diff --git a/backend/app.ts b/backend/app.ts
index a868fad..3591010 100644
--- a/backend/app.ts
+++ b/backend/app.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { routeHitMiddleware } from "./middleware/routeHit.middleware.js";
 import { setupRoutes } from "./routeHandler.routes.js";
 import { auth } from "./utils/auth.utils.js";
 import { lstCors } from "./utils/cors.utils.js";
+import { getAppVersion } from "./utils/version.utils.js";
 
 const createApp = async () => {
 	const log = createLogger({ module: "system", subModule: "main start" });
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ const createApp = async () => {
 	app.all(`${baseUrl}/api/auth/*splat`, toNodeHandler(auth));
 	app.use(express.json());
 
+	const version = await getAppVersion();
 	app.get(`${baseUrl}/api/lst-config.js`, (_, res) => {
 		res.type("application/javascript");
 		res.setHeader("Cache-Control", "no-store");
@@ -47,7 +49,9 @@ const createApp = async () => {
 			appVersion: ${JSON.stringify(umamiConfig.appVersion ?? "dev")},
 			umamiHost: ${JSON.stringify(umamiConfig.umamiHost ?? "")},
 			umamiWebsiteId: ${JSON.stringify(umamiConfig.umamiWebsiteId ?? "")},
-			timezone: ${JSON.stringify(process.env.TIMEZONE ?? "America/Chicago")}
+			timezone: ${JSON.stringify(process.env.TIMEZONE ?? "America/Chicago")},
+			version: ${JSON.stringify(version.version)},
+			lastBuildTIme: ${JSON.stringify(version.lastBuildTime)}
 		};
 	`);
 	});
diff --git a/backend/configs/scaler.config.ts b/backend/configs/scaler.config.ts
index bba0474..634fb95 100644
--- a/backend/configs/scaler.config.ts
+++ b/backend/configs/scaler.config.ts
@@ -17,12 +17,13 @@ import { prodStopSpec } from "../scaler/prodSqlStop.spec.js";
 import { prodRegisterSpec } from "../scaler/register.spec.js";
 // all the specs
 import { statusSpec } from "../scaler/stats.spec.js";
+import { getAppVersion } from "../utils/version.utils.js";
 
 export const openApiBase: OpenAPIV3_1.Document = {
 	openapi: "3.1.0",
 	info: {
 		title: "LST API",
-		version: "3.0.0",
+		version: (await getAppVersion()).version ?? "",
 		description: "Label System Tracking API",
 	},
 	servers: [
diff --git a/backend/server.ts b/backend/server.ts
index 1b86555..56c4bbb 100644
--- a/backend/server.ts
+++ b/backend/server.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { createServer } from "node:http";
 import os from "node:os";
+
 import createApp from "./app.js";
 import { db } from "./db/db.controller.js";
 import { startDbNotificationListener } from "./db/db.listener.js";
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ import { ppooMonitoring } from "./warehousing/warehousing.ppooMonitor.js";
 
 const port = Number(process.env.PORT) || 3000;
 export let systemSettings: Setting[] = [];
+
 const start = async () => {
 	const { app, baseUrl } = await createApp();
 
diff --git a/backend/system/stats.route.ts b/backend/system/stats.route.ts
index 6b26b60..f1acf84 100644
--- a/backend/system/stats.route.ts
+++ b/backend/system/stats.route.ts
@@ -6,12 +6,15 @@ import {
 	type SqlQuery,
 	sqlQuerySelector,
 } from "../prodSql/prodSqlQuerySelector.utils.js";
+
 import { isServerRunning } from "../tcpServer/tcp.server.js";
+import { getAppVersion } from "../utils/version.utils.js";
 
 const router = Router();
 
 router.get("/", async (_, res) => {
 	const used = process.memoryUsage();
+	const version = await getAppVersion();
 
 	const query = sqlQuerySelector("prodSqlStats") as SqlQuery;
 
