERSION_SUFFIX=__none__\n")
-        f.write("COMMIT_HASH=" + commitHash + "\n")
-
 def rmrf(patterns):
     for pattern in patterns:
         for path in glob.glob(pattern):
diff --git a/ship/make_msvc_package.py b/ship/make_msvc_package.py
index f8d3716..90eea3e 100755
--- a/ship/make_msvc_package.py
+++ b/ship/make_msvc_package.py
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ def checkoutGyp():
 
 def cleanMsvc():
     common_ship.rmrf("""
-        src/Release src/.vs
+        src/Release src/.vs src/gen
         src/*.vcxproj src/*.vcxproj.filters src/*.sln src/*.sdf
     """.split())
 
@@ -106,7 +106,6 @@ def build(arch, packageDir, xp=False):
         '"' + devCmdPath + '" && '
         " vcbuild.bat" +
         " --gyp-msvs-version " + versionInfo["gyp_version"] +
-        " --version-suffix __none__" +
         " --msvc-platform " + archInfo["msvc_platform"]
     )
 
diff --git a/ship/ship.py b/ship/ship.py
index f355559..d9e08ee 100755
--- a/ship/ship.py
+++ b/ship/ship.py
@@ -77,13 +77,17 @@ def buildTarget(target):
     oldPath = os.environ["PATH"]
     os.environ["PATH"] = target["path"] + ";" + common_ship.defaultPathEnviron
     subprocess.check_call(["sh.exe", "configure"])
-    subprocess.check_call(["make.exe", "clean"])
     makeBinary = target.get("make_binary", "make.exe")
-    buildArgs = [makeBinary, "USE_PCH=0", "all", "tests"]
-    buildArgs += ["-j%d" % multiprocessing.cpu_count()]
-    subprocess.check_call(buildArgs)
+    subprocess.check_call([makeBinary, "clean"])
+    makeBaseCmd = [
+        makeBinary,
+        "USE_PCH=0",
+        "COMMIT_HASH=" + common_ship.commitHash,
+        "PREFIX=ship/packages/" + packageName
+    ]
+    subprocess.check_call(makeBaseCmd + ["all", "tests", "-j%d" % multiprocessing.cpu_count()])
     subprocess.check_call(["build\\trivial_test.exe"])
-    subprocess.check_call([makeBinary, "USE_PCH=0", "PREFIX=ship/packages/" + packageName, "install"])
+    subprocess.check_call(makeBaseCmd + ["install"])
     subprocess.check_call(["tar.exe", "cvfz",
         packageName + ".tar.gz",
         packageName], cwd=os.path.join(os.getcwd(), "ship", "packages"))
@@ -91,19 +95,15 @@ def buildTarget(target):
     os.environ["PATH"] = oldPath
 
 def main():
-    try:
-        common_ship.writeBuildInfo()
-        if os.path.exists("ship\\packages"):
-            shutil.rmtree("ship\\packages")
-        oldPath = os.environ["PATH"]
-        for t in BUILD_TARGETS:
-            os.environ["PATH"] = t["path"] + ";" + common_ship.defaultPathEnviron
-            subprocess.check_output(["tar.exe", "--help"])
-            subprocess.check_output(["make.exe", "--help"])
-        for t in BUILD_TARGETS:
-            buildTarget(t)
-    finally:
-        os.remove("BUILD_INFO.txt")
+    if os.path.exists("ship\\packages"):
+        shutil.rmtree("ship\\packages")
+    oldPath = os.environ["PATH"]
+    for t in BUILD_TARGETS:
+        os.environ["PATH"] = t["path"] + ";" + common_ship.defaultPathEnviron
+        subprocess.check_output(["tar.exe", "--help"])
+        subprocess.check_output(["make.exe", "--help"])
+    for t in BUILD_TARGETS:
+        buildTarget(t)
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     main()
diff --git a/src/agent/subdir.mk b/src/agent/subdir.mk
index f8037bc..1c7d37e 100644
--- a/src/agent/subdir.mk
+++ b/src/agent/subdir.mk
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@ AGENT_OBJECTS = \
 	build/agent/shared/WinptyException.o \
 	build/agent/shared/WinptyVersion.o
 
