npm

npm install fails "invalid version"

When trying to install from the package.json, following error occurs

>npm install
npm ERR! install Couldn't read dependencies
npm ERR! Error: Invalid version: "1.0.0.0"

package.json
{
  "name": "version-sample",
  "version": "1.0.0.0",
  "dependencies": { 
      "sample" : "*" 
   }
}
Solution

  • TLDR; Semantic Versioning (semver) is enforced.

    To answer the question:

    The version number can only be like \d+\.\d+\.\d+, so \d+\.\d+.\d+.\d+ is not valid. Therefore "1.0.0.0" is not valid and and "1.0.0" is. But check the link below for a more accurat description.

    Here’s an example of a valid package.json:

    {
  "name": "version-sample",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "dependencies": { 
      "sample" : "*" 
   }
}

    NPM has some documentation. The full documentation of Semantic Versionenig (semver) can be found here https://semver.org/ (including a proper regex)

    Short excursion about valid versions:

    And this is how the version should be created:

    Given a version number MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH, increment the:

    MAJOR version when you make incompatible API changes

    MINOR version when you add functionality in a backwards compatible manner

    PATCH version when you make backwards compatible bug fixes

    Additional labels for pre-release and build metadata are available as extensions to the MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format.

    Here are some sample of semver valid versions: