diff --git a/.goreleaser.yml b/.goreleaser.yml
index 8c539b41..4b6629ea 100644
--- a/.goreleaser.yml
+++ b/.goreleaser.yml
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ builds:
     flags:
       - -mod=readonly
     ldflags:
-      - -s -w -X main.Version={{.Version}}
+      - -s -w -X main.Version={{.Version}} -X main.BuildDate={{.Date}}
   - id: darwin-arm64
     main: ./cmd/lets
     goos:
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ builds:
     flags:
       - -mod=readonly
     ldflags:
-      - -s -w -X main.Version={{.Version}}
+      - -s -w -X main.Version={{.Version}} -X main.BuildDate={{.Date}}
   - id: linux-amd64
     main: ./cmd/lets
     goos:
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ builds:
     flags:
       - -mod=readonly
     ldflags:
-      - -s -w -X main.Version={{.Version}}
+      - -s -w -X main.Version={{.Version}} -X main.BuildDate={{.Date}}
 
 archives:
 - formats: [tar.gz]
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 5cd5c29c..f9bcc27a 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -32,20 +32,20 @@ lets publish-docs             # deploy docs site
 
 ## Package Structure
 
-- `main.go` — entry point, flag parsing, signal handling
-- `cmd/` — Cobra commands (root, subcommands, completion, LSP, self-update)
-- `config/` — config file discovery, loading, validation; `config/config/` defines Config/Command/Mixin structs and YAML unmarshaling
-- `executor/` — command execution, dependency resolution, env setup, checksum verification
-- `env/` — debug level state (`LETS_DEBUG`, levels 0-2)
-- `logging/` — logrus-based logging with command chain formatting
-- `lsp/` — Language Server Protocol: definition lookup, completion for depends, tree-sitter YAML parsing; `lets lsp` runs stdio-based server for IDE integration
-- `checksum/` — SHA1 file checksumming with glob patterns
-- `docopt/` — docopt argument parsing, produces `LETSOPT_*` and `LETSCLI_*` env vars
-- `upgrade/` — binary self-update from GitHub releases
-- `util/` — file/dir/version helpers
-- `workdir/` — `--init` scaffolding
-- `set/` — generic Set data structure
-- `test/` — test utilities (temp files, args helpers)
+- `cmd/lets/main.go` — CLI entry point, flag parsing, signal handling
+- `internal/cmd/` — Cobra command setup (root, subcommands, completion, LSP, self-update)
+- `internal/config/` — config file discovery, loading, validation; `internal/config/config/` defines Config/Command/Mixin structs and YAML unmarshaling; `internal/config/path/` contains config path helpers
+- `internal/executor/` — command execution, dependency resolution, env setup, checksum verification
+- `internal/env/` — debug level state (`LETS_DEBUG`, levels 0-2)
+- `internal/logging/` — logrus-based logging with command chain formatting
+- `internal/lsp/` — Language Server Protocol: definition lookup, completion for depends, tree-sitter YAML parsing; `lets lsp` runs stdio-based server for IDE integration
+- `internal/checksum/` — SHA1 file checksumming with glob patterns
+- `internal/docopt/` — docopt argument parsing, produces `LETSOPT_*` and `LETSCLI_*` env vars
+- `internal/upgrade/` — binary self-update from GitHub releases; `internal/upgrade/registry/` contains release registry implementation
+- `internal/util/` — file/dir/version helpers
+- `internal/workdir/` — `--init` scaffolding
+- `internal/set/` — generic Set data structure
+- `internal/test/` — test utilities (temp files, args helpers)
 
 ## Key lets.yaml Fields
 
diff --git a/cmd/lets/main.go b/cmd/lets/main.go
index 7fa766eb..8f0347ec 100644
--- a/cmd/lets/main.go
+++ b/cmd/lets/main.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 var Version = "0.0.0-dev"
+var BuildDate = ""
 
 func main() {
 	ctx := getContext()
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@ func main() {
 
 	logging.InitLogging(os.Stdout, os.Stderr)
 
-	rootCmd := cmd.CreateRootCommand(Version)
+	rootCmd := cmd.CreateRootCommand(Version, BuildDate)
 	rootCmd.InitDefaultHelpFlag()
 	rootCmd.InitDefaultVersionFlag()
 	reinitCompletionCmd := cmd.InitCompletionCmd(rootCmd, nil)
diff --git a/internal/cmd/root.go b/internal/cmd/root.go
index eaf7ae31..2db163b6 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/root.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/root.go
@@ -80,8 +80,9 @@ func newRootCmd(version string) *cobra.Command {
 }
 
 // CreateRootCommand used to run only root command without config.
-func CreateRootCommand(version string) *cobra.Command {
+func CreateRootCommand(version string, buildDate string) *cobra.Command {
 	rootCmd := newRootCmd(version)
+	rootCmd.Annotations = map[string]string{"buildDate": buildDate}
 
 	initRootFlags(rootCmd)
 
@@ -230,6 +231,10 @@ func PrintRootHelpMessage(cmd *cobra.Command) error {
 }
 
 func PrintVersionMessage(cmd *cobra.Command) error {
-	_, err := fmt.Fprintf(cmd.OutOrStdout(), "lets version %s\n", cmd.Version)
+	msg := fmt.Sprintf("lets version %s", cmd.Version)
+	if buildDate := cmd.Annotations["buildDate"]; buildDate != "" {
+		msg += fmt.Sprintf(" (%s)", buildDate)
+	}
+	_, err := fmt.Fprintln(cmd.OutOrStdout(), msg)
 	return err
 }
diff --git a/internal/cmd/root_test.go b/internal/cmd/root_test.go
index 8b3112d9..1c311bf7 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/root_test.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/root_test.go
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func newTestRootCmd(args []string) (rootCmd *cobra.Command) {
-	root := CreateRootCommand("v0.0.0-test")
+	root := CreateRootCommand("v0.0.0-test", "")
 	root.SetArgs(args)
 	InitCompletionCmd(root, nil)
 