@@ -20,6 +23,8 @@ router.get("/", async (_, res) => {
 		status: "ok",
 		uptime: process.uptime(),
 		nodeVersion: process.version,
+		appVersion: version.version ?? "",
+		lastBuildDate: version.lastBuildTime ?? "",
 		memoryUsage: `Heap: ${(used.heapUsed / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2)} MB / RSS: ${(
 			used.rss / 1024 / 1024
 		).toFixed(2)} MB`,
diff --git a/backend/utils/version.utils.ts b/backend/utils/version.utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..02a7357
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/utils/version.utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+import fsp from "node:fs/promises";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+export const getAppVersion = async () => {
+	const __filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
+	const __dirname = path.dirname(__filename);
+	const version = path.join(__dirname, "../../package.json");
+	const raw = await fsp.readFile(`${version}`, "utf8");
+	const config = JSON.parse(raw);
+
+	return {
+		version: `${config.version}.${parseInt((config.build as string) ?? "1", 0) - 1}`,
+		lastBuildTime: config.lastBuildDate,
+	};
+};
diff --git a/backend/utils/zipper.utils.ts b/backend/utils/zipper.utils.ts
index 4b6eac3..f6eda46 100644
--- a/backend/utils/zipper.utils.ts
+++ b/backend/utils/zipper.utils.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import fs from "node:fs";
 import fsp from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import archiver from "archiver";
+import { format } from "date-fns";
 import { createLogger } from "../logger/logger.controller.js";
 import { emitBuildLog } from "./build.utils.js";
 import { updateAppStats } from "./updateAppStats.utils.js";
@@ -17,33 +18,31 @@ const exists = async (target: string) => {
 	}
 };
 
-const getNextBuildNumber = async (buildNumberFile: string) => {
-	if (!(await exists(buildNumberFile))) {
-		await fsp.writeFile(buildNumberFile, "1", "utf8");
-		return 1;
-	}
-
-	const raw = await fsp.readFile(buildNumberFile, "utf8");
-	const current = Number.parseInt(raw.trim(), 10);
+const getNextBuildNumber = async (versionPath: string) => {
+	const raw = await fsp.readFile(versionPath, "utf8");
+	const config = JSON.parse(raw);
+	const current = Number.parseInt(config.build.trim(), 10);
 
+	let nextBuild: string;
 	if (Number.isNaN(current) || current < 1) {
-		await fsp.writeFile(buildNumberFile, "1", "utf8");
-		return 1;
+		nextBuild = "1";
+	} else {
+		nextBuild = String(current + 1); // Incrementing the build number
 	}
 
-	const next = current + 1;
+	const updatedConfig = {
+		...config,
+		build: nextBuild,
+		lastBuildDate: format(new Date(Date.now()), "M/d/yyyy HH:mm"),
+	};
 
-	await fsp.writeFile(buildNumberFile, String(next), "utf8");
+	await fsp.writeFile(
+		versionPath,
+		JSON.stringify(updatedConfig, null, 4) + "\n",
+		"utf8",
+	);
 
-	// update the server with the next build number
-
-	await updateAppStats({
-		currentBuild: next,
-		lastBuildAt: new Date(),
-		building: true,
-	});
-
-	return next;
+	return { version: config.version, build: config.build };
 };
 
 const cleanupOldBuilds = async (buildFolder: string, maxBuilds: number) => {
@@ -53,7 +52,8 @@ const cleanupOldBuilds = async (buildFolder: string, maxBuilds: number) => {
 
 	for (const entry of entries) {
 		if (!entry.isFile()) continue;
-		if (!/^LSTV3-\d+\.zip$/i.test(entry.name)) continue;
+		//if (!/^LSTV3-\d+\.zip$/i.test(entry.name)) continue;
+		if (!entry.name.includes("LSTV3")) continue;
 
 		const fullPath = path.join(buildFolder, entry.name);
 		const stat = await fsp.stat(fullPath);
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ export const zipBuild = async () => {
 	}
 
 	const includesFile = path.join(appDir, ".includes");
-	const buildNumberFile = path.join(appDir, ".buildNumber");
+	const version = path.join(appDir, "package.json");
 	const buildFolder = path.join(appDir, "builds");
 	const tempFolder = path.join(appDir, "temp", "zip-temp");
 	if (!(await exists(includesFile))) {
@@ -95,11 +95,13 @@ export const zipBuild = async () => {
 
 	await fsp.mkdir(buildFolder, { recursive: true });
 
