Switches to native Go build info for versioning

Simplifies the version command and Makefile by removing manual ldflags injection. The application now relies entirely on Go's built-in VCS metadata embedding to extract version, commit, and date information, ensuring accurate reporting across all build methods.

Makefile

@@ -1,24 +1,14 @@
-.PHONY: build install test clean version
+.PHONY: build install test coverage clean
 
-# Get version from git tag, fallback to dev
+# Build the binary (Go automatically embeds VCS info)
-VERSION ?= $(shell git describe --tags --always --dirty 2>/dev/null || echo "dev")
-COMMIT ?= $(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
-DATE ?= $(shell date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
-
-# Ldflags to inject version information
-LDFLAGS := -ldflags "-X git.membo.co.uk/dtomlinson/gitlocal/cmd.Version=$(VERSION) \
-                      -X git.membo.co.uk/dtomlinson/gitlocal/cmd.Commit=$(COMMIT) \
-                      -X git.membo.co.uk/dtomlinson/gitlocal/cmd.Date=$(DATE)"
-
-# Build the binary
 build:
-	@echo "Building gitlocal $(VERSION)..."
+	@echo "Building gitlocal..."
-	go build $(LDFLAGS) -o gitlocal .
+	go build -o gitlocal .
 
 # Install to $GOPATH/bin
 install:
-	@echo "Installing gitlocal $(VERSION)..."
+	@echo "Installing gitlocal..."
-	go install $(LDFLAGS) .
+	go install .
 
 # Run tests
 test:
@@ -35,9 +25,3 @@ coverage:
 clean:
 	@echo "Cleaning..."
 	rm -f gitlocal coverage.out
-
-# Show version that would be built
-version:
-	@echo "Version: $(VERSION)"
-	@echo "Commit:  $(COMMIT)"
-	@echo "Date:    $(DATE)"

README.md

@@ -134,23 +134,27 @@ cd gitlocal
 # Install dependencies
 go mod download
 
-# Build with version info (recommended - uses Makefile)
+# Build the binary
 make build
-
+# or
-# Or install to $GOPATH/bin with version info
-make install
-
-# Build without version info (not recommended)
 go build -o gitlocal
 
-# Check version that would be built
+# Install to $GOPATH/bin
-make version
+make install
+# or
+go install
 ```
 
-The Makefile automatically injects version information from git tags:
+**Version Information:**
-- `Version`: Git tag (e.g., `v0.1.0`) or commit hash if no tag exists
+Go automatically embeds version information from git when building. The `gitlocal version` command reads this embedded metadata to display:
-- `Commit`: Short commit hash
+- Version (from git tag, e.g., `v0.1.0`)
-- `Date`: Build timestamp
+- Commit hash (short SHA)
+- Build timestamp
+
+This works automatically for:
+- `go install` (remote installation)
+- `go build` (local builds)
+- Pre-built binaries (when built from a git repo)
 
 Check the version after installing:
 ```bash

cmd/version.go

@@ -2,27 +2,42 @@ package cmd
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"runtime/debug"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
-var (
-	// Version is set via -ldflags during build
-	Version = "dev"
-	// Commit is set via -ldflags during build
-	Commit = "unknown"
-	// Date is set via -ldflags during build
-	Date = "unknown"
-)
-
 var versionCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "version",
 	Short: "Print version information",
 	Long:  `Display the version, commit hash, and build date of gitlocal.`,
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
-		fmt.Printf("gitlocal version %s\n", Version)
+		version := "dev"
-		fmt.Printf("  Commit: %s\n", Commit)
+		commit := "unknown"
-		fmt.Printf("  Built:  %s\n", Date)
+		date := "unknown"
+
+		// Read version from build info (works for both 'go install' and 'go build')
+		if info, ok := debug.ReadBuildInfo(); ok {
+			version = info.Main.Version
+
+			// Extract commit and date from build settings
+			for _, setting := range info.Settings {
+				switch setting.Key {
+				case "vcs.revision":
+					if len(setting.Value) > 7 {
+						commit = setting.Value[:7]
+					} else {
+						commit = setting.Value
+					}
+				case "vcs.time":
+					date = setting.Value
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		fmt.Printf("gitlocal version %s\n", version)
+		fmt.Printf("  Commit: %s\n", commit)
+		fmt.Printf("  Built:  %s\n", date)
 	},
 }