diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index f12ddbd..ce392d6 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ FROM golang:1.27-alpine AS build
 WORKDIR /src
 COPY go.mod ./
 COPY *.go ./
+COPY VERSION ./
 RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -o /polydisplayd .
 
 FROM alpine:3.24
diff --git a/server_test.go b/server_test.go
index 30b765f..87a199e 100644
--- a/server_test.go
+++ b/server_test.go
@@ -835,6 +835,9 @@ func TestLicenseHeaders(t *testing.T) {
 		if path == "" {
 			continue
 		}
+		if path == "VERSION" { // machine-readable metadata, not source text
+			continue
+		}
 		b, err := os.ReadFile(path)
 		if err != nil {
 			t.Errorf("%s: %v", path, err)