-	const buildNumber = await getNextBuildNumber(buildNumberFile);
-	const zipFileName = `LSTV3-${buildNumber}.zip`;
+	const lstVersion = await getNextBuildNumber(version);
+	const zipFileName = `LSTV3-${lstVersion.version}.${lstVersion.build}.zip`;
 	const zipFile = path.join(buildFolder, zipFileName);
 	// make the folders in case they are not created already
-	emitBuildLog(`Using build number: ${buildNumber}`);
+	emitBuildLog(
+		`Using version, build number: ${lstVersion.version}.${lstVersion.build}`,
+	);
 
 	if (await exists(tempFolder)) {
 		await fsp.rm(tempFolder, { recursive: true, force: true });
@@ -170,7 +172,7 @@ export const zipBuild = async () => {
 
 	return {
 		success: true,
-		buildNumber,
+		build: lstVersion.build,
 		zipFile,
 		zipFileName,
 	};
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 154aa65..e29762e 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,113 +1,115 @@
 {
-	"name": "lst_v3",
-	"version": "0.1.0-alpha.3",
-	"description": "The tool that supports us in our everyday alplaprod",
-	"main": "index.js",
-	"scripts": {
-		"test": "dotenvx run -f .env -- vitest",
-		"test:run": "dotenvx run -f .env -- vitest run",
-		"dev": "concurrently -n \"server,frontend\" -c \"#007755, #1F73D1\" \"npm run dev:app\"  \"npm run dev:frontend\"",
-		"dev:app": "dotenvx run -f .env -- tsx watch backend/server.ts",
-		"dev:frontend": "cd frontend && npm run dev",
-		"dev:db:migrate": "npx drizzle-kit push",
-		"dev:db:generate": "tsc && npx drizzle-kit generate --config=drizzle.config.ts",
-		"build": "rimraf dist && npm run dev:db:generate && npm run dev:db:migrate && npm run build:app && npm run build:copySql && npm run build:copyGpSql  && npm run build:emailTemplate && cd frontend && npm run build",
-		"build:app": "tsc",
-		"agent": "powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts/agentController.ps1",
-		"build:docker": "rimraf dist && npm run build:app && npm run build:copySql && npm run build:copyGpSql  && npm run build:emailTemplate",
-		"build:emailTemplate": "cpy \"backend/utils/mailViews/**/*\" dist/utils/mailViews --parents",
-		"build:copyGpSql": "cpy \"backend/gpSql/queries/**/*\" dist/gpSql/queries --parents",
-		"build:copySql": "cpy \"backend/prodSql/queries/**/*\" dist/prodSql/queries --parents",
-		"lint": "tsc && biome lint",
-		"start": "npm run start:server",
-		"start:server": "dotenvx run -f .env -- node dist/server.js",
-		"start:docker": "node dist/server.js",
-		"version": "changeset version",
-		"specCheck": "node scripts/check-route-specs.mjs",
-		"commit": "cz",
-		"release": "npm run build && commit-and-tag-version",
-		"build:apk": "cd lstMobile && expo prebuild --clean && cd android && gradlew.bat assembleRelease "
-	},
-	"repository": {
-		"type": "git",
-		"url": "https://git.tuffraid.net/cowch/lst_v3.git"
-	},
-	"keywords": [],
-	"author": "",
-	"license": "ISC",
-	"type": "module",
-	"devDependencies": {
-		"@biomejs/biome": "2.4.8",
-		"@commitlint/cli": "^20.5.0",
-		"@commitlint/config-conventional": "^20.5.0",
-		"@types/archiver": "^7.0.0",
-		"@types/cors": "^2.8.19",
-		"@types/express": "^5.0.6",
-		"@types/morgan": "^1.9.10",
-		"@types/mssql": "^9.1.9",
-		"@types/multer": "^2.1.0",
-		"@types/net-snmp": "^3.23.0",
-		"@types/node": "^25.5.0",
-		"@types/nodemailer": "^7.0.11",
-		"@types/nodemailer-express-handlebars": "^4.0.6",
-		"@types/pg": "^8.18.0",
-		"@types/supertest": "^7.2.0",
-		"@types/swagger-jsdoc": "^6.0.4",
-		"@types/swagger-ui-express": "^4.1.8",
-		"commit-and-tag-version": "^12.7.1",
-		"commitizen": "^4.3.1",
-		"cpy-cli": "^7.0.0",
-		"cz-conventional-changelog": "^3.3.0",
-		"npm-check-updates": "^19.6.5",
-		"openapi-types": "^12.1.3",
-		"supertest": "^7.2.2",
-		"ts-node-dev": "^2.0.0",
-		"tsx": "^4.21.0",
