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Surface `rockcraft pack` errors to accelerate development

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Metadata

Project
rockcraft
Number
#625
Type
issue
State
open
Author
hd9
Labels
Created
Updated
Closed

Current evaluation

Feature request to surface the functional error from override-build scripts in rockcraft pack output by default. Maintainer acknowledged and agreed with the goal but noted the difficulty of handling arbitrary bash scripts; requested suggestions for a general approach. No follow-up from reporter for over 2 years.

Suggested action: close stale

Reason: Maintainer tigarmo (2024-07-05) acknowledged the request and explicitly asked for 'suggestions on how to handle this in the general case' given that override-build scripts are arbitrary bash with no fixed error format. The reporter never provided a follow-up proposal, and the issue has had zero activity for over 2 years (787 days). The 'Failed to execute rockcraft in instance' message originates from craft-application upstream (no matches in the rockcraft repo), further complicating a local fix. Per the stale-closure guideline, a maintainer request for input left unanswered for well over 6 months is sufficient grounds to close.

Impact: 40 Quick Win: 18.0 Staleness: 78 Complexity: 55 Confidence: 72 Support Request: 25

Issue body

### What needs to get done The logs provided by the `rockcraft` CLI are really detailed and very useful. However, I believe the default behaviour could be enhanced by surfacing additional information. I'd like to propose a minor enhancement to `rockcraft pack` that could save developers a lot of time. The idea is to expose the _functional_ error/exception to the developer by default on pack errors. ## Example When building my rock, `rockcraft` provided this generic message, which includes no context as it relates to my solution: ``` $ rockcraft pack 'override-build' in part 'build-context' failed with code 1. Recommended resolution: Review the scriptlet and make sure it's correct. Failed to execute rockcraft in instance. Full execution log: '/home/bruno/.local/state/rockcraft/log/rockcraft-20240703-153218.973163.log' ``` However, this one line buried in the log contains the most relevant information: `error: invalid slice reference "libgomp1" in slices/httping.yaml` With that info, it takes the developer a couple of seconds to _fix_ the issue. Without it, it could take them a couple of minutes _just to find it_. ### Why it needs to get done When `rockcraft pack` fails, It could surface the upmost _functional_ error/exception by default. With this proposal, `rockcraft pack` would be augmented (see line 5 below) to show the error by default, eliminating the need to check logs in most situations. ``` $ rockcraft pack 'override-build' in part 'build-context' failed with code 1. Recommended resolution: Review the scriptlet and make sure it's correct. Failed to execute rockcraft in instance. error: invalid slice reference "libgomp1" in slices/httping.yaml Full execution log: '/home/bruno/.local/state/rockcraft/log/rockcraft-20240703-153218.973163.log' ``` Thanks and great work Team!

Evaluation history

Date Model Scores Action Summary
qwen/qwen3.8-27b
Impact: 40
Quick Win: 18.0
Staleness: 78
Complexity: 55
Confidence: 72
Support Request: 25
close stale Feature request to surface the functional error from override-build scripts in rockcraft pack output by default. Maintainer acknowledged and agreed with the goal but noted the difficulty of handling arbitrary bash scripts; requested suggestions for a general approach. No follow-up from reporter for over 2 years.
qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b
Staleness: 92
Complexity: 65
Confidence: 75
Support Request: 15
close stale Feature request to surface actual build errors by default in rockcraft pack. Acknowledged by maintainer but stalled for over two years awaiting a concrete proposal for handling arbitrary override-build scripts.
qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6
Staleness: 92
Complexity: 80
Confidence: 85
Support Request: 10
close stale Feature request to surface underlying build errors by default in rockcraft pack output. Maintainer acknowledged the idea but noted technical challenges with arbitrary override-build scripts. No further activity in over two years.
qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6
Staleness: 85
Complexity: 70
Confidence: 75
Support Request: 10
needs triage Proposal to surface underlying build errors directly in CLI output instead of requiring log inspection. Acknowledged by maintainers as conceptually valid but technically complex, with no further progress or labels in ~2 years.
qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6
Staleness: 85
Complexity: 60
Confidence: 75
Support Request: 10
needs triage Proposes surfacing actual build errors by default in rockcraft pack instead of only pointing to logs. Maintainer agrees but cites challenges parsing arbitrary override-build scripts across multiple languages. Open to suggestions for a general solution.

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