diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index f74a0bf3b2..a72b00fdaf 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -20,12 +20,11 @@ libudev_version = '1.6.12'
 # names, sometimes. Not all variables are included in every
 # set. Ugh, ugh, ugh!
 conf = configuration_data()
-conf.set_quoted('PACKAGE_STRING',  meson.project_name() + ' ' + meson.project_version())
-conf.set_quoted('PACKAGE_VERSION', meson.project_version())
+conf.set('PROJECT_VERSION',        meson.project_version())
 
 substs = configuration_data()
-substs.set('PACKAGE_URL',          'https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd')
-substs.set('PACKAGE_VERSION',      meson.project_version())
+substs.set('PROJECT_URL',          'https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd')
+substs.set('PROJECT_VERSION',      meson.project_version())
 
 want_ossfuzz = get_option('oss-fuzz')
 want_libfuzzer = get_option('llvm-fuzz')
@@ -582,6 +581,11 @@ endif
 
 #####################################################################
 
+vcs_tagger = [meson.source_root() + '/tools/meson-vcs-tag.sh',
+              meson.source_root(),
+              get_option('version-tag'),
+              meson.project_version()]
+
 sed = find_program('sed')
 awk = find_program('awk')
 m4 = find_program('m4')
@@ -2892,8 +2896,9 @@ foreach tuple : fuzzers
 endforeach
 endif
 
-run_target('fuzzers',
-        depends : fuzzer_exes,
+run_target(
+        'fuzzers',
+        depends : [fuzzer_exes, version_h],
         command : ['true'])
 
 ############################################################
diff --git a/meson_options.txt b/meson_options.txt
index 3474265bd3..044bb792b5 100644
--- a/meson_options.txt
+++ b/meson_options.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # -*- mode: meson -*-
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1+
 
+option('version-tag', type : 'string',
+       description : 'override the git version string')
+
 option('split-usr', type : 'combo', choices : ['auto', 'true', 'false'],
        description : '''/bin, /sbin aren't symlinks into /usr''')
 option('split-bin', type : 'combo', choices : ['auto', 'true', 'false'],
diff --git a/src/analyze/analyze.c b/src/analyze/analyze.c
index 1f69b9fda1..3915b66739 100644
--- a/src/analyze/analyze.c
+++ b/src/analyze/analyze.c
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #include "alloc-util.h"
 #include "analyze-security.h"
 #include "analyze-verify.h"
+#include "build.h"
 #include "bus-error.h"
 #include "bus-unit-util.h"
 #include "bus-util.h"
@@ -696,7 +697,7 @@ static int analyze_plot(int argc, char *argv[], void *userdata) {
             "<!-- that render these files properly but much slower are ImageMagick,   -->\n"
             "<!-- gimp, inkscape, etc. To display the files on your system, just      -->\n"
             "<!-- point your browser to this file.                                    -->\n\n"
-            "<!-- This plot was generated by systemd-analyze version %-16.16s -->\n\n", PACKAGE_VERSION);
+            "<!-- This plot was generated by systemd-analyze version %-16.16s -->\n\n", GIT_VERSION);
 
         /* style sheet */
         svg("<defs>\n  <style type=\"text/css\">\n    <![CDATA[\n"
diff --git a/src/basic/build.h b/src/basic/build.h
index 2c46550300..7a59059080 100644
--- a/src/basic/build.h
+++ b/src/basic/build.h
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 /* SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1+ */
 #pragma once
 
+#include "version.h"
+
 #if HAVE_PAM
 #define _PAM_FEATURE_ "+PAM"
 #else
diff --git a/src/basic/meson.build b/src/basic/meson.build
index 23b5e75bd8..95a0d45450 100644
--- a/src/basic/meson.build
+++ b/src/basic/meson.build
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1+
 
