diff --git a/.github/actions/bump_version/action.yml b/.github/actions/bump_version/action.yml
index 84780e06..e7afe3a3 100644
--- a/.github/actions/bump_version/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/bump_version/action.yml
@@ -1,15 +1,49 @@
 name: 'Bump Versions'
-description: 'This action bumps versions of Cargo.toml and _version.py file, matching release tag'
+description: 'This action bumps versions of Cargo.toml file, matching release tag'
 
 runs:
   using: 'composite'
   steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      # To fetch all the tags and history
+      with:
+        fetch-depth: 0
+
+    - name: Fetch all tags explicitly
+      run: git fetch --tags
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Get all tags
+      run: git tag
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Get latest
+      run: git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2> /dev/null
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Get the exact Git tag or latest tag + dev
+      run: |
+        tag=$(git describe --exact-match --tags 2> /dev/null)
+        if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+          echo "No exact match tag found."
+        fi
+        echo "Tag: $tag"
+        if [ -n "$tag" ]; then
+          version="$tag"
+        else
+          latest_tag=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2> /dev/null)
+          if [ -z "$latest_tag" ]; then
+            latest_tag="0.0.0"
+          fi
+          version="${latest_tag}.dev"
+        fi
+        echo "Version: $version"
+        echo "version=$version" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+      shell: bash
 
     - name: Bump Cargo version
-      # python ./cargo_version_bumper.py --target Cargo.toml "${{ github.ref_name }}"
       run: |
-        python .github/actions/bump_version/cargo_version_bumper.py --target Cargo.toml "0.0.1"
+        python .github/actions/bump_version/cargo_version_bumper.py --target Cargo.toml "${{ env.version }}"
       shell: bash
 
 #   - name: Check Cargo.toml version matches Release tag
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 53b6cd87..f32bb81a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@ install-release:
 
 # Build only the Rust Python extension (in debug mode)
 build-extension-debug:
-	maturin build
+	maturin develop
 
 # Build only the Rust Python extension (in release mode)
 build-extension-release:
-	maturin build --release
+	maturin develop --release
 
 # Watches changes in the rust bindings and updates the python extension in place.
 watch-extension:
diff --git a/python/outlines_core/__init__.py b/python/outlines_core/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 4e8a6375..00000000
--- a/python/outlines_core/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-"""This package provides core functionality for structured generation, formerly implemented in Outlines."""
-
-from importlib.metadata import PackageNotFoundError, version
-
-from .outlines_core import Guide, Index, Vocabulary
-
-try:
-    __version__ = version("outlines_core")
-except PackageNotFoundError:
-    pass
diff --git a/python/outlines_core/outlines_core.pyi b/python/outlines_core/__init__.pyi
similarity index 97%
rename from python/outlines_core/outlines_core.pyi
rename to python/outlines_core/__init__.pyi
index eb578b14..5ed93e84 100644
--- a/python/outlines_core/outlines_core.pyi
+++ b/python/outlines_core/__init__.pyi
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+"""This package provides core functionality for structured generation, formerly implemented in Outlines."""
+
 from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Set, Tuple, Union
 
 def build_regex_from_schema(
diff --git a/python/outlines_core/json_schema.py b/python/outlines_core/json_schema.py
deleted file mode 100644
index bfe53b43..00000000
--- a/python/outlines_core/json_schema.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-from .outlines_core import (  # noqa: F401
-    BOOLEAN,
-    DATE,
-    DATE_TIME,
-    EMAIL,
-    INTEGER,
-    NULL,
-    NUMBER,
-    STRING,
-    STRING_INNER,
-    TIME,
-    URI,
-    UUID,
-    WHITESPACE,
-    build_regex_from_schema,
-)
diff --git a/src/python_bindings/mod.rs b/src/python_bindings/mod.rs
index 64148cb2..ec01a6b7 100644
--- a/src/python_bindings/mod.rs
+++ b/src/python_bindings/mod.rs
@@ -365,6 +365,9 @@ fn register_child_module(parent_module: &Bound<'_, PyModule>) -> PyResult<()> {
 
 #[pymodule]
 fn outlines_core(m: &Bound<'_, PyModule>) -> PyResult<()> {
+    let version = env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION");
+    m.add("__version__", version)?;
+
     m.add_class::<PyIndex>()?;
     m.add_class::<PyVocabulary>()?;
     m.add_class::<PyGuide>()?;