add the version script

README.md

@@ -170,6 +170,22 @@ refresh
 
 This will download the latest repo and run through the original installation script adding any "new" applications or services. You should run "update" after running "refresh".
 
+### Which version am I running?
+
+CoreDesktop is a rolling release, so its version is the date of the latest CoreDesktop change on your machine, followed by that change's id. To see it, run in the terminal:
+
+```
+version
+```
+
+```
+CoreDesktop  2026.10.22 (c5f0651)
+Kernel       7.2.11-arch1-1
+Last update  2026-10-22 13:43
+```
+
+The kernel comes from Arch, so it's shown separately. If a newer kernel is waiting for a reboot, "version" says so.
+
 ### Sibling projects
 
 A sibling project is another git repository that builds on CoreDesktop. To install one, run in the terminal:

install.sh

@@ -53,11 +53,12 @@ cd ~/.local/share/coredesktop
 # Source utility functions (provides install_packages and other helpers)
 source utils.sh
 
-# Install the refresh, update and sibling management scripts to the user's bin
+# Install the refresh, update, sibling and version scripts to the user's bin
 mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
 install_script ~/.local/share/coredesktop/refresh ~/.local/bin/refresh
 install_script ~/.local/share/coredesktop/update ~/.local/bin/update
 install_script ~/.local/share/coredesktop/sibling ~/.local/bin/sibling
+install_script ~/.local/share/coredesktop/version ~/.local/bin/version
 
 # Source the package list (defines SYSTEM_UTILS, DEV_TOOLS, DESKTOP, etc. arrays)
 if [ ! -f "packages.conf" ]; then

update

@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ mkdir -p "$COREDESKTOP/updates.d"
 install_script "$COREDESKTOP/update" ~/.local/bin/update
 install_script "$COREDESKTOP/refresh" ~/.local/bin/refresh
 install_script "$COREDESKTOP/sibling" ~/.local/bin/sibling
+install_script "$COREDESKTOP/version" ~/.local/bin/version
 
 if [[ -z "$UPDATE_REEXECED" ]]; then
     export UPDATE_REEXECED=1

version

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Purpose : Show which version of CoreDesktop this machine is running
+#
+# CoreDesktop is a rolling release, so its version is the date of the commit
+# the local checkout is on, plus the short hash to tell same-day commits apart,
+# e.g. 2026.10.22 (c5f0651). The kernel is shown separately because it comes
+# from Arch, not CoreDesktop.
+
+COREDESKTOP="$HOME/.local/share/coredesktop"
+
+source "$COREDESKTOP/utils.sh"
+
+if ! git -C "$COREDESKTOP" rev-parse --git-dir &> /dev/null; then
+  echo "CoreDesktop isn't installed in $COREDESKTOP."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+version="$(git -C "$COREDESKTOP" log -1 --format='%cd (%h)' --date=format:%Y.%m.%d)"
+
+# Local edits to the checkout mean this isn't exactly the version above
+if [ -n "$(git -C "$COREDESKTOP" status --porcelain --untracked-files=no)" ]; then
+  version="$version, modified"
+fi
+
+kernel="$(uname -r)"
+# If the running kernel's modules are gone, a newer kernel was installed
+if [ ! -d "/usr/lib/modules/$kernel" ]; then
+  kernel="$kernel (newer kernel installed, reboot to use it)"
+fi
+
+# 10-pacman.sh rewrites this log on every update
+if [ -f "$PACMAN_UPDATE_LOG" ]; then
+  last_update="$(date -r "$PACMAN_UPDATE_LOG" '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')"
+else
+  last_update="never"
+fi
+
+echo "CoreDesktop  $version"
+echo "Kernel       $kernel"
+echo "Last update  $last_update"