diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index acfefb8c1bed8650be1956964b0e8e5353ddd483..175bb722ecac009d4f2e37ff5679599739f31f91 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,17 +3,14 @@ cmake_minimum_required( VERSION 3.30 FATAL_ERROR )
 project(libcdi VERSION 2.5.1 LANGUAGES C )
 set(CMAKE_C_STANDARD 11)
 
-include(CheckIncludeFile)
+add_compile_definitions(CDI=1)
+add_compile_definitions(PACKAGE_NAME="libcdi")
+add_compile_definitions(VERSION="${CMAKE_PROJECT_VERSION}")
 
-configure_file (
-  "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake/cdi_config.h.in"
-  "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/config.h"
-  )
+include(CheckIncludeFile)
 
 #NetCDF
 find_package(netCDF COMPONENTS C REQUIRED)
-set(netcdf_flag HAVE_LIBNETCDF)
-set(netcdf_flag ${HAVE_LIBNETCDF})
 check_include_file("netcdf.h" ${netcdf_flag} C)
 if (${netCDF_FOUND})
     message(STATUS "added compile definition HAVE_LIBNETCDF=${netCDF_FOUND}")