+build/agent/shared/WinptyVersion.o : build/gen/GenVersion.h
+
 build/winpty-agent.exe : $(AGENT_OBJECTS)
 	$(info Linking $@)
 	@$(MINGW_CXX) $(MINGW_LDFLAGS) -o $@ $^
diff --git a/src/debugserver/subdir.mk b/src/debugserver/subdir.mk
index 7f30c81..beed1bd 100644
--- a/src/debugserver/subdir.mk
+++ b/src/debugserver/subdir.mk
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ DEBUGSERVER_OBJECTS = \
 	build/debugserver/shared/WinptyAssert.o \
 	build/debugserver/shared/WinptyException.o
 
+build/debugserver/shared/WindowsVersion.o : build/gen/GenVersion.h
+
 build/winpty-debugserver.exe : $(DEBUGSERVER_OBJECTS)
 	$(info Linking $@)
 	@$(MINGW_CXX) $(MINGW_LDFLAGS) -o $@ $^
diff --git a/src/libwinpty/subdir.mk b/src/libwinpty/subdir.mk
index 0ba65fb..ba32bad 100644
--- a/src/libwinpty/subdir.mk
+++ b/src/libwinpty/subdir.mk
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ LIBWINPTY_OBJECTS = \
 	build/libwinpty/shared/WinptyException.o \
 	build/libwinpty/shared/WinptyVersion.o
 
+build/libwinpty/shared/WinptyVersion.o : build/gen/GenVersion.h
+
 build/winpty.dll : $(LIBWINPTY_OBJECTS)
 	$(info Linking $@)
 	@$(MINGW_CXX) $(MINGW_LDFLAGS) -shared -o $@ $^ -Wl,--out-implib,build/winpty.lib
diff --git a/src/shared/UpdateGenVersion.bat b/src/shared/UpdateGenVersion.bat
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..cab3520
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/UpdateGenVersion.bat
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+@echo off
+
+rem -- Echo the git commit hash.  If git isn't available for some reason,
+rem -- output nothing instead.
+
+mkdir ..\gen 2>nul
+
+set /p VERSION=<..\..\VERSION.txt
+git rev-parse HEAD >nul 2>nul && (
+    for /F "delims=" %%i IN ('git rev-parse HEAD') DO set COMMIT=%%i
+) || (
+    set COMMIT=none
+)
+
+echo // AUTO-GENERATED BY %0>..\gen\GenVersion.h
+echo const char GenVersion_Version[] = "%VERSION%";>>..\gen\GenVersion.h
+echo const char GenVersion_Commit[] = "%COMMIT%";>>..\gen\GenVersion.h
+
+rem -- The winpty.gyp file expects the script to output the include directory,
+rem -- relative to src.
+echo gen
+
+rem -- Set ERRORLEVEL to 0 using this cryptic syntax.
+(call )
diff --git a/src/shared/WinptyVersion.cc b/src/shared/WinptyVersion.cc
index ccc9ac0..76bb8a5 100644
--- a/src/shared/WinptyVersion.cc
+++ b/src/shared/WinptyVersion.cc
@@ -25,25 +25,18 @@
 
 #include "DebugClient.h"
 
