Version suggestion

When -v / --version is omitted, VerBump suggests the next version: it advances a prerelease counter, or reads Conventional Commits since the last tag to pick major / minor / patch.

Prereleases

If the current version has a -<id> segment, the trailing numeric counter is bumped (or .1 is appended if there isn't one). Build metadata after + is preserved:

Stable versions

VerBump inspects Conventional Commits since the previous tag:

• feat!: / <type>!: / BREAKING CHANGE: in body → major
• feat: → minor
• anything else (or no previous tag) → patch

You can always override the suggestion at the interactive prompt, or pass -v <version> to skip the prompt entirely. Values passed to -v are validated against SemVer 2.0, so typos like verbump -v banana fail fast.

Forced bumps

For a non-interactive forced bump that doesn't require typing the full version, use --major / --minor / --patch. They bump the current version's matching component, drop any prerelease/build metadata (1.2.3-dev.5 --patch → 1.2.4), and are mutually exclusive with each other and with -v. Combining more than one exits with code 2.

Entering and advancing a prerelease line

To enter or advance a prerelease line, add --preid <id>:

--preid is mutually exclusive with -v, and <id> is validated against the SemVer prerelease grammar before anything is mutated. To graduate a prerelease back to a stable release, --major/--minor/--patch without --preid bumps from the stable core as usual, or pass an explicit -v <version> or accept the interactive prompt.