"Snapshot releases must have -SNAPSHOT version number, doing nothing" despite NON-SNAPSHOT version

[tribbloid]

I'm running ci-release locally to publish to maven-central as the project is only tested on CI as a git submodule.

All environments variables (including credentials) are defined in a bash script prior to publishing:

#!/bin/bash

# Script to run sbt ci-release for publishing to Sonatype Central

# Exit on error
set -e

# Set required environment variables
export CI=true  # Required by sbt-ci-release

# <credentials for signing and publishing omitted>

# Optional: Set the tag for release (if not set, it will use the current git tag)
export CI_RELEASE_TAG="v3.2.19.0"

# Clean any previous builds
echo "Cleaning previous builds..."
sbt clean

# Run the release
echo "Running sbt ci-release..."
sbt ci-release

after setting CI_RELEASE_TAG and execute it, I got the following error

$ git status
HEAD detached at v3.2.19.1
nothing to commit, working tree clean
$ ./dev/release.sh 
Cleaning previous builds...
[info] welcome to sbt 1.11.2 (Ubuntu Java 17.0.15)
[info] loading project definition from /home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/project/project/project
[info] loading project definition from /home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/project/project
[info] loading settings for project scalatestplus-junit5-build from metals.sbt, plugins.sbt...
[info] loading project definition from /home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/project
[info] loading settings for project scalatestplus-junit5 from build.sbt...
[info] set current project to junit-5.13 (in build file:/home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/)
[success] Total time: 0 s, completed Jul. 19, 2025, 7:27:59 p.m.
Running sbt ci-release...
[info] welcome to sbt 1.11.2 (Ubuntu Java 17.0.15)
[info] loading project definition from /home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/project/project/project
[info] loading project definition from /home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/project/project
[info] loading settings for project scalatestplus-junit5-build from metals.sbt, plugins.sbt...
[info] loading project definition from /home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/project
[info] loading settings for project scalatestplus-junit5 from build.sbt...
[info] set current project to junit-5.13 (in build file:/home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/)
Running ci-release.
  branch=<unknown>
gpg (GnuPG) 2.4.4
gpg: key E1D4CD2CE69ED220: "tribbloid <pc175@uow.edu.au>" not changed
gpg: key E1D4CD2CE69ED220: secret key imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:              unchanged: 1
gpg:       secret keys read: 1
gpg:  secret keys unchanged: 1
Snapshot releases must have -SNAPSHOT version number, doing nothing

the last sentence doesn't make sense, both the git tag and the environment variable has clearly defined the number as 3.2.19.1, without snapshot. How did this happen?

[tgodzik]

Thanks for reporting! I think this might be the version available in sbt. What is being shown with sbt show version ?

[tribbloid]

good question! it is 3.2.19.1:

$ sbt "show version"
[info] welcome to sbt 1.11.2 (Ubuntu Java 17.0.15)
[info] loading project definition from /home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/project/project/project
[info] loading project definition from /home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/project/project
[info] loading settings for project scalatestplus-junit5-build from metals.sbt, plugins.sbt...
[info] loading project definition from /home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/project
[info] loading settings for project scalatestplus-junit5 from build.sbt...
[info] set current project to junit-5.13 (in build file:/home/peng/git-release/scalatestplus-junit5/)
[info] 3.2.19.1

Didn't bother to check it because "-SNAPSHOT" suffix was removed everywhere. I wonder if 3-part semantic versioning is mandatery in this case

[tgodzik]

Ok, looks like the isTag value is set to false https://github.com/sbt/sbt-ci-release/blob/d0c9bbeba1c47eaa8aaff776d3f5b8a6f07ece5b/plugin/src/main/scala/com/geirsson/CiReleasePlugin.scala#L189C14-L189C19

Setting CI_COMMIT_TAG might help

[tribbloid]

thanks a lot! how can I set it? It doesn't exist in the README

[tgodzik]

That's a environment variable. The ci-release is really for releasing on CI and it depends on tags being set or local tag being available. So a way to work around it would be to set CI stuff locally.

I think you could also use another task "publishSigned" and then "sonaBundle" or one of the other sona.. tasks🤔 Similar to https://github.com/xerial/sbt-sonatype?tab=readme-ov-file#publishing-your-artifact (though I think the tasks are different a bit) I don't think I ever used ci-release for releasing locally.

[tribbloid]

thanks @tgodzik , I added export CI_COMMIT_TAG="v3.2.19.0" before invoking the sbt command.

