EpochVer

A time-based versioning system using Unix epoch reference.

Format

years.days.seconds

Where:

• years: Years since 1970 (Unix epoch)
• days: Day of year (1-366)
• seconds: Seconds since start of day in UTC

Installation

npm install epochver

Usage

JavaScript/TypeScript

const epochver = require('epochver');

// Get current version
const version = epochver.getCurrentVersion();
console.log(version); // e.g. "55.109.3600" (55 years since 1970, 109th day, 3600 seconds)

// Convert date to version
const date = new Date('2025-04-19T10:30:00Z');
const versionFromDate = epochver.dateToVersion(date);

// Convert version back to date
const parsedDate = epochver.versionToDate('55.109.37800');

// Compare versions
const comparison = epochver.compareVersions('55.100.0', '55.109.37800');
// Returns: -1 (first version is earlier than second)

CLI

# Install globally
npm install -g epochver

# Get current version
epochver current

# Convert date to version
epochver to-version "2025-04-19T10:30:00Z"

# Convert version to date
epochver to-date "55.109.37800"

# Compare versions
epochver compare "55.100.0" "55.109.37800"

Why EpochVer?

Unlike semantic versioning (SemVer), EpochVer is:

• Unambiguous: Each version has exactly one corresponding moment in time
• Sortable: Versions can be compared chronologically using simple string comparison
• Automatic: No need to decide what constitutes a major/minor change
• Informative: The version itself tells you when the software was released

API

dateToVersion(date?: Date): string

Converts a Date object to an EpochVer string. Uses the current date if none provided.

versionToDate(version: string): Date

Converts an EpochVer string back to a Date object.

getCurrentVersion(): string

Gets the current version based on the current time.

compareVersions(v1: string, v2: string): number

Compares two version strings. Returns -1 if v1 < v2, 0 if v1 === v2, 1 if v1 > v2.

Contributing

Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details on how to contribute.

License

MIT