Have a configuration for charms to always update charm libraries when packing
Metadata
Current evaluation
Automatic library refreshes during packing were abandoned over the risk of releasing untested library versions; maintainers favored warnings, CI checks, or Renovate instead.
Resolution: closed stale
Reason: No implementation or resolving PR was recorded. The January 2023 discussion ended without agreement after maintainers rejected automatic refreshes and referred users to the alternative library-awareness work in #213.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
No scores available.
Issue body
Add a configuration key in `charmcrat.yaml`, in charmcraft.yaml, to always update the charm libraries before packing.
So, the user could add this line in the config file:
```
charm-libraries-auto-update: true
```
(alternate key names: `charm-libraries-auto-update-when-packing`, `charm-libraries-pack-update`)
and when packing the net result will be that *before* actually packing the `fetch-lib` will be run (applying to all libraries).
The key belongs to the root level, not in the charm part, as this is for Charmcraft to change behaviour before packing and not part of the plugin's behaviour.
If the "fetch lib" command fails, the packing should be interrupted.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed stale | Automatic library refreshes during packing were abandoned over the risk of releasing untested library versions; maintainers favored warnings, CI checks, or Renovate instead. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed stale | Automatic library refresh during packing was abandoned over the risk of releasing untested updates; maintainers favored pack-time checks, CI, or Renovate instead. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed not a bug | Automatic library refresh during packing was rejected due to untested releases; maintainers favored pack-time checks in #213 and CI or Renovate automation instead. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed stale | Automatic library updates during packing were abandoned over the risk of releasing untested library versions; CI checks or Renovate were favored instead. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed not a bug | Closed as not planned after debate over CI safety; pack-time library updates were dropped in favor of warnings, dedicated checks, or Renovate. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed stale | Automatic library updates during packing were abandoned over untested-release risk. Maintainers favored pack-time warnings, CI checks, or Renovate instead of a config-driven refresh. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | Rejected. The proposal was abandoned due to CI risks and scope concerns. Maintainers agreed charmcraft should not auto-update libraries, favoring CI automation or external tools like Renovate for dependency management. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Rejected. Auto-updating charm libraries during packing was abandoned due to CI reliability risks. Maintainers recommended manual CLI flags, scheduled CI checks, or Renovate integration instead. No configuration was added. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | Rejected. Auto-updating libraries during packing was abandoned due to CI risks. Contributors suggested Renovate or CI automation instead. No implementation occurred. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related work
-
Related To:
canonical/charmcraft#213
(confidence 96%)
Proposed pack-time library-version warnings and checks as the safer alternative.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1977 Alert about all charmlib updates available (not just ones matching the spec) on pack | charmcraft | open | Maintainer-authored request remains open: pack and fetch-libs should warn about all newer Charmhub charmlib releases, including those outside charmcraft.yaml constraints. |