diff --git a/.github/copilot-instructions.md b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a897ef815b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+# UMF (Unified Memory Framework) - AI Coding Guide
+
+## Project Architecture
+
+UMF is a C library for constructing memory allocators and pools, built around a two-layer architecture:
+
+- **Memory Providers** (`src/provider/`): Handle coarse-grained OS-level memory allocation (mmap, CUDA, Level Zero, etc.)
+- **Memory Pools** (`src/pool/`): Handle fine-grained allocation using providers as backing store (jemalloc, scalable, disjoint)
+
+Key architectural patterns:
+- Provider/pool separation enables mixing any provider with any pool allocator
+- Operations structures (`*_ops_t`) define plugin interfaces for extensibility
+- Handle-based API (`*_handle_t`) abstracts implementation details
+- Result codes (`umf_result_t`) for consistent error handling
+
+## Development Workflows
+
+### Build System
+```bash
+# Standard build
+cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
+cmake --build build -j $(nproc)
+
+# Enable all features for development
+# GPU tests will work only in an environment with proper hardware and drivers
+cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug \
+  -DUMF_BUILD_TESTS=ON -DUMF_BUILD_GPU_TESTS=OFF \
+  -DUMF_BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON -DUMF_DEVELOPER_MODE=ON \
+  -DUMF_FORMAT_CODE_STYLE=ON
+```
+
+### Version Management
+- Version determined by:
+  1. `git describe` (preferred)
+  2. `VERSION` file fallback
+  3. "0.0.0" default
+- `set_version_variables()` in `cmake/helpers.cmake` handles version detection
+- For releases: create `VERSION` file with semver format (e.g., "1.0.3")
+
+### Code Formatting
+- **Always format code before committing**: `make format-apply`
+- Requires build with `-DUMF_FORMAT_CODE_STYLE=ON`
+- Uses clang-format-15.0, cmake-format-0.6, and black for Python
+
+### Testing Patterns
+- Use `build_umf_test()` CMake function in `test/CMakeLists.txt`
+- GPU tests require `UMF_BUILD_GPU_TESTS=ON` and hardware/drivers
+- IPC tests use producer/consumer pattern with shell scripts
+- Platform-specific tests: `.c` files for portability, `.cpp` for C++ features, utils, and selected tests
+
+### CI/CD Structure
+- `pr_push.yml`: Main workflow calling reusable workflows. It's called for each PR change or push to main/stable branches
+- Separate workflows for different configurations: `reusable_gpu.yml`, `reusable_sanitizers.yml`, etc.
+- Provider-specific testing: Level Zero, CUDA runners with actual hardware
+
+## Coding Conventions
+
+### Naming Patterns
+- Public API: `umf*` prefix (e.g., `umfMemoryProviderCreate`)
+- Internal functions: `snake_case` without prefix
+- Structures: `*_t` suffix for types, `*_handle_t` for opaque handles
+- Constants: `UMF_*` uppercase with underscores
+
+### Memory Management Patterns
+- Always pair create/destroy functions (e.g., `umfMemoryProviderCreate`/`umfMemoryProviderDestroy`)
+- Use `umf_result_t` return codes, never throw exceptions
+- Provider params have separate create/destroy lifecycle
+- Thread-local storage (`__TLS`) for error state in providers
+
+### Provider Implementation Pattern
+```c
+// Standard provider structure
+typedef struct my_provider_t {
+    // Provider-specific state
+} my_provider_t;
+
+static umf_result_t my_initialize(const void *params, void **provider);
+static umf_result_t my_finalize(void *provider);
+static umf_result_t my_alloc(void *provider, size_t size, size_t alignment, void **ptr);
+static umf_result_t my_free(void *provider, void *ptr, size_t size);
+
+static const umf_memory_provider_ops_t MY_PROVIDER_OPS = {
+    .version = UMF_PROVIDER_OPS_VERSION_CURRENT,
+    .initialize = my_initialize,
+    .finalize = my_finalize,
+    .alloc = my_alloc,
+    .free = my_free,
+    // ... other required ops
+};
+```
+
+## Key Files and Patterns
+
+### Core APIs
+- `include/umf.h`: Main header, include this for basic usage
+- `include/umf/memory_provider_ops.h`: Provider plugin interface
+- `include/umf/memory_pool_ops.h`: Pool plugin interface
+
+### Common Utilities
+- `src/utils/`: Logging (`utils_log.h`), concurrency (`utils_concurrency.h`), assertions
+- `src/critnib/`: Concurrent radix tree for address tracking
+- `src/base_alloc/`: Base allocation utilities
+
+### Platform Abstractions
+- `libumf_linux.c`/`libumf_windows.c`: OS-specific implementations
+- `topology.c`: HWLOC integration for NUMA topology discovery
+- Provider files handle platform-specific allocation (CUDA, Level Zero, OS memory)
+
+## Integration Points
+
+### NUMA Support
+- Uses HWLOC for topology discovery (`topology.c`, `umf_hwloc.h`)
+- NUMA policies in `mempolicy.c`: bind, interleave, split modes
+- Memory spaces (`memspace.c`) and targets (`memtarget.c`) for NUMA abstraction
+
+### GPU Integration
+- Level Zero provider: `provider_level_zero.c` for Intel GPUs
+- CUDA provider: `provider_cuda.c` for NVIDIA GPUs
+- Examples in `examples/level_zero_shared_memory/` and `examples/cuda_shared_memory/`
+
+### IPC (Inter-Process Communication)
+- Linux-specific implementation using file descriptor passing
+- Requires `PTRACE_MODE_ATTACH_REALCREDS` permission
+- Uses `memfd_create()` or `memfd_secret()` for anonymous shared memory
+
+When implementing new providers or pools, follow the existing patterns in
+`src/provider/provider_os_memory.c` and `src/pool/pool_scalable.c` as reference implementations.
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index ac77c61575..2a60a22502 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ if(UMF_CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_EQUAL "0.0.0")
     message(
         WARNING
             "UMF version is set to 0.0.0, which most likely is not expected! "
-            "Please checkout the git tags to get a proper version.")
+            "Please install git and checkout the git tags to get a proper version."
+    )
 endif()
 
