diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5bc7c22..e72a419 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,12 @@ elfmem uses [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
 
 ---
 
+## [0.8.0] — 2026-04-28
+
+### Added
+- **`elfmem --version` / `-V` CLI flag:** Prints installed version and exits. Version is read from package metadata (`importlib.metadata`), single source of truth in `pyproject.toml`.
+- **`elfmem.__version__`:** Exported from the package root for programmatic access.
+
 ## [0.7.0] — 2026-04-28
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 43d1edf..f9595ba 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "elfmem"
-version = "0.7.0"
+version = "0.8.0"
 description = "Adaptive memory for LLM agents — adaptive decay, knowledge graph, zero infrastructure"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
diff --git a/src/elfmem/__init__.py b/src/elfmem/__init__.py
index f4f8fbc..9476aa9 100644
--- a/src/elfmem/__init__.py
+++ b/src/elfmem/__init__.py
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
     s = await system.status()       # health snapshot + suggested action
 """
 
+from importlib.metadata import version as _version
+
 from elfmem.api import MemorySystem
 from elfmem.config import ElfmemConfig, LoggingConfig
 from elfmem.exceptions import (
@@ -56,7 +58,10 @@
     TokenUsage,
 )
 
+__version__ = _version("elfmem")
+
 __all__ = [
+    "__version__",
     # Core
     "MemorySystem",
     "ElfmemConfig",
diff --git a/src/elfmem/cli.py b/src/elfmem/cli.py
index c92d3c5..a9802bc 100644
--- a/src/elfmem/cli.py
+++ b/src/elfmem/cli.py
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
         "  pip install 'elfmem[cli]'  or  uv add 'elfmem[cli]'"
     ) from None
 
+from elfmem import __version__
 from elfmem import project as _project
 from elfmem.api import MemorySystem, format_recall_response
 from elfmem.exceptions import ElfmemError
@@ -56,6 +57,13 @@
     SystemStatus,
 )
 
+
+def _version_callback(value: bool) -> None:
+    if value:
+        print(f"elfmem {__version__}")
+        raise typer.Exit()
+
+
 app = typer.Typer(
     name="elfmem",
     help="Adaptive memory for AI agents.",
@@ -63,6 +71,21 @@
 )
 
 
+@app.callback()
+def _main(
+    version: Annotated[
+        bool,
+        typer.Option(
+            "--version", "-V",
+            help="Show version and exit.",
+            callback=_version_callback,
+            is_eager=True,
+        ),
+    ] = False,
+) -> None:
+    """Adaptive memory for AI agents."""
+
+
 # ── Shared helpers ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────