+version_h = vcs_tag(
+        command: vcs_tagger,
+        input : 'version.h.in',
+        output : 'version.h')
+
 basic_sources = files('''
         MurmurHash2.c
         MurmurHash2.h
diff --git a/src/basic/util.c b/src/basic/util.c
index c4f12a6daa..96c314e895 100644
--- a/src/basic/util.c
+++ b/src/basic/util.c
@@ -557,7 +557,7 @@ uint64_t system_tasks_max_scale(uint64_t v, uint64_t max) {
 }
 
 int version(void) {
-        puts(PACKAGE_STRING "\n"
+        puts("systemd " GIT_VERSION "\n"
              SYSTEMD_FEATURES);
         return 0;
 }
diff --git a/src/basic/version.h.in b/src/basic/version.h.in
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9f82d905a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/basic/version.h.in
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+#define GIT_VERSION "@VCS_TAG@"
diff --git a/src/boot/efi/boot.c b/src/boot/efi/boot.c
index 4719eeaf4b..5aae7e7c06 100644
--- a/src/boot/efi/boot.c
+++ b/src/boot/efi/boot.c
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 #endif
 
 /* magic string to find in the binary image */
-static const char __attribute__((used)) magic[] = "#### LoaderInfo: systemd-boot " PACKAGE_VERSION " ####";
+static const char __attribute__((used)) magic[] = "#### LoaderInfo: systemd-boot " GIT_VERSION " ####";
 
 static const EFI_GUID global_guid = EFI_GLOBAL_VARIABLE;
 
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ static VOID print_status(Config *config, CHAR16 *loaded_image_path) {
         uefi_call_wrapper(ST->ConOut->SetAttribute, 2, ST->ConOut, EFI_LIGHTGRAY|EFI_BACKGROUND_BLACK);
         uefi_call_wrapper(ST->ConOut->ClearScreen, 1, ST->ConOut);
 
-        Print(L"systemd-boot version:   " PACKAGE_VERSION "\n");
+        Print(L"systemd-boot version:   " GIT_VERSION "\n");
         Print(L"architecture:           " EFI_MACHINE_TYPE_NAME "\n");
         Print(L"loaded image:           %s\n", loaded_image_path);
         Print(L"UEFI specification:     %d.%02d\n", ST->Hdr.Revision >> 16, ST->Hdr.Revision & 0xffff);
@@ -804,7 +804,7 @@ static BOOLEAN menu_run(
                         break;
 
                 case KEYPRESS(0, 0, 'v'):
-                        status = PoolPrint(L"systemd-boot " PACKAGE_VERSION " (" EFI_MACHINE_TYPE_NAME "), UEFI Specification %d.%02d, Vendor %s %d.%02d",
+                        status = PoolPrint(L"systemd-boot " GIT_VERSION " (" EFI_MACHINE_TYPE_NAME "), UEFI Specification %d.%02d, Vendor %s %d.%02d",
                                            ST->Hdr.Revision >> 16, ST->Hdr.Revision & 0xffff,
                                            ST->FirmwareVendor, ST->FirmwareRevision >> 16, ST->FirmwareRevision & 0xffff);
                         break;
@@ -2097,7 +2097,7 @@ EFI_STATUS efi_main(EFI_HANDLE image, EFI_SYSTEM_TABLE *sys_table) {
         InitializeLib(image, sys_table);
         init_usec = time_usec();
         efivar_set_time_usec(L"LoaderTimeInitUSec", init_usec);
-        efivar_set(L"LoaderInfo", L"systemd-boot " PACKAGE_VERSION, FALSE);
+        efivar_set(L"LoaderInfo", L"systemd-boot " GIT_VERSION, FALSE);
 
         infostr = PoolPrint(L"%s %d.%02d", ST->FirmwareVendor, ST->FirmwareRevision >> 16, ST->FirmwareRevision & 0xffff);
         efivar_set(L"LoaderFirmwareInfo", infostr, FALSE);
diff --git a/src/boot/efi/meson.build b/src/boot/efi/meson.build
index aa897c62a1..9c0ae5ace1 100644
--- a/src/boot/efi/meson.build
+++ b/src/boot/efi/meson.build
@@ -78,7 +78,6 @@ endif
 
