diff --git a/cmd/cmd.go b/cmd/cmd.go
index d8d2d9b308a..c9360384448 100644
--- a/cmd/cmd.go
+++ b/cmd/cmd.go
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func Run() {
 	c, err := cli.New(
 		cli.WithCommandName("kubebuilder"),
 		cli.WithVersion(versionString()),
-		cli.WithCliVersion(getKubebuilderVersion()),
+		cli.WithCliVersion(getKubeBuilderVersion()),
 		cli.WithPlugins(
 			golangv4.Plugin{},
 			gov4Bundle,
diff --git a/cmd/version.go b/cmd/version.go
index a84c3ea576b..f7642850ea7 100644
--- a/cmd/version.go
+++ b/cmd/version.go
@@ -17,58 +17,91 @@ limitations under the License.
 package cmd
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"runtime"
 	"runtime/debug"
 )
 
 const unknown = "unknown"
 
-// var needs to be used instead of const as ldflags is used to fill this
-// information in the release process
+// These are filled via ldflags during build
 var (
 	kubeBuilderVersion      = unknown
 	kubernetesVendorVersion = "1.33.0"
 	goos                    = unknown
 	goarch                  = unknown
-	gitCommit               = "$Format:%H$" // sha1 from git, output of $(git rev-parse HEAD)
-
-	buildDate = "1970-01-01T00:00:00Z" // build date in ISO8601 format, output of $(date -u +'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')
+	gitCommit               = "$Format:%H$"
+	buildDate               = "1970-01-01T00:00:00Z"
 )
 
-// version contains all the information related to the CLI version
-type version struct {
+// VersionInfo holds all CLI version-related information
+type VersionInfo struct {
 	KubeBuilderVersion string `json:"kubeBuilderVersion"`
 	KubernetesVendor   string `json:"kubernetesVendor"`
 	GitCommit          string `json:"gitCommit"`
 	BuildDate          string `json:"buildDate"`
-	GoOs               string `json:"goOs"`
+	GoOS               string `json:"goOs"`
 	GoArch             string `json:"goArch"`
 }
 
-// versionString returns the Full CLI version
-func versionString() string {
+// resolveBuildInfo ensures dynamic fields are populated
+func resolveBuildInfo() {
 	if kubeBuilderVersion == unknown {
 		if info, ok := debug.ReadBuildInfo(); ok && info.Main.Version != "" {
 			kubeBuilderVersion = info.Main.Version
 		}
 	}
-
-	return fmt.Sprintf("Version: %#v", version{
-		kubeBuilderVersion,
-		kubernetesVendorVersion,
-		gitCommit,
-		buildDate,
-		goos,
-		goarch,
-	})
+	if goos == unknown {
+		goos = runtime.GOOS
+	}
+	if goarch == unknown {
+		goarch = runtime.GOARCH
+	}
+	if gitCommit == "$Format:%H$" || gitCommit == "" {
+		gitCommit = unknown
+	}
 }
 
-// getKubebuilderVersion returns only the CLI version string
-func getKubebuilderVersion() string {
-	if kubeBuilderVersion == unknown {
-		if info, ok := debug.ReadBuildInfo(); ok && info.Main.Version != "" {
-			kubeBuilderVersion = info.Main.Version
-		}
+// getVersionInfo returns populated VersionInfo
+func getVersionInfo() VersionInfo {
+	resolveBuildInfo()
+	return VersionInfo{
+		KubeBuilderVersion: kubeBuilderVersion,
+		KubernetesVendor:   kubernetesVendorVersion,
+		GitCommit:          gitCommit,
+		BuildDate:          buildDate,
+		GoOS:               goos,
+		GoArch:             goarch,
 	}
+}
+
+// versionString returns a human-friendly string version
+func versionString() string {
+	v := getVersionInfo()
+	return fmt.Sprintf(`KubeBuilder Version: %s
+Kubernetes Vendor:   %s
+Git Commit:          %s
+Build Date:          %s
+Go OS/Arch:          %s/%s`,
+		v.KubeBuilderVersion,
+		v.KubernetesVendor,
+		v.GitCommit,
+		v.BuildDate,
+		v.GoOS,
+		v.GoArch,
+	)
+}
+
+// getKubeBuilderVersion returns just the CLI version
+func getKubeBuilderVersion() string {
+	resolveBuildInfo()
 	return kubeBuilderVersion
 }
+
+// versionJSON returns version as JSON string
+func versionJSON() string {
+	v := getVersionInfo()
+	b, _ := json.MarshalIndent(v, "", "  ")
+	return string(b)
+}
diff --git a/cmd/version_test.go b/cmd/version_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6a93990e857
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/version_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func TestVersionStringIncludesExpectedFields(t *testing.T) {
+	output := versionString()
+
+	assert.Contains(t, output, "KubeBuilder Version:")
+	assert.Contains(t, output, "Kubernetes Vendor:")
+	assert.Contains(t, output, "Git Commit:")
+	assert.Contains(t, output, "Build Date:")
+	assert.Contains(t, output, "Go OS/Arch:")
+}
+
+func TestVersionJSONFormatAndKeys(t *testing.T) {
+	jsonStr := versionJSON()
+
+	var result map[string]string
+	err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(jsonStr), &result)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	assert.Contains(t, result, "kubeBuilderVersion")
+	assert.Contains(t, result, "kubernetesVendor")
+	assert.Contains(t, result, "gitCommit")
+	assert.Contains(t, result, "buildDate")
+	assert.Contains(t, result, "goOs")
+	assert.Contains(t, result, "goArch")
+}
+
+func TestGetVersionInfoFieldsArePopulated(t *testing.T) {
+	v := getVersionInfo()
+
+	assert.NotEmpty(t, v.KubeBuilderVersion)
+	assert.NotEmpty(t, v.KubernetesVendor)
+	assert.NotEmpty(t, v.GitCommit)
+	assert.NotEmpty(t, v.BuildDate)
+	assert.NotEmpty(t, v.GoOS)
+	assert.NotEmpty(t, v.GoArch)
+
+	assert.NotEqual(t, "unknown", v.KubeBuilderVersion, "KubeBuilderVersion should not be 'unknown'")
+	assert.NotEqual(t, "unknown", v.GoOS, "GoOS should not be 'unknown'")
+	assert.NotEqual(t, "unknown", v.GoArch, "GoArch should not be 'unknown'")
+	assert.NotEqual(t, "$Format:%H$", v.GitCommit, "GitCommit should not be default placeholder")
+}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index c6b610bc9a4..f5b42687651 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/spf13/afero v1.14.0
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.9.1
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.7
+	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.10.0
 	golang.org/x/mod v0.26.0
 	golang.org/x/text v0.27.0
 	golang.org/x/tools v0.35.0
@@ -19,6 +20,7 @@ require (
 
 require (
 	github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3 v3.3.0 // indirect
+	github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.2-0.20180830191138-d8f796af33cc // indirect
 	github.com/go-logr/logr v1.4.2 // indirect
 	github.com/go-task/slim-sprig/v3 v3.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/google/go-cmp v0.7.0 // indirect
@@ -26,6 +28,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/kr/pretty v0.3.1 // indirect
 	github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1 // indirect
+	github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.1-0.20181226105442-5d4384ee4fb2 // indirect
 	github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.14.1 // indirect
 	go.uber.org/automaxprocs v1.6.0 // indirect
 	go.yaml.in/yaml/v2 v2.4.2 // indirect