phar-io/version · error · NoPreReleaseSuffixException

No pre-release suffix set

Error message

No pre-release suffix set

What it means

NoPreReleaseSuffixException is thrown by Version::getPreReleaseSuffix when the version was parsed from a string without a pre-release part (e.g. '1.2.3'), so $this->preReleaseSuffix is null. The getter has a non-nullable return type, so instead of returning null it throws. Callers must check hasPreReleaseSuffix() first.

Solutions

  1. Call $version->hasPreReleaseSuffix() before getPreReleaseSuffix().
  2. Wrap the call in try/catch for NoPreReleaseSuffixException and treat absence as 'stable'.
  3. If the suffix is genuinely required, validate the input version string contains a '-' pre-release section before constructing.

Example fix

// before
$suffix = $version->getPreReleaseSuffix();

// after
$suffix = $version->hasPreReleaseSuffix() ? $version->getPreReleaseSuffix() : null;
Defensive patterns

Strategy: type-guard

Validate before calling

// PHP
if (strpos($versionString, '-') === false) {
    // no pre-release section; skip suffix handling
}

Type guard

function getSuffixOrNull(\Composer\Semver\Version $v): ?\Composer\Semver\PreReleaseSuffix {
    return $v->hasPreReleaseSuffix() ? $v->getPreReleaseSuffix() : null;
}

Try / catch

try {
    $suffix = $version->getPreReleaseSuffix();
} catch (NoPreReleaseSuffixException $e) {
    $suffix = null; // stable release
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling $version->getPreReleaseSuffix() on a Version constructed from '1.2.3' or '1.2.3+build'; comparing versions with isGreaterThan is safe internally, but direct getter calls on stable versions throw.

Common situations: Formatting a version string for output by unconditionally calling getPreReleaseSuffix; logging code that assumes every version has a pre-release; tests that parse a plain stable version and then query the suffix.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of phar-io/version@5eeb03f1ee (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/72e2485d1a2068b3. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Version.php:41

    private $patch;

    /** @var null|PreReleaseSuffix */
    private $preReleaseSuffix;

    /** @var null|BuildMetaData */
    private $buildMetadata;

    public function __construct(string $versionString) {
        $this->ensureVersionStringIsValid($versionString);
        $this->originalVersionString = $versionString;
    }

    /**
     * @throws NoPreReleaseSuffixException
     */
    public function getPreReleaseSuffix(): PreReleaseSuffix {
        if ($this->preReleaseSuffix === null) {
            throw new NoPreReleaseSuffixException('No pre-release suffix set');
        }

        return $this->preReleaseSuffix;
    }

    public function getOriginalString(): string {
        return $this->originalVersionString;
    }

    public function getVersionString(): string {
        $str = \sprintf(
            '%d.%d.%d',
            $this->getMajor()->getValue() ?? 0,
            $this->getMinor()->getValue() ?? 0,
            $this->getPatch()->getValue() ?? 0
        );

        if (!$this->hasPreReleaseSuffix()) {

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