[BUG] Upstream Dependency Conflict With Beta Version, Semver Check Is Fine
Introduction
In this article, we will explore a common issue that arises when working with upstream dependencies in npm. Specifically, we will examine a scenario where a beta version of a library is released, and a peer dependency is installed with a semver range that includes the beta version. We will delve into the error message, the npm log, and the expected behavior to understand the root cause of the issue.
Current Behavior
When installing a library with a peer dependency that includes a beta version, npm throws an error indicating an upstream dependency conflict. The error message is as follows:
npm error code ERESOLVE
npm error ERESOLVE unable to resolve dependency tree
npm error
npm error While resolving: app@1.0.0
npm error Found: moleculer@0.15.0-beta1
npm error node_modules/moleculer
npm error moleculer@"^0.15.0-beta1" from the root project
npm error
npm error Could not resolve dependency:
npm error peer moleculer@"^0.14.12 || ^0.15.0" from @moleculer/database@0.2.1
npm error node_modules/@moleculer/database
npm error @moleculer/database@"*" from the root project
npm error
npm error Fix the upstream dependency conflict, or retry
npm error this command with --force or --legacy-peer-deps
npm error to accept an incorrect (and potentially broken) dependency resolution.
npm error
npm error
npm error For a full report see:
npm error /root/.npm/_logs/2025-04-25T09_59_36_245Z-eresolve-report.txt
NPM Log Content
The npm log provides valuable information about the installation process. Here is a snippet of the log:
0 verbose cli /usr/local/bin/node /usr/local/bin/npm
1 info using npm@10.8.2
2 info using node@v20.19.1
3 silly config load:file:/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/npmrc
4 silly config load:file:/app/.npmrc
5 silly config load:file:/root/.npmrc
6 silly config load:file:/usr/local/etc/npmrc
7 verbose title npm install @moleculer/database
8 verbose argv "install" "@moleculer/database" "--save"
9 verbose logfile logs-max:10 dir:/root/.npm/_logs/2025-04-25T09_59_36_245Z-
10 verbose logfile /root/.npm/_logs/2025-04-25T09_59_36_245Z-debug-0.log
11 silly packumentCache heap:4345298944 maxSize:1086324736 maxEntrySize:543162368
12 silly logfile done cleaning log files
13 silly idealTree buildDeps
14 silly fetch manifest @moleculer/database@*
15 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/@moleculer%2fdatabase cache-miss
16 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@moleculer%2fdatabase 1490ms (cache miss)
17 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/@oleculer%2fdatabase set size:undefined disposed:false
18 silly fetch manifest moleculer@^0.15.0-beta1
19 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/moleculer cache-miss
20 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/moleculer 5ms (cache hit)
21 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/moleculer set size:579116 disposed:false
22 silly fetch manifest moleculer@^0.14.12 || ^0.15.0
23 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/moleculer cache-hit
24 silly fetch manifest amqplib@^0.10.0
25 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/amqplib cache-miss
26 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/amqplib 2ms (cache hit)
27 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/amqplib set size:76867 disposed:false
28 silly fetch manifest bunyan@^1.0.0
29 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/bunyan cache-miss
30 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/bunyan 2ms (cache hit)
31 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/bunyan set size:426781 disposed:false
32 silly fetch manifest cbor-x@^1.2.0
33 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/cbor-x cache-miss
34 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/cbor-x 2ms (cache hit)
35 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/cbor-x set size:152842 disposed:false
36 silly fetch manifest dd-trace@^4.20.0
37 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/dd-trace cache-miss
38 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/dd-trace 8ms (cache hit)
39 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/dd-trace set size:4439666 disposed:false
40 silly fetch manifest debug@^4.0.0
41 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/debug cache-miss
42 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/debug 2ms (cache hit)
43 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/debug set size:191237 disposed:false
44 silly fetch manifest etcd3@^1.0.0
45 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/etcd3 cache-miss
46 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/etcd3 2ms (cache hit)
47 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/etcd3 set size:70982 disposed:false
48 silly fetch manifest ioredis@^5.0.0
49 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/ioredis cache-miss
50 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/ioredis 3ms (cache hit)
51 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/ioredis set size:791702 disposed:false
52 fetch manifest jaeger-client@^3.0.0
53 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/jaeger-client cache-miss
54 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/jaeger-client 2ms (cache hit)
55 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/jaeger-client set size:207194 disposed:false
56 silly fetch manifest kafkajs@^2.2.4
57 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/kafkajs cache-miss
58 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/kafkajs 7ms (cache hit)
