diff --git a/bioimageio/spec/VERSION b/bioimageio/spec/VERSION
index e69de29bb..8fd887d4d 100644
--- a/bioimageio/spec/VERSION
+++ b/bioimageio/spec/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+    "version": "0.5.0"
+}