Steps to reproduce:

• Use NVDA 2023.2
• Install (externally) an add-on whose version number does not conform add-on store scheme, e.g. Command Helper, version dev20230730)
• Upgrade to NVDA 2023.3beta1 and restart

Actual behavior:

The add-on cannot be loaded.

Expected behavior:

The add-on should be loaded.
Add-on Store version scheme should be a recommendation, but not mandatory.
If it becomes mandatory in the future, it should only happen with an API breaking version (e.g. 2024.1)

Note: many add-ons based on the add-on template of NVDA add-on community are able to generate dev versions with a version number

Additional note

• Other version numbers create different errors, e.g. "1.0dev".
• With Instant Translate add-on, I had a manually compiled version with version number "20230901-dev" and have faced the same issue. I have tried to reinstall from the store to fix it but the installation cannot complete. It's a use case to test.
• At last with Instant translate, I have tried to remove "instantTranslate.pendingInstall" folder manually; it is a recommendation that was given from time to time on the mailing list, so people may be used to it. I realize now that the status is also in Add-ons state files. Thus I get the following error in log:

ERROR - addonHandler.Addon.completeInstall (09:18:07.541) - MainThread (6156):
Failed to complete addon installation for instantTranslate
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "addonHandler\__init__.pyc", line 429, in completeInstall
FileNotFoundError: [WinError 2] Le fichier spécifié est introuvable: 'C:\\Users\\Cyrille\\AppData\\Roaming\\nvda\\addons\\instantTranslate.pendingInstall' -> 'C:\\Users\\Cyrille\\AppData\\Roaming\\nvda\\addons\\instantTranslate'

NVDA logs, crash dumps and other attachments:

DEBUG - addonHandler._getAvailableAddonsFromPath (08:44:52.932) - MainThread (14348):
Found add-on commandHelper - dev20230730. Requires API: (2019, 3, 0). Last-tested API: (2023, 1, 0)
ERROR - addonHandler._getAvailableAddonsFromPath (08:44:52.932) - MainThread (14348):
Error loading Addon from path: C:\Users\Cyrille\AppData\Roaming\nvda\addons\commandHelper
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "addonHandler\__init__.pyc", line 299, in _getAvailableAddonsFromPath
  File "addonHandler\addonVersionCheck.pyc", line 70, in isAddonCompatible
  File "addonHandler\addonVersionCheck.pyc", line 56, in isAddonTested
  File "addonHandler\addonVersionCheck.pyc", line 27, in _isAddonForceDisabled
  File "_addonStore\models\version.pyc", line 28, in _parseVersionFromVersionStr
ValueError: Version string not valid: dev20230730

System configuration

NVDA installed/portable/running from source:

Installed

NVDA version:

2023.3beta1

Windows version:

Windows 10 21H2

Name and version of other software in use when reproducing the issue:

N/A

Other information about your system:

N/A

Other questions

Does the issue still occur after restarting your computer?

Not tested

Have you tried any other versions of NVDA? If so, please report their behaviors.

N/A

If NVDA add-ons are disabled, is your problem still occurring?

N/A

Does the issue still occur after you run the COM Registration Fixing Tool in NVDA's tools menu?

Not tested, unrelated