Q: When should I bump the major version?

Bump MAJOR when you make incompatible API changes — anything that would break existing consumers. If you follow strict semver, every MAJOR bump is a signal to users that they must read a migration guide before upgrading.

Q: What is a pre-release tag?

A pre-release tag like -alpha.1, -beta.2 or -rc.1 marks a version as not yet stable. Pre-release versions sort before their corresponding release (1.0.0-beta < 1.0.0). Tools like npm will not install pre-releases by default, which protects users from unstable code.

Question 1

What is semantic versioning (semver)?

Accepted Answer

Semantic Versioning 2.0.0 (semver) is a version numbering scheme: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH. Increment MAJOR for incompatible API changes, MINOR for new backward-compatible features, and PATCH for backward-compatible bug fixes. Optional pre-release (-alpha.1) and build metadata (+20260101) tags can be appended.

Question 2

How do I compare two semver versions?

Accepted Answer

Compare the MAJOR, then MINOR, then PATCH numerically. Pre-release versions have lower precedence than the normal version (1.0.0-alpha < 1.0.0). Build metadata (+sha) is ignored for precedence. This tool does the comparison instantly and explains the result.

Question 3

When should I bump the major version?

Accepted Answer

Bump MAJOR when you make incompatible API changes — anything that would break existing consumers. If you follow strict semver, every MAJOR bump is a signal to users that they must read a migration guide before upgrading.

Question 4

What is a pre-release tag?

Accepted Answer

A pre-release tag like -alpha.1, -beta.2 or -rc.1 marks a version as not yet stable. Pre-release versions sort before their corresponding release (1.0.0-beta < 1.0.0). Tools like npm will not install pre-releases by default, which protects users from unstable code.

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