The result looks worse, there is no "doing nothing" but the error indicates that it is still publishing to the old sonatype SNAPSHOT repository central.sonatype.com/repository/maven-snapshots:

(v1.11.1 plugin should use the new maven central repository for release, not the abandoned central.sonatype.com/repository, but this probably can't be enabled for SNAPSHOT)

[error] java.io.IOException: Server returned HTTP response code: 403 for URL: https://central.sonatype.com/repository/maven-snapshots/ai/acyclic/junit-5-13_2.11/3.2.19.1/junit-5-13_2.11-3.2.19.1-sources.jar.asc
[error]         at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance0(Native Method)
[error]         at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.java:77)
[error]         at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:45)
[error]         at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstanceWithCaller(Constructor.java:500)
[error]         at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:481)
[error]         at java.base/sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection$10.run(HttpURLConnection.java:2094)
[error]         at java.base/sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection$10.run(HttpURLConnection.java:2089)
[error]         at java.base/java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(AccessController.java:569)
[error]         at java.base/sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.getChainedException(HttpURLConnection.java:2088)
[error]         at java.base/sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.getInputStream0(HttpURLConnection.java:1646)
[error]         at java.base/sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.getInputStream(HttpURLConnection.java:1626)
[error]         at java.base/sun.net.www.protocol.https.HttpsURLConnectionImpl.getInputStream(HttpsURLConnectionImpl.java:224)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.util.url.BasicURLHandler.upload(BasicURLHandler.java:288)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.util.url.URLHandlerDispatcher.upload(URLHandlerDispatcher.java:82)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.util.FileUtil.copy(FileUtil.java:150)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.plugins.repository.url.URLRepository.put(URLRepository.java:84)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.ConvertResolver$LocalIfFileRepo.put(ConvertResolver.scala:407)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.plugins.repository.AbstractRepository.put(AbstractRepository.java:130)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.ConvertResolver$ChecksumFriendlyURLResolver.put(ConvertResolver.scala:124)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.ConvertResolver$ChecksumFriendlyURLResolver.put$(ConvertResolver.scala:111)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.ConvertResolver$$anonfun$defaultConvert$lzycompute$1$PluginCapableResolver$1.put(ConvertResolver.scala:170)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.plugins.resolver.RepositoryResolver.publish(RepositoryResolver.java:216)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$5(IvyActions.scala:501)
[error]         at scala.runtime.java8.JFunction0$mcV$sp.apply(JFunction0$mcV$sp.java:23)
[error]         at scala.util.Try$.apply(Try.scala:213)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyUtil$.retryWithBackoff(IvyUtil.scala:22)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$4(IvyActions.scala:500)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$4$adapted(IvyActions.scala:499)
[error]         at scala.collection.Iterator.foreach(Iterator.scala:943)
[error]         at scala.collection.Iterator.foreach$(Iterator.scala:943)
[error]         at scala.collection.AbstractIterator.foreach(Iterator.scala:1431)
[error]         at scala.collection.IterableLike.foreach(IterableLike.scala:74)
[error]         at scala.collection.IterableLike.foreach$(IterableLike.scala:73)
[error]         at scala.collection.AbstractIterable.foreach(Iterable.scala:56)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.publish(IvyActions.scala:499)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$3(IvyActions.scala:141)
[error]         at scala.runtime.java8.JFunction0$mcV$sp.apply(JFunction0$mcV$sp.java:23)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.withChecksums(IvyActions.scala:155)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.withChecksums(IvyActions.scala:148)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$1(IvyActions.scala:141)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$1$adapted(IvyActions.scala:132)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt$Module.$anonfun$withModule$1(Ivy.scala:267)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt.$anonfun$withIvy$1(Ivy.scala:212)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt.sbt$internal$librarymanagement$IvySbt$$action$1(Ivy.scala:72)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt$$anon$1.call(Ivy.scala:82)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.withChannel$1(Locks.scala:113)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.withChannelRetries$1(Locks.scala:91)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.$anonfun$withFileLock$1(Locks.scala:119)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Using$.withResource(Using.scala:12)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Using$.apply(Using.scala:9)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.withFileLock(Locks.scala:119)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.ignoringDeadlockAvoided(Locks.scala:71)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.withLock(Locks.scala:59)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$.apply0(Locks.scala:47)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$.apply(Locks.scala:36)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt.withDefaultLogger(Ivy.scala:82)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt.withIvy(Ivy.scala:206)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt.withIvy(Ivy.scala:203)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt$Module.withModule(Ivy.scala:266)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.publish(IvyActions.scala:132)
[error]         at sbt.librarymanagement.ivy.IvyPublisher.publish(IvyPublisher.scala:28)
[error]         at sbt.librarymanagement.Publisher.publish(Publisher.scala:28)
[error]         at sbt.Classpaths$.$anonfun$publishOrSkip$3(Defaults.scala:3839)
[error]         at sbt.Classpaths$.$anonfun$publishOrSkip$3$adapted(Defaults.scala:3829)
[error]         at scala.Function1.$anonfun$compose$1(Function1.scala:49)
[error]         at sbt.internal.util.$tilde$greater.$anonfun$$u2219$1(TypeFunctions.scala:63)
[error]         at sbt.std.Transform$$anon$4.work(Transform.scala:69)
[error]         at sbt.Execute.$anonfun$submit$2(Execute.scala:283)
[error]         at sbt.internal.util.ErrorHandling$.wideConvert(ErrorHandling.scala:24)
[error]         at sbt.Execute.work(Execute.scala:292)
[error]         at sbt.Execute.$anonfun$submit$1(Execute.scala:283)
[error]         at sbt.ConcurrentRestrictions$$anon$4.$anonfun$submitValid$1(ConcurrentRestrictions.scala:265)
[error]         at sbt.CompletionService$$anon$2.call(CompletionService.scala:65)
