# Configuring Version Prefix for Dependency Versions

This guide explains how to configure a custom version prefix in Nx Release using the `versionPrefix` option. The version prefix allows you to automatically add a specific prefix format to dependencies, providing control over how dependency versions are specified in your project’s `package.json` files.

## The `versionPrefix` Option

The `versionPrefix` option controls which prefix is applied to dependency versions during the versioning process. By default, `versionPrefix` is set to `"auto"`, which selects a prefix format (either `""`, `"~"`, `"^"`, or `"="`) by respecting what is already in the `package.json` file.

For example, having the following `package.json` file:

```json
{
  "name": "my-package",
  "version": "0.1.1",
  "dependencies": {
    "dependency-one": "~1.2.3",
    "dependency-two": "^2.3.4",
    "dependency-three": "3.0.0"
  }
}
```

Then next patch bump will be:

```json
{
  "name": "my-package",
  "version": "0.1.2",
  "dependencies": {
    "dependency-one": "~1.2.4",
    "dependency-two": "^2.3.4",
    "dependency-three": "3.0.0"
  }
}
```

Preserving the prefix for `dependency-one` and `dependency-two` and continuing to use no prefix for `dependency-three`.

### Available Prefix Options

You can set `versionPrefix` to one of the following values:

- `"auto"`: Automatically chooses a prefix based on the existing declaration in the `package.json` file. This is the default value.
- `""`: Uses the exact version without a prefix.
- `"~"`: Specifies compatibility with patch-level updates.
- `"^"`: Specifies compatibility with minor-level updates.
- `"="`: Locks the version to an exact match (the `=` is not commonly used in the JavaScript ecosystem, but is in others such as Cargo for Rust).

Example configuration:

```json
{
  "release": {
    "version": {
      "generatorOptions": {
        "versionPrefix": "~"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

## Configuring Version Prefix in `nx.json` or `project.json`

To set the versionPrefix option globally or for a specific project, add it to either your `nx.json` or `project.json` configuration files:

```jsonc
{
  "release": {
    "version": {
      "generatorOptions": {
        "versionPrefix": "^" // or "", "~", "^", "=" depending on your preference
      }
    }
  }
}
```

With the `versionPrefix` option set to `^`, your `package.json` dependencies might look like this:

```json
{
  "name": "my-package",
  "version": "0.1.1",
  "dependencies": {
    "dependency-one": "^1.0.0",
    "dependency-two": "^2.3.4",
    "dependency-three": "^3.0.0"
  }
}
```

This configuration helps enforce a consistent approach to dependency management, allowing flexibility in how updates to dependencies are tracked and managed across your project.