“snapcraft register” with invalid characters still blathers on about name ownership
Metadata
Current evaluation
snapcraft register prints a lengthy name-ownership preamble and prompt before validating the name, so invalid names like 'Firefox' get confusing output. Unlabeled, 0 comments, inactive ~8.8 years; the register command/prompt no longer exists in current snapcraft.
Suggested action: close stale
Reason: The issue is 3242 days old with 0 comments, no labels, and no maintainer interaction. Related bug 1886223 (same register prompt) is documented as obsolete because the referenced register command/prompt no longer exists in current snapcraft, so the reported behavior is no longer applicable. Direct code verification was blocked (repo tooling returned 'No pinned SHA'), which caps confidence slightly.
Impact:
10
Quick Win:
8.5
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
75
Support Request:
5
Issue body
0. Sign in with “snapcraft login” if you aren’t signed in already.
1. At the command line, enter “snapcraft register Firefox”.
2. Enter “y”.
What happens:
------------
😌 11:15:27@~> snapcraft register Firefox
We always want to ensure that users get the software they expect
for a particular name.
If needed, we will rename snaps to ensure that a particular name
reflects the software most widely expected by our community.
For example, most people would expect ‘thunderbird’ to be published by
Mozilla. They would also expect to be able to get other snaps of
Thunderbird as 'thunderbird-$username'.
Would you say that MOST users will expect 'Firefox' to come from
you, and be the software you intend to publish there? [y/N]: y
Registering Firefox.
The name 'Firefox' is not valid. It can only contain dashes, numbers and lowercase ascii letters.
------------
What should happen: If the name is not valid, only the error message should appear. The babble and question about people expecting the name should not appear.
[Originally mentioned by Kyle Fazzari in bug 1644673.]
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
10
Quick Win:
8.5
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
75
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | snapcraft register prints a lengthy name-ownership preamble and prompt before validating the name, so invalid names like 'Firefox' get confusing output. Unlabeled, 0 comments, inactive ~8.8 years; the register command/prompt no longer exists in current snapcraft. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | snapcraft register prints a lengthy ownership preamble before validating snap names, causing confusing output for invalid names. Unlabeled, 8+ years old, no maintainer response, and likely obsolete due to CLI changes. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | CLI validation order bug where snapcraft register prints ownership disclaimers before checking name validity. Extremely stale with no maintainer interaction or labels over 8 years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | snapcraft register displays a lengthy ownership disclaimer before failing on invalid snap names. Unlabelled, inactive for ~8.5 years, no maintainer response. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-moe-q4 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
0
|
close stale | UX bug in snapcraft register where validation errors appear after an ownership confirmation prompt. Unlabelled and inactive for over 8 years. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related work
-
Related To:
snapcraft#1886223
(confidence 85%)
Same snapcraft register prompt; tracker notes the register command/prompt no longer exists in current snapcraft, supporting obsolescence.
-
Related To:
snapcraft#1723726
(confidence 70%)
Complains the same register prompt message is mysterious and inaccurate; also untriaged and inactive 8+ years.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1723726 “snapcraft register” message is mysterious and inaccurate | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Complaint that the 'snapcraft register' confirmation prompt is verbose, vague, and inaccurate. ~8.9 years old with no labels or comments, but the exact message still exists in snapcraft/commands/names.py, so it remains actionable. | |
| #1886223 snapcraft recommends bad naming standards | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Reports that the snapcraft register CLI prompt implied third parties couldn't publish snaps and suggested username suffixes, contradicting store naming docs. No maintainer response; the referenced register command/prompt no longer exists in current snapcraft. | |
| #1740500 "The name <foo> is already taken" is a poor experience | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | UX complaint that the 'The name <foo> is already taken' error from snapcraft register is off-putting and discourages new users from claiming a name they legitimately own. 8+ years old, no maintainer response, and the register command/prompt has since been removed from current snapcraft. |