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Semver Comparator

Compare two semantic versions and test them against a range.

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Caret, tilde, x-ranges, hyphen ranges, comparator sets and || unions are all understood.

Quick Tool Overview

The Semver Comparator compares two versions and tests them against a range, with the two rules that cause most of the surprises implemented properly — caret tightening below 1.0.0, and a prerelease only matching a range that already mentions one.

What it does
Compares versions and evaluates ranges
You give it
Two versions, and optionally a range
You get back
Which is higher, what changed, and what the range allows
Best for
Working out what a dependency range really permits
Developer Tools Free, unlimited use No sign-up Runs in your browser

About the Semver Comparator

Compare two semantic versions, see which is higher and which part changed, and test whether a version satisfies a range — caret, tilde, x-ranges, hyphen ranges, comparator sets and unions all behave the way npm makes them behave.

Two rules cause most of the surprises. Below 1.0.0, a caret range tightens: `^0.2.3` allows 0.2.9 but not 0.3.0, because in a zero-major package the minor is treated as the breaking number. And a prerelease only satisfies a range that already mentions a prerelease on the same major.minor.patch — which is why `^1.0.0` does not match 2.0.0-rc.1 even though 2.0.0-rc.1 sorts below 2.0.0. Both are implemented here, along with the ordering rule that numeric prerelease identifiers compare numerically, so beta.11 correctly outranks beta.2.

Key features of the Semver Comparator

Zero-major caret handled

^0.2.3 allows 0.2.9 but not 0.3.0, because below 1.0.0 the minor is treated as the breaking number. This is the rule most implementations get wrong.

Prerelease matching by the specification

^1.0.0 does not match 2.0.0-rc.1, so an untested release candidate is never installed just because it sorts below a version you allowed.

Correct prerelease ordering

Numeric identifiers compare numerically, so beta.11 outranks beta.2 rather than sorting below it as a string would.

Every range syntax

Caret, tilde, x-ranges, hyphen ranges, comparator sets and || unions, with the bounds each expands to shown.

The next version too

What a major, minor, patch or prerelease bump would produce from where you are.

How to use the Semver Comparator

  1. 1

    Enter two versions

    Any two semantic versions, with or without a leading v.

  2. 2

    Read the comparison

    Which is higher, and whether the difference is major, minor, patch or prerelease.

  3. 3

    Test a range

    Enter something like ^1.2.3 or >=2 <3 to see whether the version satisfies it, and what the range expands to.

  4. 4

    Check the next version

    The result shows what a major, minor, patch or prerelease bump would produce.

Frequently asked questions

A caret allows anything up to the next major: ^1.2.3 covers 1.9.0. A tilde allows only patch changes: ~1.2.3 stops before 1.3.0. Caret is npm’s default because minor releases are supposed to be backwards compatible.

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What people who use the Semver Comparator think of it. Reviews come from visitors and are posted as written.

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