59 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/kafkajs set size:3133174 disposed:false
60 silly fetch manifest log4js@^6.0.0
61 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/log4js cache-miss
62 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/log4js 4ms (cache hit)
63 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/log4js set size:409691 disposed:false
64 silly fetch manifest mqtt@^5.0.0
65 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/mqtt cache-miss
66 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/mqtt 5ms (cache hit)
67 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/mqtt set size:761574 disposed:false
68 silly fetch manifest msgpack5@^6.0.0
69 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/msgpack5 cache-miss
70 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/msgpack5 2ms (cache hit)
71 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/msgpack5 set size:123714 disposed:false
72 silly fetch manifest nats@^2.0.0
73 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/nats cache-miss
74 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/nats 3ms (cache hit)
75 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/nats set size:773834 disposed:false
76 silly fetch manifest notepack.io@^2.0.0
77 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/notepack.io cache-miss
78 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/notepack.io 2ms (cache hit)
79 silly packumentCache full:https://registry.npmjs.org/notepack.io set size:35022 disposed:false
80 silly fetch manifest pino@^7.0.0
81<br/>
**Q&A: Upstream Dependency Conflict with Beta Version, Semver Check is Fine**
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**Q: What is an upstream dependency conflict?**
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A: An upstream dependency conflict occurs when a library or package has a dependency on another library or package that is not compatible with the current version of the package being installed.
**Q: What is a beta version of a library?**
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A: A beta version of a library is a pre-release version of the library that is not yet stable or fully tested. Beta versions are often used to gather feedback from users and to identify and fix bugs before the final release.
**Q: Why does npm throw an error when installing a library with a peer dependency that includes a beta version?**
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A: npm throws an error when installing a library with a peer dependency that includes a beta version because the beta version is not considered a stable or compatible version of the library. npm is designed to ensure that dependencies are installed in a way that is compatible with the current version of the package being installed.
**Q: What is the expected behavior when installing a library with a peer dependency that includes a beta version?**
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A: The expected behavior when installing a library with a peer dependency that includes a beta version is that npm should throw an error indicating an upstream dependency conflict. This is because the beta version is not considered a stable or compatible version of the library.
**Q: How can I resolve the upstream dependency conflict?**
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A: To resolve the upstream dependency conflict, you can try one of the following options:
* Use the `--force` flag to force npm to install the library with the beta version.
* Use the `--legacy-peer-deps` flag to allow npm to install the library with the beta version, even if it is not considered a stable or compatible version.
* Update the peer dependency to use a stable or compatible version of the library.
* Use a different version of the library that is compatible with the current version of the package being installed.
**Q: Why does the semver check indicate that the beta version is compatible?**
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A: The semver check indicates that the beta version is compatible because the semver range `^0.14.12 || ^0.15.0` includes the beta version `0.15.0-beta1`. However, the semver check does not take into account the fact that the beta version is not considered a stable or compatible version of the library.
**Q: How can I avoid upstream dependency conflicts in the future?**
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A: To avoid upstream dependency conflicts in the future, you can follow these best practices:
* Use stable and compatible versions of libraries and packages.
* Avoid using beta versions of libraries and packages.
* Use the `--force` or `--legacy-peer-deps` flags with caution and only when necessary.
* Update peer dependencies to use stable and compatible versions of libraries and packages.
* Use a version manager, such as `nvm`, to manage different versions of Node.js and npm.
**Q: What are some common causes of upstream dependency conflicts?**
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A: Some common causes of upstream dependency conflicts include:
* Using beta versions of libraries and packages.
* Using unstable or incompatible versions of libraries and packages.
* Failing to update peer dependencies to use stable and compatible versions of libraries and packages.
* Using different versions of Node.js or npm that are not compatible with the current version of the package being installed.
* Using a version manager, such as `nvm`, that is not properly configured.