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“snapcraft register” message is mysterious and inaccurate

View original Launchpad issue

Metadata

Project
snapcraft (launchpad)
Number
#1723726
Type
issue
State
open
Author
~mpt
Labels
—
Created
Updated
Closed
—

Current evaluation

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.

Suggested action: needs triage

Reason: The issue has no labels, no comments, and no maintainer response in ~8.9 years, so it has never been triaged. However, it should not be closed as stale: I verified the exact complained-about text ('We always want to ensure...', 'Would you say that MOST users...') is still present in snapcraft/commands/names.py at the current HEAD, and two related Launchpad bugs (#1723720, #1886223) show the same prompt keeps drawing user complaints. A maintainer needs to decide whether to rewrite the prompt (and the matching assertions in tests/unit/commands/test_names.py).

Impact: 15 Quick Win: 11.25 Staleness: 85 Complexity: 25 Confidence: 75 Support Request: 10

Issue body

0. Sign in with “snapcraft login” if you aren’t signed in already. 1. “snapcraft register askdfjaksdjfaksdfj”. What happens: ------------ 11:29:56@~> snapcraft register askdfjaksdjfaksdfj 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-$username'. Would you say that MOST users will expect 'askdfjaksdjfaksdfj' to come from you, and be the software you intend to publish there? [y/N]: ------------ What’s wrong with this: A. The term “We” is used, twice, without being obvious or defined. B. The phrase “our community” is used without being obvious or defined. C. “Most people would … also expect to be able to get other snaps of Thunderbird as 'thunderbird-$username'” is a lie. D. “Would you say” sounds uncertain. E. If your software and its name are both brand new, it obviously won’t be the case that “MOST users will expect 'amazing-name' to come from you, and be the software you intend to publish there”, but if you don’t answer “y” the name won’t be registered! What should happen: The text should be shorter, more specific, and more accurate.

Evaluation history

Date Model Scores Action Summary
qwen/qwen3.8-27b
Impact: 15
Quick Win: 11.25
Staleness: 85
Complexity: 25
Confidence: 75
Support Request: 10
needs triage 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.
qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b
Staleness: 98
Complexity: 5
Confidence: 90
Support Request: 5
close stale CLI registration prompt for snapcraft is confusing and factually inaccurate. Untriaged, inactive for over 8 years, awaiting text revision.
qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b
Staleness: 95
Complexity: 10
Confidence: 90
Support Request: 20
close stale UX text improvement request for the snapcraft register command prompt. Unlabeled, unresponded to, and inactive for over 8 years.
qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6
Staleness: 95
Complexity: 15
Confidence: 85
Support Request: 5
close stale The snapcraft register CLI displays a confusing confirmation prompt when registering a new snap name. The report has received no maintainer response or labels in over 8 years.
qwen3.6-35b-moe-q4
Staleness: 95
Complexity: 10
Confidence: 85
Support Request: 0
needs triage Unlabelled issue requesting clearer, more accurate wording for the 'snapcraft register' CLI prompt. Open for over 8 years with zero maintainer interaction or comments.

Update history

No update history recorded yet.

Related work

  • Related To: snapcraft (launchpad)#1723720 (confidence 80%)

    Same register prompt: complains the ownership preamble is printed even for invalid snap names, before validation.

  • Related To: snapcraft (launchpad)#1886223 (confidence 70%)

    Also targets the register prompt's naming guidance, arguing it contradicts store naming documentation.

Related issues

Issue Project State Summary Similarity
#1723720 “snapcraft register” with invalid characters still blathers on about name ownership snapcraft (launchpad) open 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.
79%
#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.
75%
#1664704 snapcraft release gives misleading error when revision does not exist snapcraft (launchpad) open snapcraft release shows misleading error suggesting 'snapcraft register' when the real problem is a non-existent revision. Filed 2016, 0 comments, no maintainer interaction; legacy CLI since replaced by craft-based rewrite.
71%