How to fix npm ERR! code EINVALIDRANGE npm ERR! Invalid version range: ">=foo" in npm | DevErrors

How to fix "npm ERR! code EINVALIDRANGE npm ERR! Invalid version range: ">=foo""

1Find the invalid version

The error message shows exactly what's wrong:

bash

npm ERR! Invalid version range: ">=foo"

Search your package.json for this string:

bash

grep -n "foo" package.json

2Use valid semver syntax

Valid version formats:

json

{
  "dependencies": {
    "exact": "1.2.3",
    "caret": "^1.2.3",
    "tilde": "~1.2.3",
    "range": ">=1.0.0 <2.0.0",
    "or": "1.0.0 || 2.0.0",
    "any": "*",
    "latest": "latest"
  }
}

Invalid:
- ">=foo" - text instead of number
- "1.0" - missing patch version
- "v1.0.0" - leading 'v'

3Fix common mistakes

Common fixes:

json

// Wrong → Right
"1.0" → "1.0.0"
"v1.0.0" → "1.0.0"
">=1 <2" → ">=1.0.0 <2.0.0"
"1.0.0-2.0.0" → ">=1.0.0 <=2.0.0"
"latest" → "latest" // This is actually valid

4Check package-lock.json

Invalid versions can hide in the lock file:

bash

# Search for suspicious entries
grep -E '"version":\s*"[^0-9]' package-lock.json

If found, delete and regenerate:

bash

rm package-lock.json
npm install

5Use --no-audit if audit fails

Sometimes npm audit crashes on packages with historical invalid versions:

bash

npm install --no-audit

This skips the audit phase that scans all package versions.

6Validate before committing

Use a linter to catch invalid versions:

bash

npx npm-package-json-lint .

Or check specific versions:

bash

node -e "require('semver').validRange('^1.0.0')"

Advanced notes

Semver ranges in npm support complex patterns:

bash

^1.2.3 := >=1.2.3 <2.0.0 (same major)
~1.2.3 := >=1.2.3 <1.3.0 (same minor)
1.2.x  := >=1.2.0 <1.3.0
*      := >=0.0.0 (any version)

Pre-release versions have special rules:

bash

1.0.0-alpha.1 < 1.0.0-alpha.2 < 1.0.0-beta < 1.0.0

If you're using a monorepo tool like Lerna or Nx, ensure workspace protocol versions (workspace:*) are properly resolved before publishing.

For Git dependencies, use the proper URL format:

json

"git+https://github.com/user/repo.git#semver:^1.0.0"

How to fix npm ERR! code EINVALIDRANGE npm ERR! Invalid version range: ">=foo" in npm

What this error means

Typical symptoms

Common causes

How to fix "npm ERR! code EINVALIDRANGE npm ERR! Invalid version range: ">=foo""

Advanced notes

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Official resources & further reading