-#define XSTRINGIFY(x) #x
-#define STRINGIFY(x) XSTRINGIFY(x)
-
-static const char *versionSuffix() {
-    const char *ret = STRINGIFY(WINPTY_VERSION_SUFFIX);
-    if (!strcmp(ret, "__none__")) {
-        return "";
-    }
-    return ret;
-}
+// This header is auto-generated by either the Makefile (Unix) or
+// UpdateGenVersion.bat (gyp).  It is placed in a 'gen' directory, which is
+// added to the search path.
+#include "GenVersion.h"
 
 void dumpVersionToStdout() {
-    printf("winpty version %s%s\n", STRINGIFY(WINPTY_VERSION), versionSuffix());
-    printf("commit %s\n", STRINGIFY(WINPTY_COMMIT_HASH));
+    printf("winpty version %s\n", GenVersion_Version);
+    printf("commit %s\n", GenVersion_Commit);
 }
 
 void dumpVersionToTrace() {
-    trace("winpty version %s%s (commit %s)",
-        STRINGIFY(WINPTY_VERSION),
-        versionSuffix(),
-        STRINGIFY(WINPTY_COMMIT_HASH));
+    trace("winpty version %s (commit %s)",
+        GenVersion_Version,
+        GenVersion_Commit);
 }
diff --git a/src/unix-adapter/subdir.mk b/src/unix-adapter/subdir.mk
index ce2cd08..200193a 100644
--- a/src/unix-adapter/subdir.mk
+++ b/src/unix-adapter/subdir.mk
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ UNIX_ADAPTER_OBJECTS = \
 	build/unix-adapter/shared/WinptyAssert.o \
 	build/unix-adapter/shared/WinptyVersion.o
 
+build/unix-adapter/shared/WinptyVersion.o : build/gen/GenVersion.h
+
 build/$(UNIX_ADAPTER_EXE) : $(UNIX_ADAPTER_OBJECTS) build/winpty.dll
 	$(info Linking $@)
 	@$(UNIX_CXX) $(UNIX_LDFLAGS) -o $@ $^
diff --git a/src/winpty.gyp b/src/winpty.gyp
index ed5287f..f4aae21 100644
--- a/src/winpty.gyp
+++ b/src/winpty.gyp
@@ -1,8 +1,4 @@
 {
-    # Pass -D VERSION_SUFFIX=<something> to gyp to override the suffix.
-    #
-    # The winpty.gyp file ignores the BUILD_INFO.txt file, if it exists.
-    #
     # The MSVC generator is the default.  Select the compiler version by
     # passing -G msvs_version=<ver> to gyp.  <ver> is a string like 2013e.
     # See gyp\pylib\gyp\MSVSVersion.py for sample version strings.  You
@@ -13,18 +9,17 @@
     # can be configured by passing variables to make, e.g.:
     #    make -j4 CXX=i686-w64-mingw32-g++ LDFLAGS="-static -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++"
 
-    'variables' : {
-        'VERSION_SUFFIX%' : '-dev',
-    },
     'target_defaults' : {
         'defines' : [
             'UNICODE',
             '_UNICODE',
             '_WIN32_WINNT=0x0501',
             'NOMINMAX',
-            'WINPTY_VERSION=<!(cmd /c "cd .. && type VERSION.txt")',
-            'WINPTY_VERSION_SUFFIX=<(VERSION_SUFFIX)',
-            'WINPTY_COMMIT_HASH=<!(cmd /c "cd shared && GetCommitHash.cmd")',
+        ],
+        'include_dirs': [
+            # Add the 'src/gen' directory to the include path and force gyp to
+            # run the script (re)generating the version header.
+            '<!(cmd /c "cd shared && UpdateGenVersion.bat")',
         ],
     },
     'targets' : [
diff --git a/vcbuild.bat b/vcbuild.bat
index 5f30c95..9709a8a 100755
--- a/vcbuild.bat
+++ b/vcbuild.bat
@@ -43,15 +43,6 @@ if "%1" == "--toolset" (
     shift && shift
     goto :ParamLoop
 )
-if "%1" == "--version-suffix" (
-    if x%2 == x"" (
-        set GYP_ARGS=%GYP_ARGS% -D VERSION_SUFFIX=__none__
-    ) else (
-        set GYP_ARGS=%GYP_ARGS% -D VERSION_SUFFIX=%2
-    )
-    shift && shift
-    goto :ParamLoop
-)
 echo error: Unrecognized argument: %1
 exit /b 1
 :ParamDone