diff --git a/src/axolotl/__init__.py b/src/axolotl/__init__.py
index 1ac25c665..92e98bc9a 100644
--- a/src/axolotl/__init__.py
+++ b/src/axolotl/__init__.py
@@ -1,8 +1,17 @@
 """Axolotl - Train and fine-tune large language models."""
 
-import pkgutil
+from __future__ import annotations
 
-from ._version import __version__
+import pkgutil
+from importlib import metadata
+
+try:
+    from ._version import __version__  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+except ModuleNotFoundError:
+    try:
+        __version__ = metadata.version("axolotl")
+    except metadata.PackageNotFoundError:  # pragma: no cover
+        __version__ = "0+unknown"
 
 __path__ = pkgutil.extend_path(__path__, __name__)
 __all__ = ["__version__"]