apt package cache marks packages that don't exist
Metadata
Current evaluation
craft-parts marks a stage-package then fails with PackageNotFound, suspected stale apt cache or python-apt misuse; unreproducible. Maintainer noted in Feb 2026 it could be solved by PR #1446 (merged two-pass mark_packages fix).
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: The reporter could not reproduce the failure, and the maintainer's only substantive comment (2026-02-10) links PR #1446, which was merged (cf118b5f) and reworks mark_packages into a two-pass candidate-then-mark flow. However, the reported symptom (PackageNotFound for libpython3.11-stdlib:arm64 after apt-get update) is not clearly the same as #1446's versioned-interdependency bug, so the fix is unconfirmed and the issue should stay open pending verification.
Impact:
50
Quick Win:
22.5
Staleness:
40
Complexity:
55
Confidence:
60
Support Request:
10
Issue body
### Bug Description
craft-parts marks a package to install then fails find the package.
Possible problems could be that the cache is stale, `apt update` needs to be run, or there is a problem with how the `python-apt` library is used.
### To Reproduce
I have not been able to reproduce this failure, perhaps it depends on the age or condition of the instance or base instance.
See more details on the reproducer [here](https://github.com/snapcore/snapcraft/issues/4542)
### part yaml
```shell
parts:
netplan:
plugin: nil
stage-packages:
- libnetplan0:arm64
```
### Relevant log output
```shell
24-01-24 21:06:41.591 Fetching stage-packages
2024-01-24 21:06:41.591 Requested stage-packages: ['libnetplan0:arm64', 'libpython3-stdlib:arm64', 'libpython3.11-minimal:arm64', 'libpython3.11-stdlib:arm64', 'netplan.io:arm64', 'python3-dbus:arm64', 'python3-minimal:arm64', 'python3-netifaces:arm64', 'python3-yaml:arm64', 'python3.11-minimal:arm64', 'python3:arm64']
2024-01-24 21:06:41.691 Executing: ['apt-get', 'update']
2024-01-24 21:06:42.088 :: Hit:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu mantic InRelease
2024-01-24 21:06:42.094 :: Hit:2 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu mantic-updates InRelease
2024-01-24 21:06:42.114 :: Hit:3 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu mantic-backports InRelease
2024-01-24 21:06:42.235 :: Hit:4 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu mantic-security InRelease
2024-01-24 21:06:45.560 :: Reading package lists...
2024-01-24 21:06:46.370 Marking libpython3.11-stdlib:arm64 (and its dependencies) to be fetched
2024-01-24 21:06:46.374 Stage package not found in part 'netplan': libpython3.11-stdlib:arm64.
2024-01-24 21:06:46.384 Traceback (most recent call last):
2024-01-24 21:06:46.384 File "/snap/snapcraft/10445/lib/python3.10/site-packages/craft_parts/executor/part_handler.py", line 897, in _fetch_stage_packages
2024-01-24 21:06:46.385 fetched_packages = packages.Repository.fetch_stage_packages(
2024-01-24 21:06:46.385 File "/snap/snapcraft/10445/lib/python3.10/site-packages/craft_parts/packages/deb.py", line 602, in fetch_stage_packages
2024-01-24 21:06:46.385 return cls._fetch_stage_debs( # type: ignore[no-any-return]
2024-01-24 21:06:46.385 File "/snap/snapcraft/10445/lib/python3.10/site-packages/craft_parts/packages/deb.py", line 262, in wrapped
2024-01-24 21:06:46.385 return method(*args, **kwargs)
2024-01-24 21:06:46.385 File "/snap/snapcraft/10445/lib/python3.10/site-packages/craft_parts/packages/deb.py", line 647, in _fetch_stage_debs
2024-01-24 21:06:46.386 apt_cache.mark_packages(set(package_names))
2024-01-24 21:06:46.386 File "/snap/snapcraft/10445/lib/python3.10/site-packages/craft_parts/packages/apt_cache.py", line 309, in mark_packages
2024-01-24 21:06:46.386 raise errors.PackageNotFound(name_arch)
2024-01-24 21:06:46.386 craft_parts.packages.errors.PackageNotFound: Package no
```
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
50
Quick Win:
22.5
Staleness:
40
Complexity:
55
Confidence:
60
Support Request:
10
|
keep open | craft-parts marks a stage-package then fails with PackageNotFound, suspected stale apt cache or python-apt misuse; unreproducible. Maintainer noted in Feb 2026 it could be solved by PR #1446 (merged two-pass mark_packages fix). | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
80
Complexity:
45
Confidence:
75
Support Request:
5
|
needs triage | craft-parts marks non-existent packages for installation, triggering a PackageNotFound error. Open for over two years with no labels or maintainer triage, awaiting review. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
70
Complexity:
45
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | Bug where apt cache marks non-existent packages causing fetch failures. Unlabelled and awaiting maintainer triage despite recent author comment referencing a potential fix. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
75
Complexity:
60
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | craft-parts incorrectly marks non-existent packages for installation due to a stale apt cache or python-apt handling issue. Currently open, with the maintainer suggesting PR #1446 may resolve it. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related work
-
Likely Fixed By:
craft-parts#1446
(confidence 55%)
Maintainer comment 'Could be solved by #1446'; PR merged as cf118b5f fixing mark_packages candidate handling, but exact symptom match is unconfirmed.
-
Related To:
craft-parts#1468
(confidence 45%)
Commit c2836c97 'fix(deb): refresh apt cache before marking packages' addresses the stale-cache hypothesis raised in the issue body.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3528 apt cache: improve error handling when packages do not have candidates available (CRAFT-136) (CRAFT-218) | snapcraft | merged | Merged apt cache error handling that adds null checks for package candidates, preventing crashes when versions are unavailable. The change raises a clear PackageNotFoundError and optimizes unmarking logic, resolving multiple internal bug reports. |