diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index cedff8fb37..ee2de376a6 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -210,6 +210,8 @@ uptime-*.json
 /src/lib/libtor-tls.a
 /src/lib/libtor-tls-testing.a
 /src/lib/libtor-trace.a
+/src/lib/libtor-version.a
+/src/lib/libtor-version-testing.a
 /src/lib/libtor-wallclock.a
 /src/lib/libtor-wallclock-testing.a
 
diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index e5c1be31b5..cb76edfa2f 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ TOR_UTIL_LIBS = \
 	src/lib/libtor-malloc.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-wallclock.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-err.a \
+	src/lib/libtor-version.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-intmath.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-ctime.a
 
@@ -91,6 +92,7 @@ TOR_UTIL_TESTING_LIBS = \
 	src/lib/libtor-malloc-testing.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-wallclock-testing.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-err-testing.a \
+	src/lib/libtor-version-testing.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-intmath.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-ctime-testing.a
 endif
diff --git a/src/app/config/config.c b/src/app/config/config.c
index 6e7e131055..7b49387bcf 100644
--- a/src/app/config/config.c
+++ b/src/app/config/config.c
@@ -112,9 +112,9 @@
 #include "lib/crypt_ops/crypto_rand.h"
 #include "lib/crypt_ops/crypto_util.h"
 #include "lib/encoding/confline.h"
-#include "lib/log/git_revision.h"
 #include "lib/net/resolve.h"
 #include "lib/sandbox/sandbox.h"
+#include "lib/version/torversion.h"
 
 #ifdef ENABLE_NSS
 #include "lib/crypt_ops/crypto_nss_mgt.h"
@@ -972,42 +972,6 @@ set_options(or_options_t *new_val, char **msg)
   return 0;
 }
 
-/** The version of this Tor process, as parsed. */
-static char *the_tor_version = NULL;
-/** A shorter version of this Tor process's version, for export in our router
- *  descriptor.  (Does not include the git version, if any.) */
-static char *the_short_tor_version = NULL;
-
-/** Return the current Tor version. */
-const char *
-get_version(void)
-{
-  if (the_tor_version == NULL) {
-    if (strlen(tor_git_revision)) {
-      tor_asprintf(&the_tor_version, "%s (git-%s)", get_short_version(),
-                   tor_git_revision);
-    } else {
-      the_tor_version = tor_strdup(get_short_version());
-    }
-  }
-  return the_tor_version;
-}
-
-/** Return the current Tor version, without any git tag. */
-const char *
-get_short_version(void)
-{
-
-  if (the_short_tor_version == NULL) {
-#ifdef TOR_BUILD_TAG
-    tor_asprintf(&the_short_tor_version, "%s (%s)", VERSION, TOR_BUILD_TAG);
-#else
-    the_short_tor_version = tor_strdup(VERSION);
-#endif
-  }
-  return the_short_tor_version;
-}
-
 /** Release additional memory allocated in options
  */
 STATIC void
@@ -1067,9 +1031,6 @@ config_free_all(void)
   tor_free(torrc_defaults_fname);
   tor_free(global_dirfrontpagecontents);
 
-  tor_free(the_short_tor_version);
-  tor_free(the_tor_version);
-
   cleanup_protocol_warning_severity_level();
 
   have_parsed_cmdline = 0;
diff --git a/src/app/config/config.h b/src/app/config/config.h
index a169cfd451..4c497b83a6 100644
--- a/src/app/config/config.h
+++ b/src/app/config/config.h
@@ -41,8 +41,6 @@ const char *escaped_safe_str_client(const char *address);
 const char *escaped_safe_str(const char *address);
 void init_protocol_warning_severity_level(void);
 int get_protocol_warning_severity_level(void);
-const char *get_version(void);
-const char *get_short_version(void);
 
 /** An error from options_trial_assign() or options_init_from_string(). */
 typedef enum setopt_err_t {
diff --git a/src/app/config/statefile.c b/src/app/config/statefile.c
index 8a8b7ced01..4ba7be1519 100644
--- a/src/app/config/statefile.c
+++ b/src/app/config/statefile.c
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@
 #include "app/config/statefile.h"
 #include "lib/encoding/confline.h"
 #include "lib/net/resolve.h"
+#include "lib/version/torversion.h"
 
 #include "app/config/or_state_st.h"
 
diff --git a/src/app/main/main.c b/src/app/main/main.c
index 444d6ea7ec..031f570097 100644
--- a/src/app/main/main.c
+++ b/src/app/main/main.c
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@
 #include "lib/encoding/confline.h"
 #include "lib/evloop/timers.h"
 #include "lib/crypt_ops/crypto_init.h"
+#include "lib/version/torversion.h"
 
 #include <event2/event.h>
 
diff --git a/src/feature/control/control.c b/src/feature/control/control.c
index 3fa47747eb..b31b448e96 100644
--- a/src/feature/control/control.c
+++ b/src/feature/control/control.c
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@
 #include "lib/crypt_ops/crypto_util.h"
 #include "lib/encoding/confline.h"
 #include "lib/evloop/compat_libevent.h"
+#include "lib/version/torversion.h"
 