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ func newTestRootCmdWithConfig(args []string) (rootCmd *cobra.Command, out *bytes
 	cfg.Commands["foo"] = &config.Command{Name: "foo"}
 	cfg.Commands["bar"] = &config.Command{Name: "bar"}
 
-	root := CreateRootCommand("v0.0.0-test")
+	root := CreateRootCommand("v0.0.0-test", "")
 	root.SetArgs(args)
 	root.SetOut(bufOut)
 	root.SetErr(bufOut)
@@ -138,11 +138,48 @@ func TestRootCmdWithConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestPrintVersionMessage(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("should include build date in parentheses when non-empty", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := new(bytes.Buffer)
+		root := CreateRootCommand("v0.0.0-test", "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z")
+		root.SetOut(buf)
+
+		err := PrintVersionMessage(root)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		out := buf.String()
+		if !strings.Contains(out, "v0.0.0-test") {
+			t.Errorf("expected version in output, got %q", out)
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(out, "(2024-01-15T10:30:00Z)") {
+			t.Errorf("expected build date in parentheses, got %q", out)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("should omit parentheses when build date is empty", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := new(bytes.Buffer)
+		root := CreateRootCommand("v0.0.0-test", "")
+		root.SetOut(buf)
+
+		err := PrintVersionMessage(root)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		out := buf.String()
+		if strings.Contains(out, "(") {
+			t.Errorf("expected no parentheses when build date is empty, got %q", out)
+		}
+	})
+}
+
 func TestSelfCmd(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("should return exit code 2 for unknown self subcommand", func(t *testing.T) {
 		bufOut := new(bytes.Buffer)
 
-		rootCmd := CreateRootCommand("v0.0.0-test")
+		rootCmd := CreateRootCommand("v0.0.0-test", "")
 		rootCmd.SetArgs([]string{"self", "ls"})
 		rootCmd.SetOut(bufOut)
 		rootCmd.SetErr(bufOut)
@@ -178,7 +215,7 @@ func TestSelfCmd(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("should return exit code 2 for unknown self subcommand with no suggestions", func(t *testing.T) {
 		bufOut := new(bytes.Buffer)
 
-		rootCmd := CreateRootCommand("v0.0.0-test")
+		rootCmd := CreateRootCommand("v0.0.0-test", "")
 		rootCmd.SetArgs([]string{"self", "zzzznotacommand"})
 		rootCmd.SetOut(bufOut)
 		rootCmd.SetErr(bufOut)
diff --git a/lets.yaml b/lets.yaml
index 9c935992..cefd782d 100644
--- a/lets.yaml
+++ b/lets.yaml
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ commands:
         PATH2LETSDEV=$LETSOPT_PATH
       fi
 
-      go build -ldflags="-X main.Version=${VERSION:1}-dev" -o "${BIN}" ./cmd/lets && \
+      go build -ldflags="-X main.Version=${VERSION:1}-dev -X main.BuildDate=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" -o "${BIN}" ./cmd/lets && \
       sudo mv ./${BIN} $PATH2LETSDEV/${BIN} && \
       echo " - binary ${BIN} version $($PATH2LETSDEV/${BIN} --version) successfully installed in ${PATH2LETSDEV}"
 
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ commands:
       BIN=${LETSOPT_BIN:-lets}
       
       go build \
-        -ldflags="-X main.Version=${VERSION:1}-dev" \
+        -ldflags="-X main.Version=${VERSION:1}-dev -X main.BuildDate=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" \
         -o ${BIN} ./cmd/lets
       
       success=$?
diff --git a/tests/config_version.bats b/tests/config_version.bats
index 1b699148..e64717d3 100644
--- a/tests/config_version.bats
+++ b/tests/config_version.bats
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ setup() {
   load "${BATS_UTILS_PATH}/bats-support/load.bash"
   load "${BATS_UTILS_PATH}/bats-assert/load.bash"
   # NOTICE to test this functionality properly we building lets with specified version ${TEST_VERSION}
-  go build -ldflags="-X main.Version=${TEST_VERSION}" -o ./tests/config_version/lets cmd/lets/main.go
+  go build -ldflags="-X main.Version=${TEST_VERSION} -X main.BuildDate=2024-01-01T00:00:00Z" -o ./tests/config_version/lets cmd/lets/main.go
   cd ./tests/config_version
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/version.bats b/tests/version.bats
index a44656c5..e5ba0c43 100644
--- a/tests/version.bats
+++ b/tests/version.bats
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+load test_helpers
+
+TEST_VERSION=1.2.3
+TEST_BUILD_DATE=2024-01-15T10:30:00Z
+
 setup() {
     load "${BATS_UTILS_PATH}/bats-support/load.bash"
     load "${BATS_UTILS_PATH}/bats-assert/load.bash"
@@ -14,3 +19,11 @@ setup() {
     assert_success
     assert_line --index 0 "lets version 0.0.0-dev"
 }
+
+@test "version: show build date when set via ldflags" {
+    go build -ldflags="-X main.Version=${TEST_VERSION} -X main.BuildDate=${TEST_BUILD_DATE}" -o /tmp/lets-version-test cmd/lets/main.go
+    run /tmp/lets-version-test --version
+    assert_success
+    assert_line --index 0 "lets version ${TEST_VERSION} (${TEST_BUILD_DATE})"
+    rm -f /tmp/lets-version-test
+}