App name in snapcraft.yaml must match case of .desktop file
Metadata
Current evaluation
Snapcraft breaks the .desktop file Exec line when the app name case in snapcraft.yaml mismatches the .desktop filename. Reported 2016, untriaged, no maintainer response, inactive 9 years.
Suggested action: needs triage
Reason: The issue is 3519 days old with zero comments and no maintainer interaction, but the current codebase has been substantially refactored (desktop_file.py now uses configparser with optionxform=str and guards Exec handling). It's unclear whether the original case-mismatch bug still reproduces in the current version, so a maintainer needs to verify before closing or fixing.
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
21.0
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
55
Support Request:
10
Issue body
When building out a snap, I just ran into this:
When the app name is capitalized the same way as the .desktop file, it works:
apps:
Alacritty:
command: |
env XDG_CONFIG_HOME=$SNAP_DATA alacritty
desktop: Alacritty.desktop
However, if it doesn't, like:
apps:
alacritty:
command: |
env XDG_CONFIG_HOME=$SNAP_DATA alacritty
desktop: Alacritty.desktop
when snapcraft goes to edit the exec line in the .desktop file, it just removes it instead and leaves a broken .desktop file
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
21.0
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
55
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | Snapcraft breaks the .desktop file Exec line when the app name case in snapcraft.yaml mismatches the .desktop filename. Reported 2016, untriaged, no maintainer response, inactive 9 years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
80
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | Snapcraft breaks .desktop file Exec lines when the app name case in snapcraft.yaml mismatches the .desktop filename. Untriaged and inactive for over nine years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Snapcraft incorrectly strips the Exec line from .desktop files when the app name case in snapcraft.yaml mismatches the filename. Unaddressed for nearly a decade. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Snapcraft breaks .desktop files when the snapcraft.yaml app name case does not match the .desktop filename. The issue has been inactive for over 8 years with no maintainer response. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
15
|
close stale | Snapcraft corrupts .desktop exec lines when the snapcraft.yaml app name case mismatches the .desktop filename. Unresolved with zero comments and no assignee since the initial report. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1883145 Incorrect Exec entry transformation in .desktop file | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Snapcraft incorrectly transforms Exec=snap run <snap> in .desktop files to Exec=<snap> run <snap>, producing a broken command. 6+ years old, no labels, no comments, no maintainer interaction. | |
| #1814907 desktop file Exec mangling broken | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Closed without resolution. Snapcraft failed to mangle desktop file Exec lines to the $snap.$app format, leaving them unmodified. No fix or follow-up was provided. |