diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-main.yml b/.github/workflows/release-main.yml
index 4aece70..f8c0cb9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-main.yml
@@ -68,7 +68,13 @@ jobs:
             mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-gcc
 
       - name: Build shared library
-        run: go build -buildmode=c-shared -o ${{ matrix.output }} ./cmd/moss-ffi
+        # Stamp the tag so Moss_Version reports it. A host loads this library by
+        # path at runtime, so without the stamp there is no way to tell which
+        # build it actually got.
+        run: >-
+          go build -buildmode=c-shared
+          -ldflags "-X main.buildVersion=${{ github.ref_name }}"
+          -o ${{ matrix.output }} ./cmd/moss-ffi
 
       - name: Package shared artifact
         shell: pwsh
diff --git a/cmd/moss-ffi/main.go b/cmd/moss-ffi/main.go
index 6da5ca9..eecfd7a 100644
--- a/cmd/moss-ffi/main.go
+++ b/cmd/moss-ffi/main.go
@@ -80,6 +80,11 @@ import (
 
 const relayFFITimeout = 5 * time.Second
 
+// buildVersion is stamped at link time by the release workflow
+// (-ldflags "-X main.buildVersion=v0.8.17"). A library built any other way says
+// so rather than claiming a version it cannot know.
+var buildVersion = "dev"
+
 var (
 	handleCounter atomic.Int64
 	registryMu    sync.RWMutex
@@ -371,6 +376,20 @@ func Moss_GetNATType(handle C.MossHandle) *C.char {
 // allocated C string (free with Moss_Free), or NULL if the handle is unknown.
 // Call it before Moss_Stop, which removes the handle from the registry.
 //
+// Moss_Version returns the version this library was built at, as a newly
+// allocated C string (free with Moss_Free). Release builds carry their tag;
+// anything else reports "dev".
+//
+// A host loads moss by path at runtime, so nothing stops an old library from
+// sitting next to a new host — and the symptoms of that are transport bugs the
+// host cannot diagnose. This lets a host say which library it got instead of
+// guessing. Callers must treat a missing symbol as "older than v0.8.17".
+//
+//export Moss_Version
+func Moss_Version() *C.char {
+	return C.CString(buildVersion)
+}
+
 //export Moss_LastError
 func Moss_LastError(handle C.MossHandle) *C.char {
 	node, code := getNode(int64(handle))
diff --git a/cmd/moss-ffi/version_test.go b/cmd/moss-ffi/version_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a582fc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/moss-ffi/version_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// An unstamped build must say "dev" rather than claim a version it cannot know.
+// The release workflow is the only thing that knows the tag, so this is the
+// value a hand-built library carries — and a host can tell the two apart.
+func TestUnstampedBuildReportsDev(t *testing.T) {
+	if buildVersion != "dev" {
+		t.Fatalf("an unstamped build reports %q; the default must stay %q so a "+
+			"library built outside the release pipeline never claims a release",
+			buildVersion, "dev")
+	}
+}
+
+// The stamp has to survive the linker flag the release workflow passes, in a
+// real c-shared build rather than a plain test binary. Without it Moss_Version
+// reports "dev" for every published release and a host cannot tell which
+// library it loaded — which is the whole reason the symbol exists.
+func TestVersionStampReachesTheSharedLibrary(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("skipping shared build in short mode")
+	}
+	const stamp = "v9.9.9-stamp-probe"
+
+	outDir := t.TempDir()
+	var libraryName string
+	switch runtime.GOOS {
+	case "windows":
+		libraryName = "moss.dll"
+	case "darwin":
+		libraryName = "libmoss.dylib"
+	default:
+		libraryName = "libmoss.so"
+	}
+	output := filepath.Join(outDir, libraryName)
+	cacheDir := filepath.Join(outDir, "gocache")
+	tmpDir := filepath.Join(outDir, "gotmp")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(cacheDir, 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("mkdir cache failed: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(tmpDir, 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("mkdir tmp failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	cmd := exec.Command("go", "build", "-buildmode=c-shared",
+		"-ldflags", "-X main.buildVersion="+stamp, "-o", output, ".")
+	cmd.Dir = "."
+	cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "GOCACHE="+cacheDir, "GOTMPDIR="+tmpDir)
+	if combined, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("c-shared build failed: %v\n%s", err, combined)
+	}
+
+	built, err := os.ReadFile(output)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("reading the built library failed: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !bytes.Contains(built, []byte(stamp)) {
+		t.Fatal("the linker stamp did not reach the shared library — " +
+			"Moss_Version would report \"dev\" for every release")
+	}
+}