docs: improve `charmcraft clean` command documentation
Metadata
Current evaluation
Documentation improvements for the charmcraft clean command were rejected and closed after a reviewer criticized the changes as subpar. The pull request was not merged.
Suggested action: —
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Issue body
The `clean` command's help text was inherited verbatim from `craft-application` with minimal description, giving users no actionable guidance on when or how to use it.
## Changes
- **`charmcraft/application/commands/lifecycle.py`**: Override `CleanCommand` from `craft-application` with:
- Updated `help_msg`: `"Remove a charm's build artefacts"` (was `"Remove a part's assets"`)
- Comprehensive `overview` explaining no-args behaviour (destroys managed build instance) vs. named-parts behaviour (selective artefact removal), with usage examples
- `get_lifecycle_commands()` now returns the local `CleanCommand`
- **`docs/howto/manage-charms.rst`**: New "Clean charm build artefacts" section between Pack and Publish, covering when to clean (config/plugin changes, ensuring fresh builds), both full and per-part invocation, and a cross-reference to the command reference page.
The auto-generated reference docs at `ref_commands_clean` will reflect the improved overview on next build.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Documentation improvements for the charmcraft clean command were rejected and closed after a reviewer criticized the changes as subpar. The pull request was not merged. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | Rejected by a maintainer as subpar. The pull request proposed updated help text and documentation for the charmcraft clean command but was closed without merging. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1434 Improve Documentation for 'charmcraft help clean' Command | charmcraft | open | Request to improve documentation for the 'charmcraft help clean' command, which the reporter says lacks usage and purpose details. The clean command is inherited from craft-application's lifecycle module; no maintainer has responded (0 comments, no labels). | |
| #188 Small text cleanups for README and charmcraft help | charmcraft | merged | Merged text cleanups for the README and charmcraft help documentation. Approved by two reviewers, the change updates 13 files to improve clarity while preserving test compatibility. | |
| #471 config: add charm part to documentation (CRAFT-356) | charmcraft | merged | Merged changes adding charm configuration documentation to the configuration schema. Approved by two reviewers with zero unresolved comments. Updated two files with 15 additions and one deletion. Resolves CRAFT-356. | |
| #2496 docs: add Charmcraft 4.1 release notes | charmcraft | closed | Rejected and closed without merging. Reviewer flagged that the proposed release notes contained irrelevant details, duplicated existing documentation, and included an incorrect claim about experimental bases. No changes were applied. | |
| #452 build: create charm builder tool (CRAFT-373) | charmcraft | closed | Closed due to requested changes and nine unresolved review comments. Author plans to resubmit a cleaner version later, abandoning this iteration. | |
| #2748 docs: improve charm naming docs, with links to detailed guidance | charmcraft | merged | Merged documentation updates improving charm naming guidance. Changes remove outdated best practice notes, add value descriptions, link to detailed Ops documentation, and clarify the init command workflow. Approved and merged to resolve issue #2582. | |
| #412 clean: introduce clean command (CRAFT-62) | charmcraft | merged | Merged. Introduces a clean command to remove LXD containers built by Charmcraft and adds a caplog filter fixture for testing. Approved by two reviewers, the update modifies five files with 116 additions and 4 deletions. |