 if have_gnu_efi
         efi_conf = configuration_data()
-        efi_conf.set_quoted('PACKAGE_VERSION', meson.project_version())
         efi_conf.set_quoted('EFI_MACHINE_TYPE_NAME', EFI_MACHINE_TYPE_NAME)
         efi_conf.set10('ENABLE_TPM', get_option('tpm'))
         efi_conf.set('SD_TPM_PCR', get_option('tpm-pcrindex'))
@@ -117,7 +116,8 @@ if have_gnu_efi
                         '-Wno-missing-field-initializers',
                         '-isystem', efi_incdir,
                         '-isystem', join_paths(efi_incdir, gnu_efi_path_arch),
-                        '-include', efi_config_h]
+                        '-include', efi_config_h,
+                        '-include', version_h]
         if efi_arch == 'x86_64'
                 compile_args += ['-mno-red-zone',
                                  '-mno-sse',
diff --git a/src/boot/efi/stub.c b/src/boot/efi/stub.c
index d11e555748..6b07879971 100644
--- a/src/boot/efi/stub.c
+++ b/src/boot/efi/stub.c
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 #include "util.h"
 
 /* magic string to find in the binary image */
-static const char __attribute__((used)) magic[] = "#### LoaderInfo: systemd-stub " PACKAGE_VERSION " ####";
+static const char __attribute__((used)) magic[] = "#### LoaderInfo: systemd-stub " GIT_VERSION " ####";
 
 static const EFI_GUID global_guid = EFI_GLOBAL_VARIABLE;
 
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ EFI_STATUS efi_main(EFI_HANDLE image, EFI_SYSTEM_TABLE *sys_table) {
 
         /* add StubInfo */
         if (efivar_get_raw(&global_guid, L"StubInfo", &b, &size) != EFI_SUCCESS)
-                efivar_set(L"StubInfo", L"systemd-stub " PACKAGE_VERSION, FALSE);
+                efivar_set(L"StubInfo", L"systemd-stub " GIT_VERSION, FALSE);
 
         if (szs[3] > 0)
                 graphics_splash((UINT8 *)((UINTN)loaded_image->ImageBase + addrs[3]), szs[3], NULL);
diff --git a/src/core/dbus-manager.c b/src/core/dbus-manager.c
index 8da07adfe7..88e4c6bb95 100644
--- a/src/core/dbus-manager.c
+++ b/src/core/dbus-manager.c
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ static UnitFileFlags unit_file_bools_to_flags(bool runtime, bool force) {
                (force   ? UNIT_FILE_FORCE   : 0);
 }
 
-static BUS_DEFINE_PROPERTY_GET_GLOBAL(property_get_version, "s", PACKAGE_VERSION);
+static BUS_DEFINE_PROPERTY_GET_GLOBAL(property_get_version, "s", GIT_VERSION);
 static BUS_DEFINE_PROPERTY_GET_GLOBAL(property_get_features, "s", SYSTEMD_FEATURES);
 static BUS_DEFINE_PROPERTY_GET_GLOBAL(property_get_architecture, "s", architecture_to_string(uname_architecture()));
 static BUS_DEFINE_PROPERTY_GET_GLOBAL(property_get_log_target, "s", log_target_to_string(log_get_target()));
diff --git a/src/core/main.c b/src/core/main.c
index 839dc062ff..bb86280c2d 100644
--- a/src/core/main.c
+++ b/src/core/main.c
@@ -1914,7 +1914,7 @@ static void log_execution_mode(bool *ret_first_boot) {
         if (arg_system) {
                 int v;
 
-                log_info(PACKAGE_STRING " running in %ssystem mode. (" SYSTEMD_FEATURES ")",
+                log_info("systemd " GIT_VERSION " running in %ssystem mode. (" SYSTEMD_FEATURES ")",
                          arg_action == ACTION_TEST ? "test " : "" );
 
                 v = detect_virtualization();
@@ -1942,7 +1942,7 @@ static void log_execution_mode(bool *ret_first_boot) {
                         _cleanup_free_ char *t;
 