[error]         at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:264)
[error]         at java.base/java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:539)
[error]         at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:264)
[error]         at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1136)
[error]         at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:635)
[error]         at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:840)
[error] Caused by: java.io.IOException: Server returned HTTP response code: 403 for URL: https://central.sonatype.com/repository/maven-snapshots/ai/acyclic/junit-5-13_2.11/3.2.19.1/junit-5-13_2.11-3.2.19.1-sources.jar.asc
[error]         at java.base/sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.getInputStream0(HttpURLConnection.java:2037)
[error]         at java.base/sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.getInputStream(HttpURLConnection.java:1626)
[error]         at java.base/java.net.HttpURLConnection.getResponseCode(HttpURLConnection.java:529)
[error]         at java.base/sun.net.www.protocol.https.HttpsURLConnectionImpl.getResponseCode(HttpsURLConnectionImpl.java:308)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.util.url.BasicURLHandler.upload(BasicURLHandler.java:284)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.util.url.URLHandlerDispatcher.upload(URLHandlerDispatcher.java:82)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.util.FileUtil.copy(FileUtil.java:150)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.plugins.repository.url.URLRepository.put(URLRepository.java:84)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.ConvertResolver$LocalIfFileRepo.put(ConvertResolver.scala:407)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.plugins.repository.AbstractRepository.put(AbstractRepository.java:130)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.ConvertResolver$ChecksumFriendlyURLResolver.put(ConvertResolver.scala:124)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.ConvertResolver$ChecksumFriendlyURLResolver.put$(ConvertResolver.scala:111)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.ConvertResolver$$anonfun$defaultConvert$lzycompute$1$PluginCapableResolver$1.put(ConvertResolver.scala:170)
[error]         at org.apache.ivy.plugins.resolver.RepositoryResolver.publish(RepositoryResolver.java:216)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$5(IvyActions.scala:501)
[error]         at scala.runtime.java8.JFunction0$mcV$sp.apply(JFunction0$mcV$sp.java:23)
[error]         at scala.util.Try$.apply(Try.scala:213)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyUtil$.retryWithBackoff(IvyUtil.scala:22)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$4(IvyActions.scala:500)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$4$adapted(IvyActions.scala:499)
[error]         at scala.collection.Iterator.foreach(Iterator.scala:943)
[error]         at scala.collection.Iterator.foreach$(Iterator.scala:943)
[error]         at scala.collection.AbstractIterator.foreach(Iterator.scala:1431)
[error]         at scala.collection.IterableLike.foreach(IterableLike.scala:74)
[error]         at scala.collection.IterableLike.foreach$(IterableLike.scala:73)
[error]         at scala.collection.AbstractIterable.foreach(Iterable.scala:56)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.publish(IvyActions.scala:499)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$3(IvyActions.scala:141)
[error]         at scala.runtime.java8.JFunction0$mcV$sp.apply(JFunction0$mcV$sp.java:23)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.withChecksums(IvyActions.scala:155)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.withChecksums(IvyActions.scala:148)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$1(IvyActions.scala:141)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.$anonfun$publish$1$adapted(IvyActions.scala:132)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt$Module.$anonfun$withModule$1(Ivy.scala:267)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt.$anonfun$withIvy$1(Ivy.scala:212)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt.sbt$internal$librarymanagement$IvySbt$$action$1(Ivy.scala:72)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt$$anon$1.call(Ivy.scala:82)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.withChannel$1(Locks.scala:113)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.withChannelRetries$1(Locks.scala:91)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.$anonfun$withFileLock$1(Locks.scala:119)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Using$.withResource(Using.scala:12)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Using$.apply(Using.scala:9)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.withFileLock(Locks.scala:119)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.ignoringDeadlockAvoided(Locks.scala:71)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$GlobalLock.withLock(Locks.scala:59)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$.apply0(Locks.scala:47)
[error]         at xsbt.boot.Locks$.apply(Locks.scala:36)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt.withDefaultLogger(Ivy.scala:82)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt.withIvy(Ivy.scala:206)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt.withIvy(Ivy.scala:203)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvySbt$Module.withModule(Ivy.scala:266)
[error]         at sbt.internal.librarymanagement.IvyActions$.publish(IvyActions.scala:132)
[error]         at sbt.librarymanagement.ivy.IvyPublisher.publish(IvyPublisher.scala:28)
[error]         at sbt.librarymanagement.Publisher.publish(Publisher.scala:28)
[error]         at sbt.Classpaths$.$anonfun$publishOrSkip$3(Defaults.scala:3839)
[error]         at sbt.Classpaths$.$anonfun$publishOrSkip$3$adapted(Defaults.scala:3829)
[error]         at scala.Function1.$anonfun$compose$1(Function1.scala:49)
[error]         at sbt.internal.util.$tilde$greater.$anonfun$$u2219$1(TypeFunctions.scala:63)
[error]         at sbt.std.Transform$$anon$4.work(Transform.scala:69)
[error]         at sbt.Execute.$anonfun$submit$2(Execute.scala:283)
[error]         at sbt.internal.util.ErrorHandling$.wideConvert(ErrorHandling.scala:24)
[error]         at sbt.Execute.work(Execute.scala:292)
[error]         at sbt.Execute.$anonfun$submit$1(Execute.scala:283)
[error]         at sbt.ConcurrentRestrictions$$anon$4.$anonfun$submitValid$1(ConcurrentRestrictions.scala:265)
[error]         at sbt.CompletionService$$anon$2.call(CompletionService.scala:65)
[error]         at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:264)
[error]         at java.base/java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:539)
[error]         at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:264)
[error]         at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1136)
[error]         at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:635)
[error]         at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:840)
[error] (publishSigned) java.io.IOException: Server returned HTTP response code: 403 for URL: https://central.sonatype.com/repository/maven-snapshots/ai/acyclic/junit-5-13_2.11/3.2.19.1/junit-5-13_2.11-3.2.19.1-sources.jar.asc
[error] Total time: 7 s, completed Jul. 22, 2025, 8:41:02 p.m.

