diff --git a/vite.config.ts b/vite.config.ts
index 7a6e207..9074493 100644
--- a/vite.config.ts
+++ b/vite.config.ts
@@ -3,14 +3,21 @@ import { defineConfig } from "vite";
 import { execSync } from "child_process";
 
 // Function to get the latest git tag
-function getLatestGitTag() {
+function getAppVersionString() {
+  // if running in ci context, we can assume the package has been properly versioned
+  if (process.env.ALEXANDIRA_IS_CI_BUILD) {
+      console.info("Running in CI context, using package version");
+      return process.env.npm_package_version;
+  }
+
   try {
-    // Get the latest git tag
+    // Get the latest git tag, assuming git is installed and tagged branch is available
     const tag = execSync('git describe --tags --abbrev=0').toString().trim();
     return tag;
   } catch (error) {
     console.error("Failed to get git tag:", error);
-    return "unknown";
+    // Fallback to package version
+    return process.env.npm_package_version;
   }
 }
 
@@ -20,7 +27,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
     include: ['./tests/unit/**/*.unit-test.js']
   },
   define: {
-    // Expose the git tag as a global variable
-    'import.meta.env.GIT_TAG': JSON.stringify(getLatestGitTag())
+    // Expose the app version as a global variable
+    'import.meta.env.APP_VERSION': JSON.stringify(getAppVersionString())
   }
 });