diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..abd4105
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0.2.4
diff --git a/swiftfindrefs.rb b/swiftfindrefs.rb
index b50b133..256d1a9 100644
--- a/swiftfindrefs.rb
+++ b/swiftfindrefs.rb
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
+# Version is managed by the VERSION file - do not edit manually
+# Run the Release workflow to bump version automatically
 class Swiftfindrefs < Formula
-  desc "SwiftFindRefs is a macOS Swift CLI that resolves a project’s DerivedData, reads Xcode’s IndexStore, and reports every file referencing a chosen symbol, with optional verbose tracing for diagnostics."
+  APP_VERSION = File.read(File.join(__dir__, "VERSION")).strip.freeze
+
+  desc "SwiftFindRefs is a macOS Swift CLI that resolves a project's DerivedData, reads Xcode's IndexStore, and reports every file referencing a chosen symbol, with optional verbose tracing for diagnostics."
   homepage "https://github.com/michaelversus/SwiftFindRefs"
-  url "https://github.com/michaelversus/SwiftFindRefs.git", tag: "0.2.4"
-  version "0.2.4"
+  url "https://github.com/michaelversus/SwiftFindRefs.git", tag: APP_VERSION
+  version APP_VERSION
 
   depends_on "xcode": [:build]
 
@@ -13,4 +17,4 @@ def install
   test do
     system "#{bin}/Swiftfindrefs", "list"
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end