Semantic Version Syntax for Packages

The MATLAB^® package manager uses semantic version syntax to help distinguish between different iterations of a package and to help avoid unwanted incompatibilities. Every package has an associated version. When a package is updated, it is recommended that the version is updated to reflect the new changes.

Semantic Versions

Version syntax follows the Semantic Versioning 2.0.0 standard where versions are presented in the following format: <Major Version>.<Minor Version>.<Patch Version> where each version number must be a non-negative integer, for example 1.2.3. Pre-release status is optional and is specified by adding -<pre-release version> to the end of the version range, for example 1.2.3-alpha. A specific build is optional and specified by adding +<build version>.

Here are several examples of valid semantic version syntax:

1.0.0
1.2.3-alpha
1.2.3-alpha+exp
3.5.1+latest

Version Ranges

In some cases, such as for package dependencies, a range of versions can be specified. A version range can include the <, <=, >, or >= operators in front of a version number. For example >2.1.13 would specify all versions greater than 2.1.13. Multiple ranges separated by whitespace can be specified to further limit matches. For example, >2.1.13 <=2.1.15 would include versions 2.1.14 and 2.1.15 but would not include 2.1.13 or 2.1.16. Use the || operator to designate multiple acceptable version ranges. For example, <2.1.13 || >2.1.15 would include versions less than 2.1.13 and greater than 2.1.15 but would not include 2.1.14.

Here are several examples of valid semantic version range syntax:

>2.1.13
>2.1.13 <=2.1.15
<2.1.13 || >2.1.15

MATLAB Release Version

MATLAB release do not follow the Semantic Versioning 2.0.0 standard. For MATLAB releases versions consists of three dot-separated numbers in the format: <release year>.<first or second release>.<update number>. When specifying MATLAB version using this version syntax, the first number is equal to the last two digits of the release year. The second number is 1 for a releases and 2 for b releases. The update number corresponds to the update version. For example, R2024b would have a version of 24.2.0. The first update for R2025a would have a version of 25.1.1. Pre-release status is optional and is specified by adding -prerelease to the end of the version range, for example the prerelease version of R2025b would be 25.2.0-prerelease.