Semver Checker

About Semver checker

Parses, compares, sorts and range-tests semantic version numbers. Four tabs cover checking a single version, deciding which of two is newer, testing a version against an npm-style range such as caret or tilde, and sorting a pasted list. It follows the precedence rules of the semver specification, including prerelease tags.

How to use it

1. On the Parse tab, enter a version such as 1.2.3-beta.1+build.42. A leading v is stripped, and the parts are shown as major, minor, patch, prerelease and build metadata.
2. On Compare, enter Version A and Version B to see which is lower, equal or higher.
3. On Range, enter a Version and a Range such as ^1.2.0 || >=3.0.0. The tool says whether the range is satisfied and shows the expanded comparators.
4. On Sort, paste one version per line, choose Oldest first or Newest first, and press Copy sorted.

Sorting versions with prerelease tags

1.10.0
1.2.0
1.0.0-beta.2
1.0.0
1.0.0-beta.11
1.0.0-alpha

1.0.0-alpha
1.0.0-beta.2
1.0.0-beta.11
1.0.0
1.2.0
1.10.0

When to use it

• Checking whether a dependency range in package.json will accept a new release.
• Working out why a caret range refuses a prerelease build.
• Ordering a list of Git tags correctly, where 1.10.0 must come after 1.2.0 and 1.9.0.
• Validating release version strings in a CI script before publishing.

Questions about Semver checker

What does a caret range allow?

Changes that leave the left-most nonzero number alone. ^1.2.3 means at least 1.2.3 and below 2.0.0, ^0.2.3 means at least 0.2.3 and below 0.3.0, and ^0.0.3 allows only 0.0.3.

How does tilde differ?

Tilde allows patch-level updates when a minor version is given: ~1.2.3 means at least 1.2.3 and below 1.3.0, while a bare ~1 permits anything below 2.0.0.

Why does 1.5.0-beta.1 fail ^1.2.0?

A prerelease satisfies a range only when one of its comparators names a prerelease on the same major, minor and patch, matching npm. So ^1.5.0-alpha.1 accepts 1.5.0-beta.1, but ^1.2.0 does not.

Is build metadata used when comparing?

No. 1.0.0+a and 1.0.0+b compare as equal, because only major, minor, patch and prerelease identifiers decide precedence.

How are prerelease tags ordered?

Identifiers are compared left to right. Numbers compare numerically and rank below text, so beta.2 is lower than beta.11 and alpha is lower than beta. A version with a prerelease ranks below the same version without one.

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