diff --git a/klamath/VERSION b/klamath/VERSION
deleted file mode 100644
index be58634..0000000
--- a/klamath/VERSION
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-0.3
diff --git a/klamath/VERSION.py b/klamath/VERSION.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a53a2fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/klamath/VERSION.py
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+""" VERSION defintion. THIS FILE IS MANUALLY PARSED BY setup.py and REQUIRES A SPECIFIC FORMAT """
+__version__ = '''
+0.3
+'''
diff --git a/klamath/__init__.py b/klamath/__init__.py
index 9f48837..7a8c54e 100644
--- a/klamath/__init__.py
+++ b/klamath/__init__.py
@@ -27,16 +27,12 @@ The goal is to keep this library simple:
  tools for working with hierarchical design data and supports multiple
  file formats.
 """
-import pathlib
-
 from . import basic
 from . import record
 from . import records
 from . import elements
 from . import library
 
+from .VERSION import __version__
 
 __author__ = 'Jan Petykiewicz'
-
-with open(pathlib.Path(__file__).parent / 'VERSION', 'r') as f:
-    __version__ = f.read().strip()
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index b5d8b7d..72675e6 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ from setuptools import setup, find_packages
 with open('README.md', 'r') as f:
     long_description = f.read()
 
-with open('klamath/VERSION', 'r') as f:
-    version = f.read().strip()
+with open('klamath/VERSION.py', 'rt') as f:
+    version = f.readlines()[2].strip()
 
 setup(name='klamath',
       version=version,
@@ -19,9 +19,7 @@ setup(name='klamath',
       url='https://mpxd.net/code/jan/klamath',
       packages=find_packages(),
       package_data={
-          'klamath': ['VERSION',
-                     'py.typed',
-                     ]
+          'klamath': ['py.typed'],
       },
       install_requires=[
             'numpy',