                         t = uid_to_name(getuid());
-                        log_debug(PACKAGE_STRING " running in %suser mode for user " UID_FMT "/%s. (" SYSTEMD_FEATURES ")",
+                        log_debug("systemd " GIT_VERSION " running in %suser mode for user " UID_FMT "/%s. (" SYSTEMD_FEATURES ")",
                                   arg_action == ACTION_TEST ? " test" : "", getuid(), strna(t));
                 }
 
diff --git a/src/core/meson.build b/src/core/meson.build
index 450d6f72a9..85021bdc01 100644
--- a/src/core/meson.build
+++ b/src/core/meson.build
@@ -173,26 +173,19 @@ systemd_shutdown_sources = files('''
 '''.split())
 
 in_files = [['macros.systemd',   rpmmacrosdir],
-            ['triggers.systemd', ''],
+            ['system.conf',      pkgsysconfdir],
             ['systemd.pc',       pkgconfigdatadir],
-            ['system.conf',      pkgsysconfdir]]
+            ['triggers.systemd', '']]
 
 foreach item : in_files
         file = item[0]
         dir = item[1]
 
-        # If 'no', disable generation completely.
-        # If '', generate, but do not install.
-        if dir != 'no'
-                gen = configure_file(
-                        input : file + '.in',
-                        output : file,
-                        configuration : substs)
-                if dir != ''
-                        install_data(gen,
-                                     install_dir : dir)
-                endif
-        endif
+        configure_file(
+                input : file + '.in',
+                output : file,
+                configuration : substs,
+                install_dir : dir == 'no' ? '' : dir)
 endforeach
 
 install_data('org.freedesktop.systemd1.conf',
diff --git a/src/core/systemd.pc.in b/src/core/systemd.pc.in
index 655773ea8a..0dae950473 100644
--- a/src/core/systemd.pc.in
+++ b/src/core/systemd.pc.in
@@ -36,5 +36,5 @@ containeruidbasemax=@containeruidbasemax@
 
 Name: systemd
 Description: systemd System and Service Manager
-URL: @PACKAGE_URL@
-Version: @PACKAGE_VERSION@
+URL: @PROJECT_URL@
+Version: @PROJECT_VERSION@
diff --git a/src/import/curl-util.c b/src/import/curl-util.c
index 05b17c3c78..360628fe44 100644
--- a/src/import/curl-util.c
+++ b/src/import/curl-util.c
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 /* SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1+ */
 
 #include "alloc-util.h"
+#include "build.h"
 #include "curl-util.h"
 #include "fd-util.h"
 #include "locale-util.h"
@@ -283,7 +284,7 @@ int curl_glue_make(CURL **ret, const char *url, void *userdata) {
         if (curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_PRIVATE, userdata) != CURLE_OK)
                 return -EIO;
 
-        useragent = strjoina(program_invocation_short_name, "/" PACKAGE_VERSION);
+        useragent = strjoina(program_invocation_short_name, "/" GIT_VERSION);
         if (curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, useragent) != CURLE_OK)
                 return -EIO;
 
diff --git a/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.c b/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.c
index 1e08fcc554..ef3556f825 100644
--- a/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.c
+++ b/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.c
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include "sd-daemon.h"
 
 #include "alloc-util.h"
+#include "build.h"
 #include "conf-parser.h"
 #include "daemon-util.h"
 #include "def.h"
@@ -236,7 +237,7 @@ int start_upload(Uploader *u,
                         easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_VERBOSE, 1L, LOG_WARNING, );
 
                 easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_USERAGENT,
-                            "systemd-journal-upload " PACKAGE_STRING,
+                            "systemd-journal-upload " GIT_VERSION,
                             LOG_WARNING, );
 
                 if (arg_key || startswith(u->url, "https://")) {
diff --git a/src/libsystemd/libsystemd.pc.in b/src/libsystemd/libsystemd.pc.in
index c861905b67..a010dea2e9 100644
--- a/src/libsystemd/libsystemd.pc.in
+++ b/src/libsystemd/libsystemd.pc.in
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ includedir=@includedir@
 
 Name: systemd
 Description: systemd Library
-URL: @PACKAGE_URL@
-Version: @PACKAGE_VERSION@
+URL: @PROJECT_URL@
+Version: @PROJECT_VERSION@
 Libs: -L${libdir} -lsystemd
 Cflags: -I${includedir}
diff --git a/src/libsystemd/meson.build b/src/libsystemd/meson.build
index 05d4ea0e7f..67add387e6 100644
--- a/src/libsystemd/meson.build
+++ b/src/libsystemd/meson.build
@@ -109,9 +109,8 @@ libsystemd_static = static_library(
 
 libsystemd_sym = 'src/libsystemd/libsystemd.sym'
 
-libsystemd_pc = configure_file(
+configure_file(
         input : 'libsystemd.pc.in',
         output : 'libsystemd.pc',
-        configuration : substs)
-install_data(libsystemd_pc,
-             install_dir : pkgconfiglibdir)
+        configuration : substs,
+        install_dir : pkgconfiglibdir == 'no' ? '' : pkgconfiglibdir)
diff --git a/src/libsystemd/sd-hwdb/hwdb-util.c b/src/libsystemd/sd-hwdb/hwdb-util.c
index c5c329f2ac..f8529670b3 100644
--- a/src/libsystemd/sd-hwdb/hwdb-util.c
+++ b/src/libsystemd/sd-hwdb/hwdb-util.c
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ static int trie_store(struct trie *trie, const char *filename, bool compat) {
         int64_t size;
         struct trie_header_f h = {
                 .signature = HWDB_SIG,
-                .tool_version = htole64(atoi(PACKAGE_VERSION)),
+                .tool_version = htole64(PROJECT_VERSION),
                 .header_size = htole64(sizeof(struct trie_header_f)),
                 .node_size = htole64(sizeof(struct trie_node_f)),
                 .child_entry_size = htole64(sizeof(struct trie_child_entry_f)),
diff --git a/src/libudev/libudev.pc.in b/src/libudev/libudev.pc.in
index 69f5c6463e..40b340362e 100644
--- a/src/libudev/libudev.pc.in
+++ b/src/libudev/libudev.pc.in
@@ -14,6 +14,6 @@ includedir=@includedir@
 
 Name: libudev
 Description: Library to access udev device information
-Version: @PACKAGE_VERSION@
+Version: @PROJECT_VERSION@
 Libs: -L${libdir} -ludev
 Cflags: -I${includedir}
diff --git a/src/libudev/meson.build b/src/libudev/meson.build
index 8d86c34189..88189748d3 100644
--- a/src/libudev/meson.build
+++ b/src/libudev/meson.build
@@ -22,9 +22,8 @@ libudev_sym_path = meson.current_source_dir() + '/libudev.sym'
 install_headers('libudev.h')
 libudev_h_path = '@0@/libudev.h'.format(meson.current_source_dir())
 
-libudev_pc = configure_file(
+configure_file(
         input : 'libudev.pc.in',
         output : 'libudev.pc',
-        configuration : substs)
-install_data(libudev_pc,
-             install_dir : pkgconfiglibdir)
+        configuration : substs,
+        install_dir : pkgconfiglibdir == 'no' ? '' : pkgconfiglibdir)
diff --git a/src/test/test-libudev.c b/src/test/test-libudev.c
index 10bf365035..53c9e5f745 100644
--- a/src/test/test-libudev.c
+++ b/src/test/test-libudev.c
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #include <unistd.h>
 
 #include "alloc-util.h"
+#include "build.h"
 #include "fd-util.h"
 #include "libudev-list-internal.h"
 #include "libudev-util.h"
@@ -507,7 +508,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                         return EXIT_SUCCESS;
 
                 case 'V':
-                        printf("%s\n", PACKAGE_VERSION);
+                        printf("%s\n", GIT_VERSION);
                         return EXIT_SUCCESS;
 
                 case 'm':
diff --git a/src/test/test-path-util.c b/src/test/test-path-util.c
index 8854a94f6c..c64ca7b016 100644
--- a/src/test/test-path-util.c
+++ b/src/test/test-path-util.c
@@ -531,7 +531,7 @@ static void test_hidden_or_backup_file(void) {
 
 static void test_systemd_installation_has_version(const char *path) {
         int r;
-        const unsigned versions[] = {0, 231, atoi(PACKAGE_VERSION), 999};
+        const unsigned versions[] = {0, 231, PROJECT_VERSION, 999};
         unsigned i;
 
         for (i = 0; i < ELEMENTSOF(versions); i++) {
diff --git a/src/test/test-udev.c b/src/test/test-udev.c
index 7a4622b875..ab31f5a2f1 100644
--- a/src/test/test-udev.c
+++ b/src/test/test-udev.c
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 #include <sys/signalfd.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 
+#include "build.h"
 #include "device-private.h"
 #include "fs-util.h"
 #include "log.h"
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ static int run(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                 return 0;
         }
 
