Plugin validator incorrectly rejects version with build metadata as not greater than the published version #477
Description
Summary
When submitting a new plugin version (2.2.1+0a499b1ea78ca3e4e31ceaaa1710024c8b84507a) to the plugin validator, the following error is thrown:
Error: The submitted plugin version 2.2.1+0a499b1ea78ca3e4e31ceaaa1710024c8b84507a is not greater than the latest published version 2.2.1 on grafana.com.
Details
- The submission includes a commit hash as a build metadata after the version (2.2.1+HASH), which makes it technically a different build, but the plugin validator treats it as the same as 2.2.1 and fails the submission.
- According to the feedback from Slack, since the hash is considered 'random', it's still treated as version 2.2.1.
- Expected: The check should either ignore the build metadata and/or provide clearer messaging for plugins with build metadata in version.
Slack Context
- User: Esteban Beltran
- Conversation: “Best you can do is to disable this specific version check. But, can you please open an issue for this case? I will make sure to see if we can handle this as it should.”
Steps to Reproduce
- Submit a plugin version formatted as
MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH+HASHwhere MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH matches an existing published version. - Observe that the plugin validator rejects the submission.
Expected Behavior
- The validator should handle versions with build metadata correctly or provide a more descriptive error if this is intentional.
Current Behavior
- Submissions with build metadata (e.g., 2.2.1+HASH) are rejected as not being greater than the previous version (2.2.1).
Slack reference: conversation between Esteban Beltran and zoltanbedi (Dec 15, 2025).
Related failed job:
https://github.com/grafana/google-sheets-datasource/actions/runs/20171742821/job/57909131378?pr=381