"%s" is not a valid version. Please use a valid semantic ver

Error message

"%s" is not a valid version.
Please use a valid semantic version number, "lts", or "latest".

What it means

Sent on the install status channel when getVersion()/semver resolution left err non-nil after all rescue paths (invalid version and not a "No Major.Minor.Patch" case). It is the generic 'not a valid version' terminal message, echoing requestedVersion and telling the user the accepted forms: semantic version, lts, or latest.

Source

Thrown at src/nvm.go:648

					sverr = sv.Validate()
				}
				if sverr != nil {
					version = findLatestSubVersion(version)
					if len(version) == 0 {
						sverr = errors.New("Unrecognized version: \"" + requestedVersion + "\"")
					}
				}
				err = sverr
			}

			if err != nil {
				status <- Status{Err: err, Help: true}
				return
			}
		}

		if err != nil {
			status <- Status{Err: fmt.Errorf(`"%s" is not a valid version.`+"\n"+`Please use a valid semantic version number, "lts", or "latest".`, requestedVersion)}
			return
		}

		if checkVersionExceedsLatest(version) {
			status <- Status{Err: fmt.Errorf("Node.js v%s is not yet released or is not available for download yet.", version)}
			return
		}

		if cpuarch == "64" && !web.IsNode64bitAvailable(version) {
			status <- Status{Err: fmt.Errorf("Node.js v%s is only available in 32-bit.", version)}
			return
		}

		// Check to see if the version is already installed
		if !node.IsVersionInstalled(env.root, version, cpuarch) {
			if !node.IsVersionAvailable(version) {
				url := web.GetFullNodeUrl("index.json")
				status <- Status{Err: fmt.Errorf("Version %s is not available.\n\nThe complete list of available versions can be found at %s", version, url)}

View on GitHub (pinned to 5b18223ca1)

Solutions

Use an exact released version from `nvm ls available`, e.g. `nvm install 20.11.0`.
Use `latest` or `lts` aliases.
Strip whitespace/quotes/CR characters from scripted version strings: `nvm install $(printf '%s' "$V" | tr -d '[:space:]')`.
For prerelease builds, install manually by unzipping into <NVM_HOME>\v<version>.

Example fix

# before
nvm install " 20.11.0 "
# after
nvm install 20.11.0

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# bash: trim whitespace/CR and validate shape before install
V=$(printf '%s' "$NODE_VERSION" | tr -d '[:space:]')
case "$V" in latest|lts|*[0-9].[0-9].[0-9]*) nvm install "$V" ;; *) echo "bad version: $V" >&2; exit 1 ;; esac

Prevention

Strip whitespace and CR from scripted version strings (affects Windows CRLF files).
Avoid prerelease tags; nvm-windows only installs official index versions.
Validate the token shape before passing it so the CLI help path never triggers.

When it happens

Trigger: `nvm install 20.11` where the partial-version lookup path errored in a way other than 'No Major.Minor.Patch'; malformed input like `nvm install v20.11.0-beta` where the prerelease tag fails this build's semver handling; or an empty/garbage string that slips past earlier checks.

Common situations: Prerelease/tagged versions (e.g. `-nightly`, custom builds); scripts concatenating extra characters onto the version; users pasting versions from blog posts with invisible whitespace.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of coreybutler/nvm-windows@5b18223ca1 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/48c2181745312ce2. Report an issue: GitHub.