 if(PROJECT_VERSION_PATCH GREATER 0)
diff --git a/RELEASE_STEPS.md b/RELEASE_STEPS.md
index 32ab7b5c37..75ca16bae8 100644
--- a/RELEASE_STEPS.md
+++ b/RELEASE_STEPS.md
@@ -50,7 +50,11 @@ Prepare changes for the release:
 - Once all changes are done, build locally (and/or verify changes on CI), including:
   - Verify if scanners/linters/checkers passed
   - Verify if version is set properly, especially in `.dll` and `.so` files
+- Create/update a VERSION file for GitHub ZIP downloads (users without git):
+  - `echo "$VERSION" > VERSION`
+  - It will always contain "the last released version". In logs/CMake build it will introduce itself as `$VERSION-dev`, only if git is not available
 - Commit these changes and tag the release:
+  - `git add VERSION`
   - `git commit -a -S -m "$VERSION release"`
   - `git tag -a -s -m "Version $VERSION" v$VERSION`
 - Verify if commit and tag are properly signed:
diff --git a/cmake/helpers.cmake b/cmake/helpers.cmake
index 8fea0a7431..8ee14bd377 100644
--- a/cmake/helpers.cmake
+++ b/cmake/helpers.cmake
@@ -11,10 +11,12 @@ include(CheckCCompilerFlag)
 include(CheckCXXCompilerFlag)
 
 # This function establishes version variables based on the git describe output.
-# If there's no git available in the system, the version will be set to "0.0.0".
-# If git reports only a hash, the version will be set to "0.0.0.git.<hash>".
-# Otherwise we'll use 3-component version: major.minor.patch, just for CMake's
-# sake. A few extra variables will be set for Win dll metadata.
+# If there's no git available in the system, it falls back to reading a VERSION
+# file from the project root. If neither git nor VERSION file is available, the
+# version will be set to "0.0.0". If git reports only a hash, the version will
+# be set to "0.0.0.git.<hash>". Otherwise we'll use 3-component version:
+# major.minor.patch, just for CMake's sake. A few extra variables will be set
+# for Win dll metadata.
 #
 # Important note: CMake does not support rc or git information. According to
 # semver rules, 1.5.1-rc1 should be less than 1.5.1, but it seems hard to
@@ -78,8 +80,24 @@ function(set_version_variables)
         OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE ERROR_QUIET)
 
     if(NOT GIT_VERSION)
-        # no git or it reported no version. Use default ver: "0.0.0"
-        return()
+        # no git or it reported no version. Try fallback to VERSION file
+        if(EXISTS "${UMF_CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/VERSION")
+            file(READ "${UMF_CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/VERSION" FILE_VERSION)
+            string(STRIP ${FILE_VERSION} FILE_VERSION)
+            if(FILE_VERSION)
+                set(GIT_VERSION "v${FILE_VERSION}-dev")
+                message(
+                    STATUS
+                        "Using version from VERSION file: ${FILE_VERSION}. To get detailed version, use git and fetch tags."
+                )
+            else()
+                # VERSION file exists but is empty, use default ver: "0.0.0"
+                return()
+            endif()
+        else()
+            # no git and no VERSION file. Use default ver: "0.0.0"
+            return()
+        endif()
     endif()
 
     # v1.5.0 - we're exactly on a tag -> UMF ver: "1.5.0"