-        log_debug("version %s", PACKAGE_VERSION);
+        log_debug("version %s", GIT_VERSION);
         mac_selinux_init();
 
         action = argv[1];
diff --git a/src/udev/meson.build b/src/udev/meson.build
index e378d9190c..a9d6c6363f 100644
--- a/src/udev/meson.build
+++ b/src/udev/meson.build
@@ -187,12 +187,11 @@ endforeach
 install_data('udev.conf',
              install_dir : join_paths(sysconfdir, 'udev'))
 
-udev_pc = configure_file(
+configure_file(
         input : 'udev.pc.in',
         output : 'udev.pc',
-        configuration : substs)
-install_data(udev_pc,
-             install_dir : pkgconfigdatadir)
+        configuration : substs,
+        install_dir : pkgconfigdatadir == 'no' ? '' : pkgconfigdatadir)
 
 meson.add_install_script('sh', '-c',
                          mkdir_p.format(join_paths(sysconfdir, 'udev/rules.d')))
diff --git a/src/udev/scsi_id/scsi_id.c b/src/udev/scsi_id/scsi_id.c
index e94f2946f9..2698cdd82f 100644
--- a/src/udev/scsi_id/scsi_id.c
+++ b/src/udev/scsi_id/scsi_id.c
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 #include <unistd.h>
 
 #include "alloc-util.h"
+#include "build.h"
 #include "fd-util.h"
 #include "libudev-util.h"
 #include "scsi_id.h"
@@ -370,7 +371,7 @@ static int set_options(int argc, char **argv,
                         break;
 
                 case 'V':
-                        printf("%s\n", PACKAGE_VERSION);
+                        printf("%s\n", GIT_VERSION);
                         exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
 
                 case 'x':
diff --git a/src/udev/udev-ctrl.c b/src/udev/udev-ctrl.c
index d90ebb7259..cb36c7e537 100644
--- a/src/udev/udev-ctrl.c
+++ b/src/udev/udev-ctrl.c
@@ -214,13 +214,11 @@ static struct udev_ctrl_connection *udev_ctrl_connection_free(struct udev_ctrl_c
 DEFINE_TRIVIAL_REF_UNREF_FUNC(struct udev_ctrl_connection, udev_ctrl_connection, udev_ctrl_connection_free);
 
 static int ctrl_send(struct udev_ctrl *uctrl, enum udev_ctrl_msg_type type, int intval, const char *buf, int timeout) {
-        struct udev_ctrl_msg_wire ctrl_msg_wire;
-        int err = 0;
-
-        memzero(&ctrl_msg_wire, sizeof(struct udev_ctrl_msg_wire));
-        strcpy(ctrl_msg_wire.version, "udev-" PACKAGE_VERSION);
-        ctrl_msg_wire.magic = UDEV_CTRL_MAGIC;
-        ctrl_msg_wire.type = type;
+        struct udev_ctrl_msg_wire ctrl_msg_wire = {
+                .version = "udev-" STRINGIFY(PROJECT_VERSION),
+                .magic = UDEV_CTRL_MAGIC,
+                .type = type,
+        };
 
         if (buf)
                 strscpy(ctrl_msg_wire.buf, sizeof(ctrl_msg_wire.buf), buf);
@@ -228,43 +226,33 @@ static int ctrl_send(struct udev_ctrl *uctrl, enum udev_ctrl_msg_type type, int
                 ctrl_msg_wire.intval = intval;
 
         if (!uctrl->connected) {
-                if (connect(uctrl->sock, &uctrl->saddr.sa, uctrl->addrlen) < 0) {
-                        err = -errno;
-                        goto out;
-                }
+                if (connect(uctrl->sock, &uctrl->saddr.sa, uctrl->addrlen) < 0)
+                        return -errno;
                 uctrl->connected = true;
         }
-        if (send(uctrl->sock, &ctrl_msg_wire, sizeof(ctrl_msg_wire), 0) < 0) {
-                err = -errno;
-                goto out;
-        }
+        if (send(uctrl->sock, &ctrl_msg_wire, sizeof(ctrl_msg_wire), 0) < 0)
+                return -errno;
 
