diff --git a/gh-skeleton b/gh-skeleton
index 561405a..f6fa183 100755
--- a/gh-skeleton
+++ b/gh-skeleton
@@ -131,6 +131,18 @@ clone_repo() {
   log_info "Committing staged files to the ${DEFAULT_BRANCH} branch."
   git commit --message "Rename repository references after clone"
 
+  # Assigning the initial version
+
+  log_info "Creating an initial version 0.0.1 for the new repository."
+
+  echo "0.0.1" > VERSION
+
+  log_info "Staging the version file."
+  git add VERSION
+
+  log_info "Committing the inital version 0.0.1"
+  git commit --message "Set initial version to 0.0.1"
+
   log_info "Creating the lineage.yml file."
   cat << END_OF_LINE > .github/lineage.yml
 ---