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Support the LXD provider

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Metadata

Project
imagecraft
Number
#253
Type
issue
State
open
Author
lengau
Labels
Status: Triaged
Created
Updated
Closed
—

Current evaluation

Feature request to add LXD provider support to Imagecraft. Triaged and actively discussed by maintainers with a current plan to use an LXD VM provider. Blocked by external LXD dependency (canonical/lxd#16070) and container block device limitations.

Suggested action: keep open

Reason: Issue is triaged (labeled 'Status: Triaged') with active maintainer discussion over the last 3 months. steinbro (2026-05-20) states 'The current plan is to add an LXD VM provider' and mwhudson (2026-05-24) references PR #348 with ideas for unprivileged container support. The issue is blocked by external dependency canonical/lxd#16070 but has a clear path forward, so it should remain open.

Impact: 65 Quick Win: 13.0 Staleness: 45 Complexity: 80 Confidence: 85 Support Request: 5

Issue body

### Check existing issues - [x] I've verified that this request isn't described by any existing issues. ### Request Imagecraft should support the LXD provider like other crafts do. This is currently blocked by https://github.com/canonical/lxd/issues/16070 (or some equivalent functionality provided elsewhere that implements the workaround). ### The problem it solves Lighter weight and equivalent functionality to other crafts.

Evaluation history

Date Model Scores Action Summary
qwen/qwen3.8-27b
Impact: 65
Quick Win: 13.0
Staleness: 45
Complexity: 80
Confidence: 85
Support Request: 5
keep open Feature request to add LXD provider support to Imagecraft. Triaged and actively discussed by maintainers with a current plan to use an LXD VM provider. Blocked by external LXD dependency (canonical/lxd#16070) and container block device limitations.
qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b
Staleness: 45
Complexity: 75
Confidence: 90
Support Request: 10
keep open Feature request to add LXD provider support to Imagecraft. Currently triaged and under technical discussion regarding workarounds for container block device limitations, pending external LXD functionality or VM provider implementation.
qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6
Staleness: 20
Complexity: 80
Confidence: 90
Support Request: 10
keep open Feature request to add LXD provider support to Imagecraft. Currently blocked by external LXD limitations and technical research into block device workarounds. Team is exploring an LXD VM provider approach and related unprivileged container improvements.
qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6
Staleness: 20
Complexity: 75
Confidence: 90
Support Request: 10
keep open Feature request to add LXD provider support for Imagecraft. Currently blocked by external LXD limitations and exploring workarounds like loopfs or VM providers. Maintainer triaged and actively discussing implementation paths.
qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6
Staleness: 25
Complexity: 75
Confidence: 85
Support Request: 10
keep open Add LXD provider support to Imagecraft. FUSE, ublk, and nbd workarounds failed due to root requirements. Plan shifts to an LXD VM provider for loopback devices. Actively exploring unprivileged container alternatives. Triaged, under discussion.

Update history

No update history recorded yet.

Related work

  • Blocked By: canonical/lxd#16070 (confidence 95%)

    Issue body explicitly states 'This is currently blocked by https://github.com/canonical/lxd/issues/16070 (or some equivalent functionality provided elsewhere that implements the workaround).'

  • Related To: imagecraft#348 (confidence 80%)

    mwhudson (2026-05-24) references PR #348 'No loops for grub' with ideas for making imagecraft work in an unprivileged container, directly related to the LXD provider block device limitations discussed in this issue.

Related issues

Issue Project State Summary Similarity
#895 Add a LXD VM provider craft-providers open Enhancement request to add a LXD VM provider that creates virtual machines instead of containers, enabling loop device support for Imagecraft. No discussion in 136 days.
80%