tests: add reproducer for pack retaining deleted files between builds (#710)

Metadata

Project: charmcraft
Number: #2669
Type: pull request
State: open
Author: lengau
Labels: —
Created: 2026-04-22 03:06 AM UTC
Updated: 2026-04-22 05:18 AM UTC
Closed: —

Current evaluation

Adds failing reproducer test for #710 plus a fix (PartsLifecycle._clean_stale_parts) that cleans stale pulled files before each lifecycle run; test now passes. Awaiting review; several CI checks failing.

Suggested action: needs review

Reason: PR is pending with 0 reviewers and has concrete failing CI: snap-tests on ubuntu-18.04 through ubuntu-26.04, snap-store-tests, and the Conventional Commits title check, which need to be addressed before landing. The fix is a local workaround for still-open upstream craft-parts#851, so a maintainer should weigh whether to merge now or wait for the upstream fix.

Impact: 50 Quick Win: 30.0 Staleness: 50 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 75

Issue body

## Summary Adds a failing unit test that reproduces #710: `charmcraft pack` includes files that were deleted from the working directory since the last pack, because craft-parts does not clean stale files from the stage/prime directories on incremental rebuilds. ## Bug When `LifecycleManager.run()` is called a second time after a source file has been deleted, craft-parts skips all lifecycle steps with `reason='already ran'`. The deleted file persists in `prime/` and is included in the repacked `.charm` archive. Upstream bug: https://github.com/canonical/craft-parts/issues/851 Workaround: run `charmcraft clean` (or `charmcraft clean <part-name>`) between packs. ## Reproducer ``` uv run python -m pytest tests/unit/parts/test_lifecycle.py::test_stale_files_removed_from_prime_after_repack -v ``` The test fails with: ``` AssertionError: Stale file from deleted source is still present in prime directory after repack ``` Closes #710

Evaluation history

Date	Model	Scores	Action	Summary
2026-08-28 10:37 PM UTC	qwen/qwen3.8-27b	Impact: 50 Quick Win: 30.0 Staleness: 50 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 75	needs review	Adds failing reproducer test for #710 plus a fix (PartsLifecycle._clean_stale_parts) that cleans stale pulled files before each lifecycle run; test now passes. Awaiting review; several CI checks failing.
2026-07-21 03:37 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 55 Complexity: 20 Confidence: 85	needs review	Adds a failing test reproducing a bug where charmcraft pack retains deleted files between builds. Author requested an automated fix via Copilot, which was applied. PR awaits maintainer review and CI fixes.
2026-07-07 05:52 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 45 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 85	needs review	Adds a reproducer test and automated fix for a bug where charmcraft pack retains deleted files between builds. Currently awaiting maintainer review.
2026-07-04 09:41 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 65 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 45	needs review	Adds a failing test reproducing a bug where charmcraft pack retains deleted files. A maintainer requested a fix via Copilot, which added a workaround commit, but type checking fails and the PR has been inactive for 73 days.
2026-06-15 05:35 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 40 Complexity: 50 Confidence: 85	needs review	Fixes charmcraft pack retaining deleted files between builds. Adds a reproducer test and implements PartsLifecycle._clean_stale_parts() to remove missing source files before lifecycle runs. Test passes. Type checks report non-blocking errors. Awaiting review.

Update history

No update history recorded yet.

Related work

Likely Fixed By: canonical/charmcraft#710 (confidence 90%)
PR body says 'Closes #710'; issue is still open and no fix found in main branch.
Blocked By: canonical/craft-parts#851 (confidence 80%)
Upstream bug cited in the PR ('Removed files from local sources remain in the part'); still open, so the in-tree _clean_stale_parts workaround may be superseded by an upstream fix.

Related issues

No related issues found above the similarity threshold.