pypa/pip · error · InvalidSdistFilename

Invalid sdist filename (invalid version)

Error message

Invalid sdist filename (invalid version): {filename!r}

What it means

Raised by parse_sdist_filename() when the version portion (after the last dash in the stem) cannot be parsed by Version() (utils.py:363-368). The inner InvalidVersion is caught and re-raised as InvalidSdistFilename. The version must conform to PEP 440.

Solutions

Verify the version segment (after the last dash) is a valid PEP 440 version.
Test the version with Version(version_str) in isolation to see the exact parse failure.
If the project name contains a dash, note that rpartition splits on the LAST dash, so dashes in the name are fine but the version must be dash-free.

Example fix

// before
parse_sdist_filename('foo-latest.tar.gz')
// after
parse_sdist_filename('foo-1.0.tar.gz')

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

from packaging.version import Version, InvalidVersion

def safe_parse_sdist(filename: str):
    stem = filename[:-7] if filename.endswith(".tar.gz") else filename[:-4]
    _, _, version_part = stem.rpartition("-")
    try:
        Version(version_part)
    except InvalidVersion:
        raise ValueError(f"Invalid version {version_part!r} in sdist {filename!r}")
    return parse_sdist_filename(filename)

Type guard

from packaging.version import Version

def has_valid_sdist_version(filename: str) -> bool:
    if not isinstance(filename, str):
        return False
    if filename.endswith(".tar.gz"):
        stem = filename[:-7]
    elif filename.endswith(".zip"):
        stem = filename[:-4]
    else:
        return False
    _, sep, version_part = stem.rpartition("-")
    if not sep:
        return False
    try:
        Version(version_part)
        return True
    except Exception:
        return False

Try / catch

from packaging.utils import InvalidSdistFilename

try:
    name, ver = parse_sdist_filename(filename)
except InvalidSdistFilename as e:
    if "invalid version" in str(e):
        logger.error("Sdist version is not PEP 440 compliant: %s", filename)
    raise

Prevention

Test the version segment with Version() in isolation first
Note that rpartition splits on the LAST dash, so the version must be dash-free
Ensure version strings are PEP 440 compliant before naming the sdist

When it happens

Trigger: An sdist filename where the version segment is not a valid PEP 440 version, e.g. parse_sdist_filename('foo-latest.tar.gz') where 'latest' fails Version() parsing.

Common situations: A version like 'latest', 'snapshot', or a non-numeric tag, or a version scheme that deviates from PEP 440. Also seen when the filename has a name containing a dash so rpartition splits at the wrong position.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pypa/pip@f399c37189 (2026-08-08). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f65982e3e6d8cf47. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/pip/_vendor/packaging/utils.py:366

            f" {filename!r}"
        )

    # We are requiring a PEP 440 version, which cannot contain dashes,
    # so we split on the last dash.
    name_part, sep, version_part = file_stem.rpartition("-")
    if not sep:
        raise InvalidSdistFilename(f"Invalid sdist filename: {filename!r}")
    if not name_part:
        raise InvalidSdistFilename(
            f"Invalid sdist filename (empty project name): {filename!r}"
        )

    name = canonicalize_name(name_part)

    try:
        version = Version(version_part)
    except InvalidVersion as e:
        raise InvalidSdistFilename(
            f"Invalid sdist filename (invalid version): {filename!r}"
        ) from e

    return (name, version)

View on GitHub (pinned to f399c37189)