hashicorp/packer · error

could not parse release version %s. %w

Error message

could not parse release version %s. %w

What it means

Plugin installation warning/error from InstallLatest: a release entry in the checksum/release list carries a version string that go-version cannot parse (e.g. missing v prefix or malformed semver). That release is skipped; the error surfaces if no valid candidates remain.

Source

Thrown at packer/plugin-getter/plugins.go:674

		}

		releases, err := ParseReleases(releasesFile)
		if err != nil {
			err := fmt.Errorf("could not parse release: %w", err)
			errs = multierror.Append(errs, err)
			log.Printf("[TRACE] %s", err.Error())
			continue
		}
		if len(releases) == 0 {
			err := fmt.Errorf("no release found")
			errs = multierror.Append(errs, err)
			log.Printf("[TRACE] %s", err.Error())
			continue
		}
		for _, release := range releases {
			v, err := goversion.NewVersion(release.Version)
			if err != nil {
				err := fmt.Errorf("could not parse release version %s. %w", release.Version, err)
				errs = multierror.Append(errs, err)
				log.Printf("[TRACE] %s, ignoring it", err.Error())
				continue
			}
			if pr.VersionConstraints.Check(v) {
				versions = append(versions, v)
			}
		}
		if len(versions) == 0 {
			err := fmt.Errorf("no matching version found in releases. In %v", releases)
			errs = multierror.Append(errs, err)
			log.Printf("[TRACE] %s", err.Error())
			continue
		}

		// Here we want to try every release in order, starting from the highest one
		// that matches the requirements. The system and protocol version need to
		// match too.

View on GitHub (pinned to eb36e3c3e4)

Solutions

1. Ignore — the malformed release is skipped and installation continues with valid ones
2. If all releases fail, check the plugin's release page for malformed version tags

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packer/plugin-getter/plugins.go:674 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/packer@eb36e3c3e4 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e03bfdebfa594f2f. Report an issue: GitHub.