the build scriptlet doesn't take into account the source-subdir

Metadata

Project: snapcraft (launchpad)
Number: #1676186
Type: issue
State: open
Author: ~elopio
Labels: scripts sources
Created: 2017-03-26 04:02 PM UTC
Updated: 2023-12-06 03:33 PM UTC
Closed: —

Current evaluation

Build/install scriptlets run from the build dir instead of honoring source-subdir, forcing manual cd/cp. Open since 2017, 0 comments, no labels/assignee; fix is delicate due to backward-compat break risk. Needs triage.

Suggested action: needs triage

Reason: The issue has 0 comments, no labels, no assignee, and no maintainer response in ~999 days of last activity, showing no triage. The reporter (elopio, a maintainer) explicitly flags the fix as 'a little delicate because it will break the parts with subdir and scriptlets', indicating a real backward-compat concern that needs a maintainer decision rather than auto-closing. It is a genuine feature/bug report, not a support request.

Impact: 45 Quick Win: 20.25 Staleness: 80 Complexity: 55 Confidence: 55 Support Request: 10

Issue body

I have a source in a subdir, and want to build and install it using scriptlets. Even if I declare the source-subdir tag, the scriptlets will run from the build dir. I think it would make more sense to run the scriptlets from the subdir instead. Take a look at this part: freeimage: source: http://golem.network/FreeImage.zip source-subdir: FreeImage plugin: nil build-packages: [g++] build: | cd FreeImage make -j$(SNAPCRAFT_PARALLEL_BUILD_COUNT) install: | mkdir -p $SNAPCRAFT_PART_INSTALL/usr/lib/ cp FreeImage/Dist/* $SNAPCRAFT_PART_INSTALL/usr/lib/ ln -s $SNAPCRAFT_PART_INSTALL/usr/lib/libfreeimage*.so $SNAPCRAFT_PART_INSTALL/usr/lib/libfreeimage.so The subdir is FreeImage, and I still had to cd FreeImage during build, and during install I had to cp FreeImage/... If we agree that the scriptlets should run from the subdir, a fix here is a little delicate because it will break the parts with subdir and scriptlets.

Evaluation history

Date	Model	Scores	Action	Summary
2026-09-01 06:42 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.8-27b	Impact: 45 Quick Win: 20.25 Staleness: 80 Complexity: 55 Confidence: 55 Support Request: 10	needs triage	Build/install scriptlets run from the build dir instead of honoring source-subdir, forcing manual cd/cp. Open since 2017, 0 comments, no labels/assignee; fix is delicate due to backward-compat break risk. Needs triage.
2026-07-23 11:38 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 98 Complexity: 75 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 15	close stale	Build scriptlets ignore the source-subdir tag, requiring manual directory changes. Unaddressed for over nine years with noted backward compatibility risks for a fix.
2026-07-22 01:25 PM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 95 Complexity: 75 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 10	needs triage	Build scriptlets ignore source-subdir, forcing manual directory changes. Untriaged, inactive for ~2.6 years, no maintainer response.
2026-07-09 01:11 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 95 Complexity: 75 Confidence: 85 Support Request: 10	close stale	Build scriptlets ignore the source-subdir tag, requiring manual directory changes. Untriaged, inactive for over two years, and over nine years old.
2026-06-20 05:21 AM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 95 Complexity: 65 Confidence: 85 Support Request: 15	close stale	Build and install scriptlets ignore the source-subdir tag, executing from the build directory instead. Changing this is proposed but noted as delicate due to potential breakage. Open, unassigned, no comments, inactive for over two years.

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