[tgodzik]

I think https://central.sonatype.com/repository/maven-snapshots/ is the new snapshot repository, but we should not be publishing there. I recommend instead maybe using the manual steps locally not ci-release ones (publishedSigned etc.), this might never have been suited to running locally.

[sirocchj]

@tribbloid could you be hitting this? #383 (comment)

[tribbloid]

@sirocchj thanks for the info but I never intended to publish SNAPSHOT, it is a permanent release from the beginning.

But an unknown bug contaminated the logic to switch to SNAPSHOT channel on local execution. This shouldn't happen, how can I debug & test the release pipeline if I can't run it locally?

Since sonatype recently migrated everything from OSSRH to maven central recently, it is hard to trace the bug. I'll run a sanity test with gradle JRelease plugin first

[tribbloid]

Release successful after adding

isSnapshot := true

into build.sbt file, here is all the setting required to run a local release:

(env vars)

export CI=true  # Required by sbt-ci-release
export CI_COMMIT_TAG="." # should be set but value doesn't matter, see https://github.com/sbt/sbt-ci-release/issues/392

export SONATYPE_USERNAME="..."
export SONATYPE_PASSWORD="..."

# PGP configuration
export PGP_PASSPHRASE="..."
export PGP_SECRET="$(base64 -w 0 key.asc)"

(build.sbt)

organization := "ai.acyclic.scalatestplus"

versionScheme := Some("semver-spec")

version := "3.2.19.1"
isSnapshot := false

It should be noted that the value of CI_COMMIT_TAG is not important, the released version will always follow sbt setting.

Also, on Maven Central, this setting will skip the staging area and push into release directly. According to the README file, The capability to publish into staging area is still missing.

If these are the intended behaviour, then this ticket should be closed as a false alarm