diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7cd6f5d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+.venv
+__pycache__/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index f861a47..501bbfc 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
+COPY VERSION /VERSION
 COPY /app/ /app/
 
 RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aa31e71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+4.0.3
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/env_config.py b/app/env_config.py
index 9ef47d3..c71fbea 100644
--- a/app/env_config.py
+++ b/app/env_config.py
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@ import logging
 import json
 import sys
 
-VERSION = "4.0.2"
+# Read version from VERSION file
+with open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(__file__)), "VERSION"), "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+    VERSION = f.read().strip()
 
 # Logger setup
 logging.basicConfig(