Hmbown/CodeWhale · error · ValidationError

workspace packages have mixed versions

Error message

workspace packages have mixed versions: {rendered}

What it means

The release process requires all workspace crates to share a single version. After collecting the distinct versions from cargo metadata, if there is more than one (or the single version is missing/empty), the validator throws with the rendered list of conflicting versions so the developer can see exactly which versions disagree.

Solutions

1. Read the rendered versions in the error and find which crates disagree (grep each Cargo.toml for `version`).
2. Bump/align every workspace crate's [package].version to the same value (use the repo's version-bump/release script if present).
3. Check for merge-conflict leftovers like `<<<<<<<` in a Cargo.toml version line.
4. Re-run `cargo metadata` and the validator to confirm a single version.

Example fix

// before (crates/tui/Cargo.toml)
version = "0.4.0"  // others at 0.4.1
// after
version = "0.4.1"

import subprocess, json
meta = json.loads(subprocess.check_output(['cargo','metadata','--format-version','1']))
versions = {p['version'] for p in meta['packages']}
assert len(versions) == 1 and all(versions), f'mixed versions: {versions}'

try:
    validate_order(...)
except ValidationError as e:
    print(e, file=sys.stderr); sys.exit(1)  # message lists the conflicting versions

When it happens

Trigger: Bumping the version of one crate (or forgetting to bump the rest) before running scripts/release/validate-crate-publish-order.py; a crate with a missing or empty `version` field in its Cargo.toml.

Common situations: Manual version edits during a release cut instead of using the release script; a merge that took one side of a version bump; a newly added workspace crate created from a template with version 0.0.0.

Understand the failure class

Background: Conflicting config options: "cannot be used together" — configuration validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 162 libraries.

Related errors

• Cargo metadata contains duplicate workspace package names
• cargo metadata failed with exit code
• Cargo metadata omits workspace package ids
• could not read Cargo metadata
• depends on workspace crate [ ], which is not in the…

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@433685b202 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b9d9a383d97a5fcf. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at scripts/release/validate-crate-publish-order.py:101

) -> tuple[str, dict[str, bool]]:
    duplicate_crates = sorted(
        {name for name in ordered_crates if ordered_crates.count(name) > 1}
    )
    if duplicate_crates:
        raise ValidationError(
            "publish package list contains duplicates: " + ", ".join(duplicate_crates)
        )

    names = [package.get("name") for package in packages]
    if any(not isinstance(name, str) or not name for name in names):
        raise ValidationError("workspace package is missing a name")
    if len(set(names)) != len(names):
        raise ValidationError("Cargo metadata contains duplicate workspace package names")

    versions = sorted({package.get("version") for package in packages})
    if len(versions) != 1 or not isinstance(versions[0], str) or not versions[0]:
        rendered = ", ".join(str(version) for version in versions)
        raise ValidationError(f"workspace packages have mixed versions: {rendered}")

    workspace_by_name = {package["name"]: package for package in packages}
    release_names = sorted(
        name for name in workspace_by_name if name.startswith("codewhale-")
    )
    ordered_set = set(ordered_crates)
    missing = sorted(set(release_names) - ordered_set)
    extra = sorted(ordered_set - set(release_names))
    if missing or extra:
        messages = []
        if missing:
            messages.append("publish package list is missing workspace crates: " + " ".join(missing))
        if extra:
            messages.append(
                "publish package list contains non-workspace crates: " + " ".join(extra)
            )
        raise ValidationError("\n".join(messages))

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