diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index fa8dd34f3..e76e5ab87 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ src/TAGS
 .build*
 doc/node_modules
 doc/.vuepress/dist
-src/gerbil/runtime/gx-version.scm
 src/gerbil/gxi
 
 src/tutorial/lang/build-deps
diff --git a/src/gerbil/runtime/gx-version.scm b/src/gerbil/runtime/gx-version.scm
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..36a57a0c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gerbil/runtime/gx-version.scm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+(define (gerbil-version-string) "v0.17")