         /* wait for peer message handling or disconnect */
         for (;;) {
-                struct pollfd pfd[1];
+                struct pollfd pfd = {
+                        .fd = uctrl->sock,
+                        .events = POLLIN,
+                };
                 int r;
 
-                pfd[0].fd = uctrl->sock;
-                pfd[0].events = POLLIN;
-                r = poll(pfd, 1, timeout * MSEC_PER_SEC);
+                r = poll(&pfd, 1, timeout * MSEC_PER_SEC);
                 if (r < 0) {
                         if (errno == EINTR)
                                 continue;
-                        err = -errno;
-                        break;
+                        return -errno;
                 }
-
-                if (r > 0 && pfd[0].revents & POLLERR) {
-                        err = -EIO;
-                        break;
-                }
-
                 if (r == 0)
-                        err = -ETIMEDOUT;
-                break;
+                        return -ETIMEDOUT;
+                if (pfd.revents & POLLERR)
+                        return -EIO;
+                return 0;
         }
-out:
-        return err;
 }
 
 int udev_ctrl_send_set_log_level(struct udev_ctrl *uctrl, int priority, int timeout) {
diff --git a/src/udev/udev.pc.in b/src/udev/udev.pc.in
index e384a6f7c9..5acbb2d01a 100644
--- a/src/udev/udev.pc.in
+++ b/src/udev/udev.pc.in
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 Name: udev
 Description: udev
-Version: @PACKAGE_VERSION@
+Version: @PROJECT_VERSION@
 
 udevdir=@udevlibexecdir@
diff --git a/src/udev/udevadm.h b/src/udev/udevadm.h
index 98f9019a48..86b24af086 100644
--- a/src/udev/udevadm.h
+++ b/src/udev/udevadm.h
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@
 
 #include <stdio.h>
 
+#include "build.h"
+#include "macro.h"
+
 int info_main(int argc, char *argv[], void *userdata);
 int trigger_main(int argc, char *argv[], void *userdata);
 int settle_main(int argc, char *argv[], void *userdata);
@@ -13,6 +16,7 @@ int test_main(int argc, char *argv[], void *userdata);
 int builtin_main(int argc, char *argv[], void *userdata);
 
 static inline int print_version(void) {
-        puts(PACKAGE_VERSION);
+        /* Dracut relies on the version being a single integer */
+        puts(STRINGIFY(PROJECT_VERSION));
         return 0;
 }
diff --git a/src/udev/udevd.c b/src/udev/udevd.c
index fb8724ea87..ed5c3eb5dd 100644
--- a/src/udev/udevd.c
+++ b/src/udev/udevd.c
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 #include "sd-event.h"
 
 #include "alloc-util.h"
+#include "build.h"
 #include "cgroup-util.h"
 #include "cpu-set-util.h"
 #include "dev-setup.h"
@@ -1579,7 +1580,7 @@ static int parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                 case 'h':
                         return help();
                 case 'V':
-                        printf("%s\n", PACKAGE_VERSION);
+                        printf("%s\n", GIT_VERSION);
                         return 0;
                 case '?':
                         return -EINVAL;
@@ -1834,7 +1835,7 @@ static int run(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         if (arg_daemonize) {
                 pid_t pid;
 
-                log_info("starting version " PACKAGE_VERSION);
+                log_info("starting version " GIT_VERSION);
 
                 /* connect /dev/null to stdin, stdout, stderr */
                 if (log_get_max_level() < LOG_DEBUG) {
diff --git a/tools/meson-vcs-tag.sh b/tools/meson-vcs-tag.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..c8033d00a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/meson-vcs-tag.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -eu
+set -o pipefail
+
+dir="$1"
+tag="$2"
+fallback="$3"
+
+if [ -n "$tag" ]; then
+        echo "$tag"
+        exit 0
+fi
+
+# Apparently git describe has a bug where it always considers the work-tree
+# dirty when invoked with --git-dir (even though 'git status' is happy). Work
+# around this issue by cd-ing to the source directory.
+cd "$dir" && git describe --abbrev=7 --dirty=+ 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^v//' || echo "$fallback"