"The name <foo> is already taken" is a poor experience
Metadata
Current evaluation
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.
Suggested action: close stale
Reason: The issue is 3167 days old with zero comments and no maintainer acknowledgement. The referenced code path (snapcraft/storeapi/errors.py and the `snapcraft register` command) no longer exists in current snapcraft — git history shows the register command was removed (e.g. 'chore!: unregister registries commands (#5195)', 'chore: remove unused list_registered legacy code'), and a related Launchpad bug (1886223) confirms the register command/prompt no longer exists. The original problem is no longer reproducible, so the issue is no longer applicable.
Issue body
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
17.0
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
80
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | 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. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Suggests rewording a snapcraft registration error message to reduce confusion for new users. Unlabeled, unresponded to, and inactive for over eight years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | Suggests rewording the snap name registration error message to be less off-putting to new users. Unlabelled, zero comments, and inactive for over 8 years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Suggests rewording the snap name registration error message to reduce confusion for new users and prevent awkward workarounds. Unaddressed for over 8 years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-moe-q4 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | Suggests rewording a snapcraft registration error message to be less discouraging for new users claiming legitimately owned names. The issue has been open for over 8 years with no maintainer response or activity. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related work
-
Duplicate Of:
snapcraft (launchpad)#1886223
(confidence 70%)
Related Launchpad bug reports the same off-putting register CLI prompt implying third parties couldn't publish; both reference the now-removed register command.
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. |