diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 0ea295e0..0bb2269b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -14,7 +14,11 @@ $(TARGETS): .dapper
 
 ARCH ?= amd64
 REPO ?= rancher
-DEFAULT_BUILD_ARGS=--build-arg="REPO=$(REPO)" --build-arg="TAG=$(TAG)" --build-arg="ARCH=$(ARCH)"
+DEFAULT_BUILD_ARGS=--build-arg="REPO=$(REPO)" --build-arg="TAG=$(TAG)" --build-arg="ARCH=$(ARCH)" --build-arg="DIRTY=$(DIRTY)"
+DIRTY := $(shell git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no)
+ifneq ($(DIRTY),)
+	DIRTY="-dirty"
+endif
 
 .PHONY: no-dapper
 no-dapper:
@@ -26,4 +30,4 @@ no-dapper:
 		-f Dockerfile --target=binary --output=. .
 	DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build -t kine-package -f Dockerfile --target=package .
 	DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker run -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock -v ./dist:/go/src/github.com/k3s-io/kine/dist \
-		-e IMAGE_NAME -e DRONE_TAG kine-package
\ No newline at end of file
+		-e IMAGE_NAME -e DRONE_TAG -e DIRTY=$(DIRTY) kine-package
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/version b/scripts/version
index 8d196f17..78a02b08 100755
--- a/scripts/version
+++ b/scripts/version
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-if [ -n "$(git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no)" ]; then
+# Without Dapper, DIRTY is determined in the Makefile and passed in as a build arg/env var
+if [ -z "$DIRTY" ] && [ -n "$(git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no)" ]; then
     DIRTY="-dirty"
 fi