-		"typescript": "^5.9.3",
-		"vitest": "^4.1.8"
-	},
-	"dependencies": {
-		"@dotenvx/dotenvx": "^1.57.0",
-		"@scalar/express-api-reference": "^0.9.20",
-		"@socket.io/admin-ui": "^0.5.1",
-		"archiver": "^7.0.1",
-		"axios": "^1.13.6",
-		"bcryptjs": "^3.0.3",
-		"better-auth": "^1.5.5",
-		"chokidar": "^5.0.0",
-		"concurrently": "^9.2.1",
-		"cors": "^2.8.6",
-		"croner": "^10.0.1",
-		"date-fns": "^4.1.0",
-		"date-fns-tz": "^3.2.0",
-		"drizzle-kit": "^0.31.10",
-		"drizzle-orm": "^0.45.1",
-		"drizzle-zod": "^0.8.3",
-		"excel-date-to-js": "^1.1.5",
-		"express": "^5.2.1",
-		"husky": "^9.1.7",
-		"ldapts": "^8.1.7",
-		"modbus-serial": "^8.0.25",
-		"morgan": "^1.10.1",
-		"mssql": "^12.2.1",
-		"multer": "^2.1.1",
-		"net-snmp": "^3.26.1",
-		"nodemailer": "^8.0.3",
-		"nodemailer-express-handlebars": "^7.0.0",
-		"pg": "^8.20.0",
-		"pino": "^10.3.1",
-		"pino-pretty": "^13.1.3",
-		"postgres": "^3.4.8",
-		"powershell": "^2.3.3",
-		"socket.io": "^4.8.3",
-		"socket.io-client": "^4.8.3",
-		"xlsx": "^0.18.5",
-		"zod": "^4.3.6",
-		"zod-openapi": "^6.0.0"
-	},
-	"config": {
-		"commitizen": {
-			"path": "cz-conventional-changelog"
-		}
-	}
+    "name": "lst_v3",
+    "version": "0.1.0-alpha.3",
+    "build": "175",
+    "lastBuildDate": "6/17/2026 10:26",
+    "description": "The tool that supports us in our everyday alplaprod",
+    "main": "index.js",
+    "scripts": {
+        "test": "dotenvx run -f .env -- vitest",
+        "test:run": "dotenvx run -f .env -- vitest run",
+        "dev": "concurrently -n \"server,frontend\" -c \"#007755, #1F73D1\" \"npm run dev:app\"  \"npm run dev:frontend\"",
+        "dev:app": "dotenvx run -f .env -- tsx watch backend/server.ts",
+        "dev:frontend": "cd frontend && npm run dev",
+        "dev:db:migrate": "npx drizzle-kit push",
+        "dev:db:generate": "tsc && npx drizzle-kit generate --config=drizzle.config.ts",
+        "build": "rimraf dist && npm run dev:db:generate && npm run dev:db:migrate && npm run build:app && npm run build:copySql && npm run build:copyGpSql  && npm run build:emailTemplate && cd frontend && npm run build",
+        "build:app": "tsc",
+        "agent": "powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts/agentController.ps1",
+        "build:docker": "rimraf dist && npm run build:app && npm run build:copySql && npm run build:copyGpSql  && npm run build:emailTemplate",
+        "build:emailTemplate": "cpy \"backend/utils/mailViews/**/*\" dist/utils/mailViews --parents",
+        "build:copyGpSql": "cpy \"backend/gpSql/queries/**/*\" dist/gpSql/queries --parents",
+        "build:copySql": "cpy \"backend/prodSql/queries/**/*\" dist/prodSql/queries --parents",
+        "lint": "tsc && biome lint",
+        "start": "npm run start:server",
+        "start:server": "dotenvx run -f .env -- node dist/server.js",
+        "start:docker": "node dist/server.js",
+        "version": "changeset version",
+        "specCheck": "node scripts/check-route-specs.mjs",
+        "commit": "cz",
+        "release": "npm run build && commit-and-tag-version",
+        "build:apk": "cd lstMobile && expo prebuild --clean && cd android && gradlew.bat assembleRelease "
+    },
+    "repository": {
+        "type": "git",
+        "url": "https://git.tuffraid.net/cowch/lst_v3.git"
+    },
+    "keywords": [],
+    "author": "",
+    "license": "ISC",
+    "type": "module",
+    "devDependencies": {
+        "@biomejs/biome": "2.4.8",
+        "@commitlint/cli": "^20.5.0",
+        "@commitlint/config-conventional": "^20.5.0",
+        "@types/archiver": "^7.0.0",
+        "@types/cors": "^2.8.19",
+        "@types/express": "^5.0.6",
+        "@types/morgan": "^1.9.10",
+        "@types/mssql": "^9.1.9",
+        "@types/multer": "^2.1.0",
