diff --git a/scripts/versionbump.py b/scripts/versionbump.py
index aab2c54a0..b7bf70152 100755
--- a/scripts/versionbump.py
+++ b/scripts/versionbump.py
@@ -95,15 +95,15 @@ def main():
         f"{new_version.major}.{new_version.minor}.{new_version.micro + 1}"
     )
 
-    with open("aider/__init__.py", "r") as f:
-        content = f.read()
+    from aider import __version__ as current_version
 
-    current_version = re.search(r'__version__ = "(.+?)"', content).group(1)
     if new_version <= version.parse(current_version):
         raise ValueError(
             f"New version {new_version} must be greater than the current version {current_version}"
         )
 
+    with open("aider/__init__.py", "r") as f:
+        content = f.read()
     updated_content = re.sub(r'__version__ = ".+?"', f'__version__ = "{new_version}"', content)
 
     print("Updating aider/__init__.py with new version:")