diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ef0d599
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Nucleic release version state — the single source of truth for this app's version.
+# Bumped by scripts/bump-version.sh on every release (Mac: ./VERSION; iOS: ios/VERSION).
+# Shell-sourceable (KEY=value). Don't hand-edit during a release — bump with e.g.:
+#   make ios-release                  # build-only (the iOS default): 0.1.0 -> 0.1.0, build +1
+#   make ios-release BUMP=minor       # 0.1.0 -> 0.2.0, build +1
+#   make ios-release BUMP=major       # 0.1.0 -> 1.0.0, build +1
+#   make ios-release BUMP=patch       # 0.1.0 -> 0.1.1, build +1
+#
+#   NUCLEIC_MARKETING_VERSION  semantic version -> CFBundleShortVersionString
+#   NUCLEIC_BUILD_NUMBER       monotonic build  -> CFBundleVersion (always +1 per release)
+NUCLEIC_MARKETING_VERSION=0.1.0
+NUCLEIC_BUILD_NUMBER=0