Aider-AI/aider · error · ValueError

New version {new_version} must be greater than the current v

Error message

New version {new_version} must be greater than the current version {current_version}

What it means

The second gate in scripts/versionbump.py: after format validation it imports aider.__version__ and requires the requested new_version to be strictly greater than the currently shipped version (new_version <= current raises). This prevents bumping to the same version (re-release) or backwards (rollback/typo like 0.1.0 instead of 1.0.0). Comparison uses packaging.version ordering, so 1.10.0 > 1.9.0 works correctly.

Source

Thrown at scripts/versionbump.py:111

        check_working_directory_clean()
        check_main_branch_up_to_date()
        check_ok_to_push()
    else:
        print("Skipping pre-push checks due to --force flag.")

    new_version_str = args.new_version
    if not re.match(r"^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$", new_version_str):
        raise ValueError(f"Invalid version format, must be x.y.z: {new_version_str}")

    new_version = version.parse(new_version_str)
    incremented_version = version.Version(
        f"{new_version.major}.{new_version.minor}.{new_version.micro + 1}"
    )

    from aider import __version__ as current_version

    if new_version <= version.parse(current_version):
        raise ValueError(
            f"New version {new_version} must be greater than the current version {current_version}"
        )

    with open("aider/__init__.py", "r") as f:
        content = f.read()
    updated_content = re.sub(r'__version__ = ".+?"', f'__version__ = "{new_version}"', content)

    print("Updating aider/__init__.py with new version:")
    print(updated_content)
    if not dry_run:
        with open("aider/__init__.py", "w") as f:
            f.write(updated_content)

    git_commands = [
        ["git", "add", "aider/__init__.py"],
        ["git", "commit", "-m", f"version bump to {new_version}"],
        ["git", "tag", f"v{new_version}"],
        ["git", "push", "origin", "--no-verify"],

View on GitHub (pinned to 5dc9490bb3)

Solutions

1. Check the current version: python -c "from aider import __version__; print(__version__)" and pass a strictly greater x.y.z.
2. If a previous bump already rewrote aider/__init__.py, git checkout aider/__init__.py to reset it before re-running (also clears the dirty-tree check).
3. For deliberate re-release of the same version, upstream policy requires a new patch number — bump micro instead.

Example fix

# before
$ python -c "from aider import __version__; print(__version__)"  # 0.72.0
$ python scripts/versionbump.py 0.72.0  # ValueError: must be greater

# after
$ python scripts/versionbump.py 0.72.1

from packaging.version import Version, InvalidVersion
from aider import __version__

def bump_is_valid(new_version: str) -> bool:
    try:
        return Version(new_version) > Version(__version__)
    except InvalidVersion:
        return False

When it happens

Trigger: Running versionbump.py with a value equal to or lower than the __version__ string in aider/__init__.py — e.g. re-running the same bump after a partial run already rewrote __init__.py, or requesting an older version to fix a bad release. Note the earlier pre-push checks (clean tree) would flag an already-modified __init__.py unless --force skipped them.

Common situations: Re-running the bump script after a failed/interrupted release (version already advanced, second run now 'not greater'); typo'd downgrade; forking from a fork whose __version__ is ahead.

Related errors

• Invalid version format, must be x.y.z: {new_version_str}
• Could not find version header in HISTORY.md
• Could not find start of release history
• Could not find version header: {version_header}
• Invalid line_endings value: {line_endings}. Must be one of:

AI-assisted analysis of Aider-AI/aider@5dc9490bb3 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3fe3c8f63644f069. Report an issue: GitHub.