diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 16db163222672c427f3408ed008fa32611d87109..0901fa48d43408e062c2ece09429a1a4b6fdfc7a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -980,7 +980,7 @@ maintainer-clean:: distclean
 	   build/misc/root-help.el build-arch-stamp build-indep-stamp \
 	   configure-stamp build-arch-cint-stamp config.status config.log
 
-version: $(CLINGEXE)
+version: $(ROOTEXE)
 	@$(MAKEVERSION)
 
 staticlib: $(ROOTALIB)
diff --git a/build/unix/makeversion.sh b/build/unix/makeversion.sh
index a563342f232c1f92a4bc7e562a93d211ef2d1a9d..b53e37b5585974691879f1ed50d0387b0773e0ec 100755
--- a/build/unix/makeversion.sh
+++ b/build/unix/makeversion.sh
@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@
 #
 # Author: Fons Rademakers, 28/4/2000
 
-CINT=cint/cint/main/cint_tmp
+ROOTEXE=bin/root.exe
 SCRIPT=build/version.cxx
 
-$CINT $SCRIPT
+$ROOTEXE -q -b -l $SCRIPT
 
 if test "x`uname | grep -i cygwin`" != "x"; then
     echo 'Need to run "dos2unix base/inc/RVersion.h"'
diff --git a/build/version.cxx b/build/version.cxx
index fa73765e3855d5dee0906521acc0752789d6df88..b95c9ddd598049269222aa23cd651447f22ac7c3 100644
--- a/build/version.cxx
+++ b/build/version.cxx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int version()
 {
    // Reads from the file build/version_number the new version
    // number and generates the header base/inc/RVersion.h.
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
    FILE *fp = fopen(in, "r");
    if (!fp) {
-      printf("%s: can not open input file %s\n", argv[0], in);
-      exit(1);
+      printf("version.cxx: can not open input file %s\n", in);
+      return 1;
    }
    char vers[32];
    fgets(vers, sizeof(vers), fp);
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
    fp = fopen(inr, "r");
    if (!fp) {
-      printf("%s: can not open input file %s\n", argv[0], in);
-      exit(1);
+      printf("version.cxx: can not open input file %s\n", inr);
+      return 1;
    }
    char branch[2048];
    fgets(branch, sizeof(branch), fp);
@@ -35,8 +35,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
    const char *out = "core/base/inc/RVersion.h";
    fp = fopen(out, "w");
    if (!fp) {
-      printf("%s: can not open output file %s\n", argv[0], out);
-      exit(1);
+      printf("version.cxx: can not open output file %s\n", out);
+      return 1;
    }
 
    fprintf(fp, "#ifndef ROOT_RVersion\n");
@@ -69,5 +69,5 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
    fclose(fp);
 
-   exit(0);
+   return 0;
 }