diff --git a/docs/conf.py b/docs/conf.py
index fbcd61065..018d2afed 100644
--- a/docs/conf.py
+++ b/docs/conf.py
@@ -12,13 +12,22 @@
 # All configuration values have a default; values that are commented out
 # serve to show the default.
 
-import sys
+import codecs
 import os
+import re
+import sys
+
+here = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+
+# read version number (and other metadata) from package init
+init_fn = os.path.join(here, '..', 'letsencrypt', '__init__.py')
+with codecs.open(init_fn, encoding='utf8') as fd:
+    meta = dict(re.findall(r"""__([a-z]+)__ = "([^"]+)""", fd.read()))
 
 # If extensions (or modules to document with autodoc) are in another directory,
 # add these directories to sys.path here. If the directory is relative to the
 # documentation root, use os.path.abspath to make it absolute, like shown here.
-#sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('.'))
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath(os.path.join(here, '..')))
 
 # -- General configuration ------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -58,9 +67,9 @@ copyright = u'2014, Let\'s Encrypt Project'
 # built documents.
 #
 # The short X.Y version.
-version = '0.1'
+version = '.'.join(meta['version'].split('.')[:2])
 # The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags.
-release = '0.1'
+release = meta['version']
 
 # The language for content autogenerated by Sphinx. Refer to documentation
 # for a list of supported languages.
diff --git a/letsencrypt/__init__.py b/letsencrypt/__init__.py
index 9fe93c4db..b36747b5f 100644
--- a/letsencrypt/__init__.py
+++ b/letsencrypt/__init__.py
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 """Let's Encrypt."""
+# version number like 1.2.3a0, must have at least 2 parts, like 1.2
 __version__ = "0.1"