Do not ignore symlinks to external files
Metadata
Current evaluation
Symlinks to files outside the charm project were skipped during packing. Closed as resolved: PR #2836 (commit e06d40c1) added opt-in CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO, mounting the enclosing git repo root into the build instance; shipped in Charmcraft 4.5 with docs and spread tests.
Resolution: closed resolved
Reason: Maintainer mr-cal closed the issue citing merged PR #2836, commit e06d40c1 "feat: opt into git-driven build root via CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO". That commit introduces const.EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO_ENV_VAR, ships tests/spread/commands/git-build-root, and is documented in docs/howto/pack-a-charm-in-a-monorepo.rst plus the 4.5 release notes.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
No scores available.
Issue body
I have a hybrid machine/k8s repo with symlinks to shared files, instead of duplicating them:
```
.
├── common
│ └── src
│ ├── grafana_agent.py
│ ├── grafana_dashboards
│ ├── loki_alert_rules
│ └── prometheus_alert_rules
├── k8s
│ └── src
│ ├── charm.py
│ ├── grafana_agent.py -> ../../common/src/grafana_agent.py
│ ├── grafana_dashboards -> ../../common/src/grafana_dashboards
│ ├── loki_alert_rules -> ../../common/src/loki_alert_rules
│ └── prometheus_alert_rules -> ../../common/src/prometheus_alert_rules
└── machine
└── src
├── charm.py
├── grafana_agent.py -> ../../common/src/grafana_agent.py
├── grafana_dashboards -> ../../common/src/grafana_dashboards
├── loki_alert_rules -> ../../common/src/loki_alert_rules
└── prometheus_alert_rules -> ../../common/src/prometheus_alert_rules
```
But `charmcraft pack` ignores them:
```
$ unzip -l grafana-agent_ubuntu-22.04-amd64_ubuntu-20.04-amd64.charm | grep 'src/'
17293 2023-04-17 18:47 src/charm.py
```
Would it be possible for charmcraft to include symlinks to "external" files in the `*.charm`?
Related: https://github.com/canonical/charmcraft/issues/29
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Symlinks to files outside the charm project were skipped during packing. Closed as resolved: PR #2836 (commit e06d40c1) added opt-in CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO, mounting the enclosing git repo root into the build instance; shipped in Charmcraft 4.5 with docs and spread tests. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Landed via merged PR #2836 (e06d40c1): opt-in CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO mounts the enclosing git root into the build instance so charms in monorepos can reach shared/symlinked files. Documented in docs/howto/pack-a-charm-in-a-monorepo.rst, released in Charmcraft 4.5. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | External symlinks are now supported through opt-in Git-based monorepo builds. PR #2836 added CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO and was merged in commit e06d40c1. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Symlinks to files outside the project were ignored because the build container only sees the charmcraft.yaml dir. Fixed by merged PR #2836 (commit e06d40c1), adding opt-in CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO that mounts the git repo root as build root; shipped in Charmcraft 4.5. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | External monorepo file support was added by merged PR #2836 (commit e06d40c1) and released in Charmcraft 4.5 via CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | External symlinks are supported via opt-in git-based build roots; PR #2836 (e06d40c1) added CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO and was merged. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
40
Quick Win:
12
Complexity:
60
Confidence:
85
Actionability:
75
|
keep open | charmcraft pack ignores symlinks pointing outside the project directory, breaking monorepo setups with shared code. Maintainers identified the root cause in craft-parts/craft-providers container isolation. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
50
Quick Win:
12
Staleness:
35
Complexity:
75
Confidence:
60
Support Request:
20
|
keep open | Request to include symlinks pointing outside the charm project directory in packed charms (monorepo shared files). Behavior is intentional and tested; a recent experimental monorepo build-root feature (PR #2836) may address the underlying use case. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
75
Complexity:
75
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
20
|
needs triage | Feature request to include symlinks to external files in charmcraft packs. Currently ignored due to container build isolation. Lacks labels and maintainer categorization. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
70
Complexity:
75
Confidence:
60
Support Request:
20
|
keep open | Request to include symlinks to external files in charmcraft pack output. Maintainers identified it as a cross-tool limitation between craft-parts and craft-providers regarding out-of-project symlinks in build containers. Still open with no resolution. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
75
Complexity:
80
Confidence:
60
Support Request:
30
|
keep open | Request to include symlinks to external files in charmcraft packaging. Identified as a cross-tool limitation with craft-parts/craft-providers regarding build container access. Currently open with no resolution. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| updated | |
| closed |
Related work
-
Likely Fixed By:
canonical/charmcraft#2836
(confidence 97%)
Merged PR explicitly cited in the closing comment; commit e06d40c1 adds CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO git-root build root.
-
Related To:
canonical/charmcraft#2835
(confidence 45%)
Commit 4dd1ae35 "fix(plugins): use part_build_subdir for charm source copy" landed just before the monorepo work and concerns the same source-copy path.
-
Related To:
canonical/charmcraft#29
(confidence 30%)
Original linked request for external/shared file inclusion, referenced in the issue body.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #131 Respect the symlink even if it's a directory when building. | charmcraft | merged | Merged PR #131 as commit 6f36923a (implementation 53e92d41), updating Charmcraft builds to respect directory symlinks. | |
| #260 Can't include symlinked file into built charm | charmcraft | closed | Resolved by Charmcraft’s craft-parts build flow in PR #458 (implementation 437dab55, merge 9dc20872), enabling build-time handling of linked project files. | |
| #2836 feat: opt into git-driven build root via CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO | charmcraft | merged | Merged in #2836 (commit e06d40c1): adds CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO env var and APP_METADATA.allow_git_build_root so charmcraft packs charms from a monorepo, with unit and spread tests. | |
| #2573 Support referencing sibling directories of project root | charmcraft | closed | Resolved experimentally by opt-in Git-root builds: PR #2836 (commit e06d40c1) added CHARMCRAFT_EXPERIMENTAL_MONOREPO, with craft-application PR #1109 supporting the underlying project-root behavior. | |
| #514 `charmcraft build` silently omits files called out in `charmcraft.yaml` if executed from an external directory | charmcraft | closed | Fixed by merged PR canonical/charmcraft#525 (merge commit 0d78f540), which runs the parts lifecycle from the project directory so relative globbed paths resolve during external builds. |