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snapcraft list-keys prints no message when there are no keys

View original Launchpad issue

Metadata

Project
snapcraft (launchpad)
Number
#1622037
Type
issue
State
open
Author
~elopio
Labels
Created
Updated
Closed

Current evaluation

snapcraft list-keys prints only an empty table header when no keys are registered; a friendly message (and possibly tips on adding keys) is requested. Unlabelled, zero comments, no activity for ~10 years; a similar Launchpad bug remains open.

Suggested action: needs triage

Reason: The issue has no labels, no assignee, and zero comments in ~10 years, showing no sign of maintainer triage. It cannot be closed as stale because a near-identical report (Launchpad #1736864) is still open, indicating the empty-table behavior was likely never fixed; a maintainer should confirm current behavior before deciding. Confidence is moderate because source inspection was unavailable (no pinned SHA) to verify whether the message was added in a later version.

Impact: 20 Quick Win: 17.0 Staleness: 92 Complexity: 15 Confidence: 65 Support Request: 10

Issue body

When I run snapcraft list-keys without keys associated, I get: ⟫ snapcraft list-keys Name SHA3-384 fingerprint ⟫ It would be better to print a message saying that there are no keys. Maybe even some tips about how to add some.

Evaluation history

Date Model Scores Action Summary
qwen/qwen3.8-27b
Impact: 20
Quick Win: 17.0
Staleness: 92
Complexity: 15
Confidence: 65
Support Request: 10
needs triage snapcraft list-keys prints only an empty table header when no keys are registered; a friendly message (and possibly tips on adding keys) is requested. Unlabelled, zero comments, no activity for ~10 years; a similar Launchpad bug remains open.
qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b
Staleness: 98
Complexity: 10
Confidence: 85
Support Request: 5
close stale snapcraft list-keys outputs only headers when no keys exist, with a suggestion to print a no keys message and usage tips. The issue has been open for nearly a decade with zero maintainer interaction or comments.
qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b
Staleness: 98
Complexity: 15
Confidence: 85
Support Request: 10
close stale Minor UX improvement requesting a message when no GPG keys exist. Unlabelled, zero comments, and inactive for nearly a decade with no maintainer engagement.
qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6
Staleness: 98
Complexity: 15
Confidence: 85
Support Request: 5
close stale snapcraft list-keys prints only a header when no keys exist, requesting an informational message and usage tips. The issue is over 9 years old, has zero comments, and shows no maintainer engagement.
qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6
Staleness: 100
Complexity: 5
Confidence: 90
Support Request: 10
close stale snapcraft list-keys shows only column headers when no keys exist. Suggests adding a clear message and creation tips. Currently open, unassigned, and inactive with zero comments. Requires triage and implementation.

Update history

No update history recorded yet.

Related work

  • Duplicate Of: snapcraft (launchpad)#1720210 (confidence 75%)

    Same report: list-keys with no keys returns an empty table; closed without implementation, so this issue is the live counterpart.

  • Related To: snapcraft (launchpad)#1736864 (confidence 70%)

    Open bug describing the same empty-table behavior, suggesting the problem may still exist in current versions.

Related issues

Issue Project State Summary Similarity
#1720210 snapcraft list-keys with no keys returns an empty table snapcraft (launchpad) closed Abandoned. Closed without implementation, leaving snapcraft list-keys to display an empty table instead of a helpful message when no keys are registered.
88%
#1858994 snapcraft list-keys doesn't show the non-registered key when no key is registered snapcraft (launchpad) open list-keys (snapcraft 3.8) fails to show a locally created key when no key is registered yet, printing 'No keys have been registered' instead. Unlabelled, zero comments, no activity for ~6.6 years; the command was later removed and replaced by snapcraft keys.
86%
#1720207 snapcraft list-keys returns no keys, but the user has keys snapcraft (launchpad) open Maintainer elopio reported snapcraft list-keys showing an empty table despite the user having a registered key, while create-key says a 'default' key exists. Zero comments, no activity for ~6.4 years; the list-keys command has since been removed and replaced by keys.
86%
#1736864 snapcraft list-keys with no snap keys returns an empty table snapcraft (launchpad) closed Fixed via PR #1784. The command now displays a helpful message instead of an empty table when no local keys are registered, resolving the reported UX issue.
80%
#1996618 Snapcraft does not list keys reported from snapd via External Key Manager snapcraft (launchpad) open snapcraft list-keys fails to show keys from External Key Manager when no keys are registered. Unlabelled, 0 comments, inactive for ~3.2 years.
77%
#1784 cli: show helpful message for 'snapcraft list-keys' with no keys snapcraft merged Merged fix replacing the empty table output of snapcraft list-keys with a helpful message directing users to register-key --help. Added a unit test mocking an empty key list. Approved and merged after reviewer guidance on test implementation.
76%