remote build: provide a way to set application snap channel
Metadata
Current evaluation
Triaged enhancement remains open: Launchpad remote builds lack user-facing application snap channel selection, and downstream Snapcraft and Charmcraft work depends on this plumbing.
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: The lower-level SnapRecipe.build() API already accepts BuildChannels, but RemoteBuild has no channel option and the repository has no corresponding channel environment-variable handling, so support is not implemented end to end. The maintainer explicitly requested edge-channel support for Snapcraft and Charmcraft remote-build tests; both snapcraft#6384 and charmcraft#1706 remain open and blocked on this infrastructure.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
55
Quick Win:
23
Complexity:
42
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
72
Issue body
### What needs to get done
Probably an environment variable(?) that tells Launchpad what snap channel(s) to use for remote builds.
### Why it needs to get done
Enable users to use non-default channels with remote build, especially using the edge channel.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
55
Quick Win:
23
Complexity:
42
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
72
|
keep open | Triaged enhancement remains open: Launchpad remote builds lack user-facing application snap channel selection, and downstream Snapcraft and Charmcraft work depends on this plumbing. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
60
Quick Win:
25
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
80
Actionability:
70
|
keep open | Enhancement to expose a mechanism (env var or CLI) for setting snapcraft/charmcraft channels in remote builds. Triaged, infrastructure partially exists (BuildChannels, auto_build_channels) but user-facing API not yet implemented. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
50
Quick Win:
30
Staleness:
45
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
70
Support Request:
10
|
keep open | Enhancement to add an environment variable or option so remote builds can specify which snap channel (e.g. edge) to use for the application snap in Launchpad build recipes. Triaged by maintainer; not yet implemented. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
65
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
0
|
keep open | Enhancement requesting an environment variable to set the snap channel for remote builds. Triaged and acknowledged by a maintainer, but inactive for over five months with no implementation progress. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
65
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
0
|
keep open | Enhancement request to add an environment variable for configuring the snap channel during remote builds, currently triaged and awaiting implementation. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related work
-
Related To:
snapcraft#6384
(confidence 98%)
Snapcraft's open channel-selection feature depends on missing craft-application remote-build channel plumbing.
-
Related To:
charmcraft#1706
(confidence 98%)
Charmcraft's requested remote-build channel selection and edge default are blocked on this enhancement.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6384 remote-build: set snapcraft's channel in the build recipe | snapcraft | open | Remote-builder should pin Snapcraft's own channel in the Launchpad recipe (e.g. 8.x/stable) and expose an env var override; triaged as enhancement with internal ticket SNAPCRAFT-1397, pending upstream craft-application support. | |
| #1706 Remote build: allow the user to specify a charmcraft channel and default to the charmcraft snap channel | charmcraft | open | Feature request (maintainer-filed, internal ticket CRAFT-3132): let remote-build users pick the charmcraft snap channel via CLI, defaulting to the locally installed snap's tracking channel. Still open, blocked on craft-application#344. | |
| #2061517 `remote-build` lacks support for selecting Snapcraft channel | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | remote-build still cannot select or mirror the local Snapcraft channel; valid upstream-dependent feature work remains open, with a GitHub implementation issue tracking it. | |
| #2933 remote-build: introduce --launchpad-snapcraft-channel option | snapcraft | closed | Closed unmerged; PR #2938 superseded the CLI-toggle approach by making remote builds default to Snapcraft's stable channel, merged as 534ee1c1f. | |
| #3600 remote build: use channel defaults (CRAFT-568) | snapcraft | merged | Merged #3600, removing hardcoded snapcraft/core18 channel overrides so Launchpad can select remote-build channel defaults (implementation c095b34fe; merge 638239855). | |
| #2265 build providers: allow snapcraft channel selection | snapcraft | merged | Merged build-provider Snapcraft channel selection for non-host-injected early testing, with a user warning, in commit 6a3d2d3cd (#2265). |