+        "@types/net-snmp": "^3.23.0",
+        "@types/node": "^25.5.0",
+        "@types/nodemailer": "^7.0.11",
+        "@types/nodemailer-express-handlebars": "^4.0.6",
+        "@types/pg": "^8.18.0",
+        "@types/supertest": "^7.2.0",
+        "@types/swagger-jsdoc": "^6.0.4",
+        "@types/swagger-ui-express": "^4.1.8",
+        "commit-and-tag-version": "^12.7.1",
+        "commitizen": "^4.3.1",
+        "cpy-cli": "^7.0.0",
+        "cz-conventional-changelog": "^3.3.0",
+        "npm-check-updates": "^19.6.5",
+        "openapi-types": "^12.1.3",
+        "supertest": "^7.2.2",
+        "ts-node-dev": "^2.0.0",
+        "tsx": "^4.21.0",
+        "typescript": "^5.9.3",
+        "vitest": "^4.1.8"
+    },
+    "dependencies": {
+        "@dotenvx/dotenvx": "^1.57.0",
+        "@scalar/express-api-reference": "^0.9.20",
+        "@socket.io/admin-ui": "^0.5.1",
+        "archiver": "^7.0.1",
+        "axios": "^1.13.6",
+        "bcryptjs": "^3.0.3",
+        "better-auth": "^1.5.5",
+        "chokidar": "^5.0.0",
+        "concurrently": "^9.2.1",
+        "cors": "^2.8.6",
+        "croner": "^10.0.1",
+        "date-fns": "^4.1.0",
+        "date-fns-tz": "^3.2.0",
+        "drizzle-kit": "^0.31.10",
+        "drizzle-orm": "^0.45.1",
+        "drizzle-zod": "^0.8.3",
+        "excel-date-to-js": "^1.1.5",
+        "express": "^5.2.1",
+        "husky": "^9.1.7",
+        "ldapts": "^8.1.7",
+        "modbus-serial": "^8.0.25",
+        "morgan": "^1.10.1",
+        "mssql": "^12.2.1",
+        "multer": "^2.1.1",
+        "net-snmp": "^3.26.1",
+        "nodemailer": "^8.0.3",
+        "nodemailer-express-handlebars": "^7.0.0",
+        "pg": "^8.20.0",
+        "pino": "^10.3.1",
+        "pino-pretty": "^13.1.3",
+        "postgres": "^3.4.8",
+        "powershell": "^2.3.3",
+        "socket.io": "^4.8.3",
+        "socket.io-client": "^4.8.3",
+        "xlsx": "^0.18.5",
+        "zod": "^4.3.6",
+        "zod-openapi": "^6.0.0"
+    },
+    "config": {
+        "commitizen": {
+            "path": "cz-conventional-changelog"
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/scripts/updateServer.ps1 b/scripts/updateServer.ps1
index 9787733..9d7204e 100644
--- a/scripts/updateServer.ps1
+++ b/scripts/updateServer.ps1
@@ -31,24 +31,32 @@ function Update-Server {
         [string]$Server,
         [string]$Token
     )
-    $buildFile = Join-Path $AppDir ".buildNumber"
+    
+    $buildFile = Join-Path $AppDir "package.json"
     $BuildNumber = 1
     $BuildFolder = Join-Path $AppDir "builds"
 
-    if (Test-Path $BuildFile) {
-        $content = Get-Content $BuildFile | Select-Object -First 1
-        $num = $content.Trim() -as [int]  # safe cast
+    $packageJson = Get-Content $buildFile -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
+        
+        # Extract the .build property and cast it safely to an integer
+        $num = "$($packageJson.version).$(([int]$packageJson.build) -1)" 
+    # if (Test-Path $BuildFile) {
+    #     # Parse the entire JSON file into a PowerShell object
+    #     $packageJson = Get-Content $buildFile -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
+        
+    #     # Extract the .build property and cast it safely to an integer
+    #     $num = "($packageJson.version).($packageJson.build)" 
 
-        if ($num) {
-            $BuildNumber = $num + 1
-        }
-        else {
-            $BuildNumber = 1
-        }
-    }
+    #     if ($null -ne $num) {
+    #         $BuildNumber = $num + 1
+    #     }
+    #     else {
+    #         $BuildNumber = 1
+    #     }
+    # }
 
     # Get The current Build we have zipped up
-    $BuildNumber = ([int]$BuildNumber - 1).ToString()
+    $BuildNumber = $num
 
 
     # copy the latest build over