diff --git a/src/compiler/crystal/config.cr b/src/compiler/crystal/config.cr
index 784f11ac4fef..5af9359c2b04 100644
--- a/src/compiler/crystal/config.cr
+++ b/src/compiler/crystal/config.cr
@@ -5,10 +5,9 @@ module Crystal
     end
 
     def self.version
-      {% if flag?(:windows) %}
-        {{ `type #{__DIR__}/../../../VERSION`.stringify.chomp }}
-      {% else %}
-        {{ `cat #{__DIR__}/../../../VERSION`.stringify.chomp }}
+      {% begin %}
+        {% version = read_file("#{__DIR__}/../../../VERSION") %}
+        {{ version ? version.chomp : nil }}
       {% end %}
     end