diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index e0e53231..b846abfd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ jobs:
         env:
           MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET: "11"
         run: |
-          VERSION="$(cat common/yacreader_global.h | grep '#define VERSION "' | tr -d '#define VERSION' | tr -d '"' )"
+          VERSION="$(tr -d '\r\n' < VERSION)"
           SKIP_CODESIGN="${{ env.IS_FORK }}"
           SKIP_CODESIGN=$(echo "$SKIP_CODESIGN" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
           ./compileOSX.sh $VERSION ${{ needs.initialization.outputs.build_number }} $SKIP_CODESIGN Qt6 universal
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Get version
         id: version
         run: |
-          VERSION="$(cat common/yacreader_global.h | grep '#define VERSION "' | tr -d '#define VERSION' | tr -d '"' ).${{ needs.initialization.outputs.build_number }}"
+          VERSION="$(tr -d '\r\n' < VERSION).${{ needs.initialization.outputs.build_number }}"
           echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "Version: $VERSION"
 
@@ -577,7 +577,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Get version
         id: version
         run: |
-          VERSION="$(cat common/yacreader_global.h | grep '#define VERSION "' | tr -d '#define VERSION' | tr -d '"' )"
+          VERSION="$(tr -d '\r\n' < VERSION)"
           echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "Version: $VERSION"
 
@@ -648,7 +648,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Get version
         id: version
         run: |
-          VERSION="$(cat common/yacreader_global.h | grep '#define VERSION "' | tr -d '#define VERSION' | tr -d '"' ).${{ needs.initialization.outputs.build_number }}"
+          VERSION="$(tr -d '\r\n' < VERSION).${{ needs.initialization.outputs.build_number }}"
           echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "Version: $VERSION"
 
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index aa4e6da7..84c86400 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,13 @@
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.25...4.3.1)
 
+file(READ "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/VERSION" YACREADER_VERSION)
+string(STRIP "${YACREADER_VERSION}" YACREADER_VERSION)
+if(NOT YACREADER_VERSION MATCHES "^[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+$")
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "VERSION must contain a semantic version like x.y.z")
+endif()
+
 project(YACReader
-    VERSION 10.0.0
+    VERSION ${YACREADER_VERSION}
     LANGUAGES C CXX
 )
 
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..95c4e8d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+10.0.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ci/win/create_installer.cmd b/ci/win/create_installer.cmd
index 2a658073..2c710359 100644
--- a/ci/win/create_installer.cmd
+++ b/ci/win/create_installer.cmd
@@ -52,12 +52,8 @@ for /r %src_path%\build %%f in (*.qm) do (
 
 copy %src_path%\vc_redist.%ARCH%.exe .
 
-type %src_path%\common\yacreader_global.h | findstr /R /C:"#define VERSION " > tmp
-set /p VERSION= < tmp
-set VERSION=%VERSION:#define VERSION "=%
-set VERSION=%VERSION:"=%
+set /p VERSION=<%src_path%\VERSION
 echo %VERSION%
-del tmp
 
 echo "iscc start"
 iscc /DVERSION=%VERSION% /DPLATFORM=%ARCH% /DCOMPRESSED_ARCHIVE_BACKEND=%COMPRESSION% /DBUILD_NUMBER=%BUILD_NUMBER% build_installer_qt6.iss || exit /b
diff --git a/common/CMakeLists.txt b/common/CMakeLists.txt
index 47729aad..96125dd6 100644
--- a/common/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/common/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,12 +1,23 @@
 # Common libraries for YACReader
 # Fine-grained STATIC targets per concern
 
+configure_file(
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/version.h.in
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/version.h
+    @ONLY
+)
+
 # --- yr_global (no GUI, used by all 3 apps) ---
 add_library(yr_global STATIC
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/version.h
+    version.h.in
     yacreader_global.h
     yacreader_global.cpp
 )
-target_include_directories(yr_global PUBLIC ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR})
+target_include_directories(yr_global PUBLIC
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}
+)
 target_link_libraries(yr_global PUBLIC Qt::Core)
 if(UNIX AND NOT APPLE)
     target_compile_definitions(yr_global PRIVATE
@@ -171,6 +182,7 @@ target_link_libraries(rhi_flow_reader PUBLIC
     Qt::Gui
     Qt::GuiPrivate
     Qt::Widgets
+    yr_global
 )
 qt_add_shaders(rhi_flow_reader "flow_shaders_reader"
     BASE rhi/shaders
@@ -194,6 +206,7 @@ target_link_libraries(rhi_flow_library PUBLIC
     Qt::Gui
     Qt::GuiPrivate
     Qt::Widgets
+    yr_global
 )
 qt_add_shaders(rhi_flow_library "flow_shaders_library"
     BASE rhi/shaders
diff --git a/common/check_new_version.cpp b/common/check_new_version.cpp
index 18646a5c..d8a8bf9e 100644
--- a/common/check_new_version.cpp
+++ b/common/check_new_version.cpp
@@ -6,16 +6,15 @@
 #include <QNetworkAccessManager>
 #include <QNetworkReply>
 #include <QNetworkRequest>
-#include <QRegExp>
-#include <QStringList>
 #include <QTimer>
 #include <QUrl>
+#include <QVersionNumber>
 #include <QtGlobal>
 
