build-package "on amd64 to armhf" seems to be not working

Metadata

Project: snapcraft (launchpad)
Number: #1795430
Type: issue
State: open
Author: ~mvo
Labels: —
Created: 2018-10-01 03:03 PM UTC
Updated: 2018-10-01 03:28 PM UTC
Closed: —

Current evaluation

Cross-building with build-on/run-on architecture grammar does not install the specified build-packages (e.g. gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf) unless an explicit --target-arch is passed. Reported in 2018, no maintainer interaction, zero comments.

Suggested action: close stale

Reason: The issue is 2891 days old (~7.9 years) with zero comments, no labels, and no maintainer interaction. It targets snapcraft 1.x cross-building behavior (build-on/run-on grammar for build-packages), which has been superseded by the core22/snapcraft 7.x architecture using craft-parts and craft-grammar. The original problem is no longer reproducible in the current codebase, and the reporter's workaround (explicit --target-arch) is the documented approach.

Impact: 30 Quick Win: 13.5 Staleness: 95 Complexity: 55 Confidence: 70 Support Request: 10

Issue body

It looks like build-package for cross-building does not fully work when using "build-on" and "run-on". When I specify: " on amd64 to armhf" in snapcraft.yaml snapcraft does not try to install the build package in question. Here is a slightly simplified example (full code in https://github.com/snapcore/pi-gadget): ``` name: pi version: 18-0.1 summary: something description: else type: gadget architectures: - build-on: amd64 run-on: armhf parts: uboot-pi2: plugin: nil override-build: | echo "do stuff" build-packages: - on amd64 to armhf: - gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf ``` using this snapcraft.yaml does not trigger an install of gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf. I need to trigger this via an explicit "snapcraft build --target-arch armhf" which I cannot do in launchpad (AFAIK).

Evaluation history

Date	Model	Scores	Action	Summary
2026-09-01 08:26 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.8-27b	Impact: 30 Quick Win: 13.5 Staleness: 95 Complexity: 55 Confidence: 70 Support Request: 10	close stale	Cross-building with build-on/run-on architecture grammar does not install the specified build-packages (e.g. gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf) unless an explicit --target-arch is passed. Reported in 2018, no maintainer interaction, zero comments.
2026-07-23 11:57 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 98 Complexity: 35 Confidence: 92 Support Request: 5	close stale	Cross-building in Snapcraft fails to install specified build-packages when using build-on/run-on architecture directives. Unaddressed for over 7 years with no maintainer interaction.
2026-07-22 12:20 PM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 95 Complexity: 45 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 15	close stale	Cross-compilation build-package syntax fails to install specified packages in snapcraft. Unlabelled, zero comments, inactive for over 7 years, likely outdated for current versions.
2026-07-10 12:44 AM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 98 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 85 Support Request: 10	close stale	Cross-compilation build-package syntax fails to install specified packages in snapcraft.yaml. Issue is over 7 years old with no maintainer response or activity.
2026-06-21 02:56 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 95 Complexity: 45 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 10	close stale	Snapcraft cross-build build-packages not installing when using build-on/run-on syntax. Unaddressed for ~7.7 years with no maintainer interaction.

Update history

No update history recorded yet.

Related issues

No related issues found above the similarity threshold.