diff --git a/bin/cdist-build-helper b/bin/cdist-build-helper
index cadddae7..0a4b710a 100755
--- a/bin/cdist-build-helper
+++ b/bin/cdist-build-helper
@@ -534,7 +534,8 @@ eof
     ;;
 
     version)
-        printf "VERSION = \"%s\"\n" "$(git describe)" > cdist/version.py
+        target_version="$(git describe | sed 's/-/.dev/' | sed 's/-/+/g')"
+        printf "VERSION = \"%s\"\n" "${target_version}" > cdist/version.py
     ;;
 
     target-version)