diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e9c42d2..2cecb63 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 little_bigtable.db
 little_bigtable
 build
+dist
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 74d1988..c26996a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PREFIX=/usr/local
 BINDIR=${PREFIX}/bin
 DESTDIR=
-BLDDIR = build
+BLDDIR=build
 BLDFLAGS=
 EXT=
 ifeq (${GOOS},windows)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 56d4495..511728b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -23,6 +23,15 @@ Usage of ./little_bigtable:
       the address to bind to on the local machine (default "localhost")
   -port int
       the port number to bind to on the local machine (default 9000)
+  -version
+      show version
+```
+
+In the environment for your application, set the `BIGTABLE_EMULATOR_HOST` environment variable to the host and port where `little_bigtable` is running. This environment variable is automatically detected by the Bigtable SDK or the `cbt` CLI. For example:
+
+```bash
+$ export BIGTABLE_EMULATOR_HOST="127.0.0.1:9000"
+$ ./run_my_app
 ```
 
 ## Limitations
diff --git a/dist.sh b/dist.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..4e6366f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dist.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# 1. commit to bump the version (little_bigtable.go)
+# 2. tag that commit
+# 3. use dist.sh to produce tar.gz for all platforms
+# 4. update the release metadata on github / upload the binaries
+
+set -e
+
+DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+
+version=$(awk '/version / {print $NF}' < $DIR/little_bigtable.go | sed 's/"//g')
+goversion=$(go version | awk '{print $3}')
+
+echo "... running tests"
+./test.sh
+
+mkdir -p dist
+for target in "linux/amd64"; do
+    os=${target%/*}
+    arch=${target##*/}
+    echo "... building v$version for $os/$arch"
+    BUILD=$(mktemp -d ${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/build-XXXXX)
+    TARGET="little_bigtable-$version.$os-$arch.$goversion"
+    GOOS=$os GOARCH=$arch \
+        go build --tags "$os" -o $BUILD/$TARGET .
+    pushd $BUILD
+    sudo chown -R 0:0 $TARGET
+    tar czvf $TARGET.tar.gz $TARGET
+    mv $TARGET.tar.gz $DIR/dist
+    popd
+    sudo rm -r $BUILD
+done
diff --git a/little_bigtable.go b/little_bigtable.go
index 71f1acb..a5fb419 100644
--- a/little_bigtable.go
+++ b/little_bigtable.go
@@ -9,28 +9,35 @@ import (
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
+	"os"
+	"runtime"
 
 	"github.com/bitly/little_bigtable/bttest"
 	_ "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc"
 )
 
-var (
-	host   = flag.String("host", "localhost", "the address to bind to on the local machine")
-	port   = flag.Int("port", 9000, "the port number to bind to on the local machine")
-	dbFile = flag.String("db-file", "little_bigtable.db", "path to data file")
-)
-
 const (
 	maxMsgSize = 256 * 1024 * 1024 // 256 MiB
+	version    = "0.1.0"
 )
 
 func main() {
+	host := flag.String("host", "localhost", "the address to bind to on the local machine")
+	port := flag.Int("port", 9000, "the port number to bind to on the local machine")
+	dbFile := flag.String("db-file", "little_bigtable.db", "path to data file")
+	showVersion := flag.Bool("version", false, "show version")
+
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	grpc.EnableTracing = false
 	flag.Parse()
 	log.SetFlags(log.Ldate | log.Ltime | log.Lshortfile)
 
+	if *showVersion {
+		fmt.Printf("little_bigtable v%s (built w/%s)", version, runtime.Version())
+		os.Exit(0)
+	}
+
 	if *dbFile == "" {
 		log.Fatal("missing --db-file")
 	}