SemVer (semver.org) gives release versions meaning:
MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH
- MAJOR — breaking changes.
1.x → 2.0 means consumers must adapt.
- MINOR — backwards-compatible features.
1.2 → 1.3 is safe to upgrade.
- PATCH — backwards-compatible fixes.
1.2.3 → 1.2.4 is always safe.
Pre-releases use -: 2.0.0-rc.1, 2.0.0-beta.3. They sort before 2.0.0.
Build metadata uses +: 1.0.0+20260516. Ignored when comparing precedence.
For 0.x: anything goes — APIs are still unstable.
For 1.0+: breaking changes require a major bump.
npm version major|minor|patch does the bump + git tag in one shot.