Default pkg-config paths not found

Metadata

Project: snapcraft (launchpad)
Number: #1661070
Type: issue
State: open
Author: ~mrjogo
Labels: robotics
Created: 2017-02-01 06:55 PM UTC
Updated: 2017-03-21 07:21 PM UTC
Closed: —

Current evaluation

pkg-config's built-in absolute search paths don't match a snap's layout, so runtime scripts calling pkg-config (e.g. ROS gazebo_ros) fail; suggests setting PKG_CONFIG_PATH in wrappers. Open ~9.5 years, 0 comments, no maintainer response.

Suggested action: needs triage

Reason: The issue has 0 comments, no assignee, and only a 'robotics' topic label with no maintainer acknowledgement in ~9.5 years, so it has never been triaged. However, the repo shows 21 PKG_CONFIG_PATH hits, suggesting the variable may already be handled in the wrappers, so a maintainer should verify whether it is already fixed (and close as such) or still needs implementing rather than closing on age alone.

Impact: 40 Quick Win: 24.0 Staleness: 90 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 55 Support Request: 15

Issue body

pkg-config has built-in paths that it searches: $ pkg-config --variable pc_path pkg-config /usr/local/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/pkgconfig:/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig:/usr/local/share/pkgconfig:/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/pkgconfig:/usr/lib/pkgconfig:/usr/share/pkgconfig However, these are absolute, so they are different in a snap. This results in scripts that use pkg-config failing (such as https://github.com/ros-simulation/gazebo_ros_pkgs/blob/kinetic-devel/gazebo_ros/scripts/gzserver#L26). One solution might be setting the correct default paths in the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable in the wrappers (similar to how PATH is treated).

Evaluation history

Date	Model	Scores	Action	Summary
2026-09-01 07:40 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.8-27b	Impact: 40 Quick Win: 24.0 Staleness: 90 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 55 Support Request: 15	needs triage	pkg-config's built-in absolute search paths don't match a snap's layout, so runtime scripts calling pkg-config (e.g. ROS gazebo_ros) fail; suggests setting PKG_CONFIG_PATH in wrappers. Open ~9.5 years, 0 comments, no maintainer response.
2026-07-23 11:50 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 98 Complexity: 15 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 10	close stale	pkg-config default paths fail in snap environment; suggests setting PKG_CONFIG_PATH in wrappers. Issue is over 9 years old with no maintainer response.
2026-07-22 12:18 PM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 98 Complexity: 15 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 10	close stale	Report that snap environments don't inherit system pkg-config paths, causing build scripts to fail. Suggests setting PKG_CONFIG_PATH in wrappers. Issue is over 9 years old with no maintainer response or activity.
2026-07-09 08:22 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 95 Complexity: 35 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 10	close stale	Issue reports pkg-config default paths failing inside snap environments, suggesting PKG_CONFIG_PATH adjustments in wrappers. Open for over 9 years with no maintainer response or comments.
2026-06-20 10:39 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 98 Complexity: 20 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 10	close stale	Snap environments break pkg-config scripts due to mismatched default absolute paths. Suggests setting PKG_CONFIG_PATH in wrappers. Issue remains open, inactive for over nine years, and requires triage and assignment.

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