diff --git a/bin/pie b/bin/pie
index 69d08f9f..88443670 100755
--- a/bin/pie
+++ b/bin/pie
@@ -5,12 +5,12 @@ declare(strict_types=1);
 
 namespace Php\Pie;
 
-use Composer\InstalledVersions;
 use Php\Pie\Command\BuildCommand;
 use Php\Pie\Command\DownloadCommand;
 use Php\Pie\Command\InfoCommand;
 use Php\Pie\Command\InstallCommand;
 use Php\Pie\Command\ShowCommand;
+use Php\Pie\Util\PieVersion;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Application;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\CommandLoader\ContainerCommandLoader;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
@@ -21,36 +21,8 @@ include $_composer_autoload_path ?? __DIR__ . '/../vendor/autoload.php';
 
 $container = Container::factory();
 
-$application = new Application(
-    '🥧 PHP Installer for Extensions (PIE)',
-    (static function (): string {
-        $pieVersion = '@pie_version@';
+$application = new Application('🥧 PHP Installer for Extensions (PIE)', PieVersion::get());
 
-        /**
-         * @psalm-suppress RedundantCondition
-         * @noinspection PhpConditionAlreadyCheckedInspection
-         */
-        if ($pieVersion === '@pie_version'.'@') {
-            if (!class_exists(InstalledVersions::class)) {
-                /**
-                 * Note: magic constant that causes Symfony Console to not display a version
-                 * {@see Application::getLongVersion()}
-                 */
-                return 'UNKNOWN';
-            }
-
-            $installedVersion = InstalledVersions::getVersion(InstalledVersions::getRootPackage()['name']);
-            if ($installedVersion === null) {
-                return 'UNKNOWN';
-            }
-
-            return $installedVersion;
-        }
-
-        /** @psalm-suppress NoValue */
-        return $pieVersion;
-    })()
-);
 $application->setCommandLoader(new ContainerCommandLoader(
     $container,
     [
@@ -61,4 +33,5 @@ $application->setCommandLoader(new ContainerCommandLoader(
         'show' => ShowCommand::class,
     ]
 ));
+
 $application->run($container->get(InputInterface::class), $container->get(OutputInterface::class));
diff --git a/src/Util/PieVersion.php b/src/Util/PieVersion.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5c44126c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Util/PieVersion.php
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Php\Pie\Util;
+
+use Composer\InstalledVersions;
+
+use function class_exists;
+
+/** @internal This is not public API for PIE, so should not be depended upon unless you accept the risk of BC breaks */
+final class PieVersion
+{
+    /**
+     * Note: magic constant that causes Symfony Console to not display a version
+     * {@see Application::getLongVersion()}
+     */
+    private const SYMFONY_MAGIC_CONST_UNKNOWN = 'UNKNOWN';
+
+    /**
+     * A static method to try to find the version of PIE you are currently
+     * running. If running in the PHAR built with Box, this should return a
+     * realistic-looking version; usually either a tag (e.g. `2.0.0`), or a tag
+     * and following commit short hash (e.g. `2.0.0@e558e33`). If not this will
+     * fall back to some other techniques to try to determine a version.
+     */
+    public static function get(): string
+    {
+        /**
+         * This value is replaced dynamically by Box with the real version when
+         * we build the PHAR. It is based on the Git tag and/or version
+         *
+         * It will be replaced with `2.0.0` on an exact tag match, or something
+         * like `2.0.0@e558e33` on a commit following a tag.
+         *
+         * When running not in a PHAR, this will not be replaced, so this
+         * method needs additional logic to determine the version.
+         *
+         * @link https://box-project.github.io/box/configuration/#pretty-git-tag-placeholder-git
+         */
+        $pieVersion = '@pie_version@';
+
+        /**
+         * @psalm-suppress RedundantCondition
+         * @noinspection PhpConditionAlreadyCheckedInspection
+         */
+        // phpcs:ignore Generic.Strings.UnnecessaryStringConcat.Found
+        if ($pieVersion === '@pie_version' . '@') {
+            if (! class_exists(InstalledVersions::class)) {
+                return self::SYMFONY_MAGIC_CONST_UNKNOWN;
+            }
+
+            /**
+             * This tries to determine the version based on Composer; if we are
+             * the root package (i.e. you're developing on it), this will most
+             * likely be something like `dev-main` (branch name).
+             */
+            $installedVersion = InstalledVersions::getVersion(InstalledVersions::getRootPackage()['name']);
+            if ($installedVersion === null) {
+                return self::SYMFONY_MAGIC_CONST_UNKNOWN;
+            }
+
+            return $installedVersion;
+        }
+
+        /** @psalm-suppress NoValue */
+        return $pieVersion;
+    }
+}