 #include "feature/dircache/cached_dir_st.h"
 #include "feature/control/control_connection_st.h"
diff --git a/src/feature/dirauth/shared_random_state.c b/src/feature/dirauth/shared_random_state.c
index 38c7fd76d0..1ce06744d4 100644
--- a/src/feature/dirauth/shared_random_state.c
+++ b/src/feature/dirauth/shared_random_state.c
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 #include "feature/dirauth/shared_random_state.h"
 #include "feature/dircommon/voting_schedule.h"
 #include "lib/encoding/confline.h"
+#include "lib/version/torversion.h"
 
 #include "app/config/or_state_st.h"
 
diff --git a/src/feature/relay/router.c b/src/feature/relay/router.c
index 3a819f592c..9d61ced11c 100644
--- a/src/feature/relay/router.c
+++ b/src/feature/relay/router.c
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
 #include "lib/encoding/confline.h"
 #include "lib/osinfo/uname.h"
 #include "lib/tls/tortls.h"
+#include "lib/version/torversion.h"
 
 #include "feature/dirauth/authmode.h"
 
diff --git a/src/include.am b/src/include.am
index 247b0db8da..8279499936 100644
--- a/src/include.am
+++ b/src/include.am
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ include src/lib/thread/include.am
 include src/lib/time/include.am
 include src/lib/tls/include.am
 include src/lib/trace/include.am
+include src/lib/version/include.am
 include src/lib/wallclock/include.am
 include src/trunnel/include.am
 
diff --git a/src/lib/log/.may_include b/src/lib/log/.may_include
index 852173aab3..7ca1863a52 100644
--- a/src/lib/log/.may_include
+++ b/src/lib/log/.may_include
@@ -10,6 +10,5 @@ lib/log/*.h
 lib/malloc/*.h
 lib/string/*.h
 lib/testsupport/*.h
+lib/version/*.h
 lib/wallclock/*.h
-
-micro-revision.i
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/lib/log/include.am b/src/lib/log/include.am
index 4a6c9b3686..c6f404e269 100644
--- a/src/lib/log/include.am
+++ b/src/lib/log/include.am
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ endif
 
 src_lib_libtor_log_a_SOURCES =			\
 	src/lib/log/escape.c			\
-        src/lib/log/git_revision.c              \
 	src/lib/log/ratelim.c			\
 	src/lib/log/log.c			\
 	src/lib/log/util_bug.c
@@ -21,15 +20,8 @@ src_lib_libtor_log_testing_a_SOURCES = \
 src_lib_libtor_log_testing_a_CPPFLAGS = $(AM_CPPFLAGS) $(TEST_CPPFLAGS)
 src_lib_libtor_log_testing_a_CFLAGS = $(AM_CFLAGS) $(TEST_CFLAGS)
 
-# Declare that these object files depend on micro-revision.i.  Without this
-# rule, we could try to build them before micro-revision.i was created.
-src/lib/log/git_revision.$(OBJEXT) \
-  src/lib/log/src_lib_libtor_log_testing_a-git_revision.$(OBJEXT): \
-	micro-revision.i
-
 noinst_HEADERS +=					\
 	src/lib/log/escape.h				\
-        src/lib/log/git_revision.h                      \
 	src/lib/log/ratelim.h				\
 	src/lib/log/log.h				\
 	src/lib/log/util_bug.h				\
diff --git a/src/lib/log/log.c b/src/lib/log/log.c
index d60ce6308a..bc7b36dcb9 100644
--- a/src/lib/log/log.c
+++ b/src/lib/log/log.c
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 
 #define LOG_PRIVATE
 #include "lib/log/log.h"
-#include "lib/log/git_revision.h"
+#include "lib/version/git_revision.h"
 #include "lib/log/ratelim.h"
 #include "lib/lock/compat_mutex.h"
 #include "lib/smartlist_core/smartlist_core.h"
diff --git a/src/lib/version/.may_include b/src/lib/version/.may_include
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d159ceb41f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/version/.may_include
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+orconfig.h
+micro-revision.i
+lib/version/*.h
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/lib/log/git_revision.c b/src/lib/version/git_revision.c
similarity index 94%
rename from src/lib/log/git_revision.c
rename to src/lib/version/git_revision.c
index 9d29ecd2a2..e5b2ff534e 100644
--- a/src/lib/log/git_revision.c
+++ b/src/lib/version/git_revision.c
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 /* See LICENSE for licensing information */
 
 #include "orconfig.h"
-#include "lib/log/git_revision.h"
+#include "lib/version/git_revision.h"
 
