diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c4e41f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+4.0.3
diff --git a/app/routers/board.py b/app/routers/board.py
index 3a3de30..eefdbef 100644
--- a/app/routers/board.py
+++ b/app/routers/board.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from fastapi.responses import HTMLResponse, JSONResponse
 from app.db import get_conn
 from app.services.gitea_client import gitea
 from app.auth.session import SessionManager
+from app.routers.dashboard import _get_app_version
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 router = APIRouter(tags=["board"], prefix="/board")
@@ -397,7 +398,7 @@ def _sidebar_data(request: Request, owner: str = "", repo: str = "") -> dict:
             "gitea_linked": gitea_linked,
             "github_linked": github_linked,
             "has_active_workspace": has_active_workspace,
-            "app_version": "4.0.3",
+            "app_version": _get_app_version(),
             "local_workspaces": _local_workspaces_for_user(user)}
 
 
diff --git a/app/routers/dashboard.py b/app/routers/dashboard.py
index 4cc4072..48e45ec 100644
--- a/app/routers/dashboard.py
+++ b/app/routers/dashboard.py
@@ -13,6 +13,32 @@ from app.db import get_conn
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 router = APIRouter(tags=["dashboard"])
 
+_VERSION = None
+
+
+def _get_app_version() -> str:
+    """Read version from VERSION file with caching."""
+    global _VERSION
+    if _VERSION is not None:
+        return _VERSION
+    try:
+        import os
+        version_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", "..", "VERSION")
+        if os.path.exists(version_path):
+            with open(version_path) as f:
+                _VERSION = f.read().strip()
+        else:
+            # Docker fallback
+            version_path = "/app/VERSION"
+            if os.path.exists(version_path):
+                with open(version_path) as f:
+                    _VERSION = f.read().strip()
+            else:
+                _VERSION = "0.0.0"
+    except Exception:
+        _VERSION = "0.0.0"
+    return _VERSION
+
 
 def _get_user_or_redirect(request: Request):
     """Return decoded user or a RedirectResponse to login page.
@@ -188,7 +214,7 @@ def _sidebar_data(request: Request, repos: list[dict], include_workspace: bool =
         "gitea_linked": gitea_linked,
         "github_linked": github_linked,
         "has_active_workspace": has_active_workspace,
-        "app_version": "4.0.3",
+        "app_version": _get_app_version(),
     }
 
     sidebar["local_workspaces"] = _local_workspaces_for_user(user)