diff --git a/app/sovran_systemsos_web/server.py b/app/sovran_systemsos_web/server.py
index cae8f6d..0102362 100644
--- a/app/sovran_systemsos_web/server.py
+++ b/app/sovran_systemsos_web/server.py
@@ -2275,18 +2275,39 @@ async def api_logout(request: Request):
 
 
 def _get_sovran_version() -> str:
-    """Read the OS version from the VERSION file."""
+    """Read the OS version to display in the Hub header.
+
+    Resolution order (first match wins):
+      1. ``sovran_version`` baked into the Nix-generated config.json — this
+         is the authoritative, build-time value and is what's used on a
+         real Sovran_SystemsOS install.
+      2. ``/etc/nixos/VERSION`` — present on an installed system.
+      3. A ``VERSION`` file shipped next to this package (installed by the
+         Nix build) or in the repo root (local development checkout).
+      4. A hard-coded fallback so the badge never renders a broken/empty
+         value such as the old "vdev" placeholder.
+    """
     try:
-        with open("/etc/nixos/VERSION", "r") as f:
-            return f.read().strip()
-    except FileNotFoundError:
-        try:
-            with open("VERSION", "r") as f:  # fallback for development
-                return f.read().strip()
-        except FileNotFoundError:
-            return "dev"
+        version = load_config().get("sovran_version")
+        if version:
+            return str(version).strip().lstrip("vV")
     except Exception:
-        return "dev"
+        pass
+
+    for candidate in (
+        "/etc/nixos/VERSION",
+        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)), "VERSION"),
+        "VERSION",
+    ):
+        try:
+            with open(candidate, "r") as f:
+                version = f.read().strip().lstrip("vV")
+                if version and version.lower() != "dev":
+                    return version
+        except (FileNotFoundError, OSError):
+            continue
+
+    return "1.0.0"
 
 
 @app.get("/", response_class=HTMLResponse)
diff --git a/app/sovran_systemsos_web/static/css/header.css b/app/sovran_systemsos_web/static/css/header.css
index 89d4a48..3e81293 100644
--- a/app/sovran_systemsos_web/static/css/header.css
+++ b/app/sovran_systemsos_web/static/css/header.css
@@ -29,6 +29,14 @@
   color: var(--text-primary);
 }
 
+.title-group {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  align-items: flex-start;
+  justify-content: center;
+  gap: 2px;
+}
+
 .header-buttons {
   display: flex;
   align-items: center;
@@ -58,8 +66,8 @@
   color: #4ade80;
   box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
   transition: all 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
-  margin-left: 12px;
   white-space: nowrap;
+  align-self: flex-start;
 }
 
 .os-version-badge:hover {
diff --git a/app/sovran_systemsos_web/templates/index.html b/app/sovran_systemsos_web/templates/index.html
index bcdaa11..4b80669 100644
--- a/app/sovran_systemsos_web/templates/index.html
+++ b/app/sovran_systemsos_web/templates/index.html
@@ -21,13 +21,16 @@
   <!-- Header bar -->
   <header class="header-bar">
     <img src="/static/sovran-hub-icon.svg" alt="Sovran Hub" class="header-logo" />
-    <span class="title">Sovran_SystemsOS Hub</span>
-    
-    <!-- OS Version Badge -->
-    <span class="os-version-badge" id="os-version-badge" title="Sovran_SystemsOS Version">
-      <span class="version-label">v</span>
-      <span class="version-number" id="version-number">{{ sovran_version }}</span>
-    </span>
+
+    <div class="title-group">
+      <span class="title">Sovran_SystemsOS Hub</span>
+
+      <!-- OS Version Badge -->
+      <span class="os-version-badge" id="os-version-badge" title="Sovran_SystemsOS Version">
+        <span class="version-label">v</span>
+        <span class="version-number" id="version-number">{{ sovran_version }}</span>
+      </span>
+    </div>
 
     <div class="header-buttons">
       <span class="role-badge" id="role-badge">Loading…</span>
diff --git a/modules/core/sovran-hub.nix b/modules/core/sovran-hub.nix
index 6eb4670..2ed7bdc 100644
--- a/modules/core/sovran-hub.nix
+++ b/modules/core/sovran-hub.nix
@@ -3,6 +3,16 @@
 let
   cfg = config.sovran_systemsOS;
 
+  # Read the OS version from the repo-root VERSION file at eval time so the
+  # Hub always ships a real, baked-in version string instead of relying on
+  # a runtime file lookup (which returns "dev" when /etc/nixos/VERSION is
+  # missing, e.g. in a dev checkout — this is the "vdev" bug in the Hub UI).
+  versionFile = ../../VERSION;
+  sovranVersion =
+    if builtins.pathExists versionFile
+    then builtins.replaceStrings [ "v" "\n" "\r" ] [ "" "" "" ] (builtins.readFile versionFile)
+    else "1.0.0";
+
   monitoredServices =
     # ── Infrastructure — System Passwords (always present) ─────
     [
@@ -116,6 +126,7 @@ let
       role             = activeRole;
       services         = monitoredServices;
       feature_manager  = true;
+      sovran_version   = sovranVersion;
     });
 
   generatedVersions = pkgs.writeText "sovran-hub-versions.json" (builtins.toJSON {
@@ -331,6 +342,7 @@ let
 
       cp ${generatedConfig} $out/lib/sovran-hub-web/config.json
       cp ${generatedVersions} $out/lib/sovran-hub-web/versions.json
+      printf '%s' "${sovranVersion}" > $out/lib/sovran-hub-web/VERSION
 
       install -d $out/share/sovran-hub/icons
       cp icons/* $out/share/sovran-hub/icons/ 2>/dev/null || true