 /** String describing which Tor Git repository version the source was
  * built from.  This string is generated by a bit of shell kludging in
diff --git a/src/lib/log/git_revision.h b/src/lib/version/git_revision.h
similarity index 100%
rename from src/lib/log/git_revision.h
rename to src/lib/version/git_revision.h
diff --git a/src/lib/version/include.am b/src/lib/version/include.am
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6944eb05e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/version/include.am
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+
+noinst_LIBRARIES += src/lib/libtor-version.a
+
+if UNITTESTS_ENABLED
+noinst_LIBRARIES += src/lib/libtor-version-testing.a
+endif
+
+src_lib_libtor_version_a_SOURCES =			\
+	src/lib/version/git_revision.c			\
+	src/lib/version/version.c
+
+src_lib_libtor_version_testing_a_SOURCES = \
+	$(src_lib_libtor_version_a_SOURCES)
+src_lib_libtor_version_testing_a_CPPFLAGS = $(AM_CPPFLAGS) $(TEST_CPPFLAGS)
+src_lib_libtor_version_testing_a_CFLAGS = $(AM_CFLAGS) $(TEST_CFLAGS)
+
+# Declare that these object files depend on micro-revision.i.  Without this
+# rule, we could try to build them before micro-revision.i was created.
+src/lib/version/git_revision.$(OBJEXT) \
+  src/lib/version/src_lib_libtor_version_testing_a-git_revision.$(OBJEXT): \
+	micro-revision.i
+
+noinst_HEADERS +=					\
+	src/lib/version/git_revision.h			\
+	src/lib/version/torversion.h
diff --git a/src/lib/version/torversion.h b/src/lib/version/torversion.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..761d6f25ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/version/torversion.h
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+/* Copyright 2001-2004 Roger Dingledine.
+ * Copyright (c) 2004-2006, Roger Dingledine, Nick Mathewson.
+ * Copyright (c) 2007-2018, The Tor Project, Inc. */
+/* See LICENSE for licensing information */
+
+#ifndef TOR_VERSION_H
+#define TOR_VERSION_H
+
+const char *get_version(void);
+const char *get_short_version(void);
+
+#endif /* !defined(TOR_VERSION_H) */
diff --git a/src/lib/version/version.c b/src/lib/version/version.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..29ada39c9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/version/version.c
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/* Copyright 2001-2004 Roger Dingledine.
+ * Copyright (c) 2004-2006, Roger Dingledine, Nick Mathewson.
+ * Copyright (c) 2007-2018, The Tor Project, Inc. */
+/* See LICENSE for licensing information */
+
+#include "orconfig.h"
+#include "lib/version/torversion.h"
+#include "lib/version/git_revision.h"
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+/** A shorter version of this Tor process's version, for export in our router
+ *  descriptor.  (Does not include the git version, if any.) */
+static const char the_short_tor_version[] =
+  VERSION
+#ifdef TOR_BUILD_TAG
+  " ("TOR_BUILD_TAG")"
+#endif
+  "";
+
+#define MAX_VERSION_LEN 128
+
+/** The version of this Tor process, possibly including git version */
+static char the_tor_version[MAX_VERSION_LEN] = "";
+
+/** Return the current Tor version. */
+const char *
+get_version(void)
+{
+  if (the_tor_version[0] == 0) {
+    if (strlen(tor_git_revision)) {
+      snprintf(the_tor_version, sizeof(the_tor_version),
+               "%s (git-%s)", the_short_tor_version, tor_git_revision);
+    } else {
+      snprintf(the_tor_version, sizeof(the_tor_version),
+               "%s", the_short_tor_version);
+    }
+    the_tor_version[sizeof(the_tor_version)-1] = 0;
+  }
+
+  return the_tor_version;
+}
+
+/** Return the current Tor version, without any git tag. */
+const char *
+get_short_version(void)
+{
+  return the_short_tor_version;
+}
diff --git a/src/rust/build.rs b/src/rust/build.rs
index 123d5c0682..bf566c56bf 100644
--- a/src/rust/build.rs
+++ b/src/rust/build.rs
@@ -162,6 +162,7 @@ pub fn main() {
             cfg.component("tor-malloc");
             cfg.component("tor-wallclock");
             cfg.component("tor-err-testing");
+            cfg.component("tor-version-testing");
             cfg.component("tor-intmath-testing");
             cfg.component("tor-ctime-testing");
             cfg.component("curve25519_donna");
diff --git a/src/test/fuzz/fuzzing_common.c b/src/test/fuzz/fuzzing_common.c
index 1401e4c28d..879f9e74dc 100644
--- a/src/test/fuzz/fuzzing_common.c
+++ b/src/test/fuzz/fuzzing_common.c
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include "lib/compress/compress.h"
 #include "lib/crypt_ops/crypto_ed25519.h"
 #include "lib/crypt_ops/crypto_init.h"
+#include "lib/version/torversion.h"
 
 static or_options_t *mock_options = NULL;
 static const or_options_t *
diff --git a/src/test/testing_common.c b/src/test/testing_common.c
index c52683afca..8d648ee175 100644
--- a/src/test/testing_common.c
+++ b/src/test/testing_common.c
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 #include "lib/compress/compress.h"
 #include "lib/evloop/compat_libevent.h"
 #include "lib/crypt_ops/crypto_init.h"
+#include "lib/version/torversion.h"
 
 #include <stdio.h>
 #ifdef HAVE_FCNTL_H