diff --git a/python/lammps/__init__.py b/python/lammps/__init__.py
index e6ffd779a9..93c46819c0 100644
--- a/python/lammps/__init__.py
+++ b/python/lammps/__init__.py
@@ -13,10 +13,16 @@ from .core import *
 from .data import *
 from .pylammps import *
 
-# convert module string version to numeric version
+# convert installed module string version to numeric version
 def get_version_number():
     import time
+    from os.path import join
     from sys import version_info
+
+    # must report 0 when inside LAMMPS source tree
+    if __file__.find(join('python', 'lammps', '__init__.py')) > 0:
+        return 0
+
     vstring = None
     if version_info.major == 3 and version_info.minor >= 8:
         from importlib.metadata import version