parcel-bundler/parcel · error · Error

${name}@${version}: only npm semver dependencies are current

Error message

${name}@${version}: only npm semver dependencies are currently supported.

What it means

Thrown by `SimplePackageInstaller._npmResolve` when the version string is neither a key in the registry's `dist-tags` nor a valid npm semver range. The REPL installer intentionally rejects non-npm specifiers because it only knows how to fetch from the public npm registry.

Source

Thrown at packages/dev/repl/SimplePackageInstaller/index.js:91

      modified: string,
      'dist-tags': {|[string]: string|},
      versions: {|[string]: ResolveCacheEntry|},
    |} = await res.json();

    let resolvedVersion;
    if (version in data['dist-tags']) {
      resolvedVersion = data['dist-tags'][version];
    } else if (semver.validRange(version)) {
      // $FlowFixMe
      resolvedVersion = (semver.maxSatisfying(
        Object.keys(data.versions),
        version,
      ): string);
      if (!resolvedVersion) {
        throw new Error(`npmResolve failed: resolving ${name}@${version}`);
      }
    } else {
      throw new Error(
        `${name}@${version}: only npm semver dependencies are currently supported.`,
      );
    }
    this.cache.resolve.set(
      `${name}@${version}`,
      data.versions[resolvedVersion],
    );
    return data.versions[resolvedVersion];
  }

  async _npmFetch(tarball: string): Promise<Map<string, Uint8Array>> {
    const cacheEntry = this.cache.fetch.get(tarball);
    if (cacheEntry) {
      return cacheEntry;
    }

    const res = await fetch(tarball);
    if (!res.ok) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 59484858a1)

Solutions

1. Replace the specifier with a concrete version or semver range that exists on the public registry.
2. For aliased packages (`npm:foo@^1.2.3`), unwrap to the real package name and version.
3. For workspace/link deps, the REPL cannot install them — substitute the published npm version.
4. Validate the string with `semver.validRange(spec)` before submitting.

Example fix

// before
installer._npmResolve('mylib', 'file:../mylib')
// after
installer._npmResolve('mylib', '^1.2.0')

const semver = require('semver');
function isReplSupportedSpec(version, distTags = ['latest']) {
  return distTags.includes(version) || !!semver.validRange(version);
}

function isNpmSemverSpec(spec) {
  return typeof spec === 'string' && !/^(file|link|git|workspace|npm):/.test(spec) && !!semver.validRange(spec);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Specifier uses a git URL (`git+https://...`), GitHub shorthand (`user/repo`), local file (`file:../pkg`), link (`link:../pkg`), or an `npm:` alias; specifier is malformed and fails `semver.validRange`.

Common situations: Copying a dependency from a monorepo `package.json` that uses `workspace:*` or `link:`; pasting a git URL; typos in a version string that make it non-semver.

Related errors

• npmResolve failed: resolving ${name}@${version}
• Could not find module "${name}" satisfying ${range}.
• npmResolve failed: fetching ${name} - ${res.status}
• npmFetch failed: fetching ${tarball} - ${res.status}
• The plugin "${pluginName}" is not compatible with the curren

AI-assisted analysis of parcel-bundler/parcel@59484858a1 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7386712b69f1945e. Report an issue: GitHub.