 #define PREVIOUS_VERSION_TESTING "6.0.0"
 
 HttpVersionChecker::HttpVersionChecker()
-    : HttpWorker("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/YACReader/yacreader/master/common/yacreader_global.h", DEFAULT_USER_AGENT)
+    : HttpWorker("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/YACReader/yacreader/master/VERSION", DEFAULT_USER_AGENT)
 {
     connect(this, &HttpVersionChecker::dataReady, this, QOverload<const QByteArray &>::of(&HttpVersionChecker::checkNewVersion));
 }
@@ -27,39 +26,17 @@ void HttpVersionChecker::checkNewVersion(const QByteArray &data)
 
 bool HttpVersionChecker::checkNewVersion(QString sourceContent)
 {
-    QRegExp rx("#define VERSION \"([0-9]+).([0-9]+).([0-9]+)\"");
-
-    bool newVersion = false;
-    bool sameVersion = true;
-    // bool currentVersionIsNewer = false;
 #ifdef QT_DEBUG
-    QString version(PREVIOUS_VERSION_TESTING);
+    const auto currentVersion = QVersionNumber::fromString(PREVIOUS_VERSION_TESTING);
 #else
-    QString version(VERSION);
+    const auto currentVersion = QVersionNumber::fromString(QString::fromLatin1(VERSION));
 #endif
-    QStringList sl = version.split(".");
-    if (rx.indexIn(sourceContent) != -1) {
-        int length = qMin(sl.size(), (rx.cap(4) != "") ? 4 : 3);
-        for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
-            if (rx.cap(i + 1).toInt() < sl.at(i).toInt()) {
-                return false;
-            }
-            if (rx.cap(i + 1).toInt() > sl.at(i).toInt()) {
-                newVersion = true;
-                break;
-            } else
-                sameVersion = sameVersion && rx.cap(i + 1).toInt() == sl.at(i).toInt();
-        }
-        if (!newVersion && sameVersion) {
-            if ((sl.size() == 3) && (rx.cap(4) != ""))
-                newVersion = true;
-        }
-    }
+    const auto latestVersion = QVersionNumber::fromString(sourceContent.trimmed());
 
-    if (newVersion == true) {
+    if (!currentVersion.isNull() && !latestVersion.isNull() && QVersionNumber::compare(latestVersion, currentVersion) > 0) {
         emit newVersionDetected();
         return true;
-    } else {
-        return false;
     }
+
+    return false;
 }
diff --git a/common/version.h.in b/common/version.h.in
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..07b9f88d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/version.h.in
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#ifndef YACREADER_VERSION_H
+#define YACREADER_VERSION_H
+
+#define VERSION "@PROJECT_VERSION@"
+
+#endif
diff --git a/common/yacreader_global.h b/common/yacreader_global.h
index 750e6c9a..81087862 100644
--- a/common/yacreader_global.h
+++ b/common/yacreader_global.h
@@ -9,7 +9,10 @@
 
 class QLibrary;
 
-#define VERSION "10.0.0"
+// Compatibility for already released apps that still parse this file for update checks.
+// TODO: remove after old releases have migrated away from scraping this header.
+// #define VERSION "10.0.0"
+#include "version.h"
 
 // Used to check if the database needs to be updated, the version is stored in the database.
 // This value is only incremented when the database structure changes.
diff --git a/compileOSX.sh b/compileOSX.sh
index 460c9684..519624df 100755
--- a/compileOSX.sh
+++ b/compileOSX.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #! /bin/bash
 set -e
 
-VERSION=${1:-"9.9.1"}
+VERSION=${1:-$(tr -d '\r\n' < VERSION)}
 
 BUILD_NUMBER=${2:-"0"}