diff --git a/lib/discourse.rb b/lib/discourse.rb
index 845aaf48248..e8cb003db54 100644
--- a/lib/discourse.rb
+++ b/lib/discourse.rb
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ module Discourse
     begin
       $git_version ||= `git rev-parse HEAD`.strip
     rescue
-      $git_version = "unknown"
+      $git_version = Discourse::VERSION::STRING
     end
   end