diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 0e457541ebf..ad94b94eb21 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ cmake_python_include_dir = distutils.sysconfig.get_python_inc()
 # Version, create_version_file, and package_name
 ################################################################################
 package_name = os.getenv('TORCH_PACKAGE_NAME', 'torch')
-version = '1.3.0a0'
+version = open('version.txt', 'r').read().strip()
 sha = 'Unknown'
 
 try:
diff --git a/version.txt b/version.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c4150fa5bb5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/version.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+1.3.0a0