snapcraft should run apt-get update
Metadata
Current evaluation
Feature request (2019) for snapcraft to refresh stale apt-get caches in process containers to avoid build failures. Open ~7 years with zero comments, no labels, no maintainer response; no general cache-refresh logic found in the build path.
Suggested action: needs triage
Reason: The issue has no labels, zero comments, and no maintainer interaction in ~7 years (last activity 2561 days ago), so it has clearly never been triaged. I could not confirm the problem is no longer applicable: grep shows apt-get update only in CI (spread.yaml, docs Makefile) and the initrd plugin, not a general cache-refresh in the build path, and the referenced Cirrus CI failure predates current build-environment handling, so closing as stale would be premature without a maintainer confirming the scenario is obsolete.
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
19.25
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
45
Confidence:
60
Support Request:
15
Issue body
When run from a process container, `snapcraft` could fail, because `apt-get` caches are not up to date.
https://cirrus-ci.com/task/4766182000820224
The solution is to update the cache if it is too old. There are feature requests for that in `apt`.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apt/+bug/1429285
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apt/+bug/1709603
Some solutions were proposed on StackExchange.
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/271000/update-apt-get-cache-only-if-its-older-than-certain-time?rq=1
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
19.25
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
45
Confidence:
60
Support Request:
15
|
needs triage | Feature request (2019) for snapcraft to refresh stale apt-get caches in process containers to avoid build failures. Open ~7 years with zero comments, no labels, no maintainer response; no general cache-refresh logic found in the build path. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Request to automatically update apt-get caches in snapcraft to prevent build failures in process containers. Issue is over six years old with no maintainer response or comments. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Requests automatic apt cache updates to prevent failures in containerized builds. Unlabeled, unassigned, and inactive for nearly 7 years with no maintainer response. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Feature request for snapcraft to automatically update apt caches in containers to prevent stale cache failures. Unaddressed for nearly 7 years with no maintainer interaction or comments. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | Feature request to automatically run apt-get update in snapcraft to prevent process container failures from stale package caches. Unlabelled, no maintainer response, inactive for over six years. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1869544 snapcraft use cached packages across VMs | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Feature request to cache apt packages centrally across snapcraft build VMs so they survive `snapcraft clean`. No labels or comments in 6+ years; premise tied to outdated-version Launchpad bug 1869542. | |
| #2054099 snapcraft (edge) fails to build core24 snaps. Running "apt update" within base container fails | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | snapcraft edge fails to build core24 snaps due to apt update failing with unresolved ftpmaster.internal in base container. Issue is 931 days old with no maintainer response. | |
| #1583236 snapcraft APT sources checking too strict | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | snapcraft fails builds when APT exits nonzero for non-critical warnings (e.g., outdated hash functions, unsupported PPAs). Unlabelled, zero comments, no maintainer interaction; references obsolete 2015-era sources. | |
| #1660614 snapcraft's nodejs plugin does not refresh the global, user cache before installing dependencies | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Legacy snapcraft nodejs plugin used npm --cache-min=Infinity, so a stale npm cache could cause ETARGET build failures when a dependency version was newly published. No maintainer response in ~9.5 years; the legacy plugin no longer exists in current snapcraft. | |
| #1793471 snapcraft trggers unnecessary pulls from unrelated file modifications | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Feature request to add .snapignore support so IDE and .git changes stop marking snapcraft stages stale and triggering unnecessary re-pulls/rebuilds. Open since 2018 with label 18.10-build-caching, zero comments, no maintainer engagement for ~8 years. | |
| #1638840 snapcraft copies /etc/apt/sources but ignores /etc/apt/preferences | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Snapcraft copies /etc/apt/sources but ignores /etc/apt/preferences, causing wrong package selection in complex setups. 9.8 years old, zero comments, no labels, no maintainer interaction. Current codebase uses craft-archives with AptPreferencesManager, a completely different architecture. | |
| #1626766 Make snapcraft work with ccache | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Request that snapcraft automatically pick up a host-configured ccache (via $PATH) when compiling parts. Very old (filed ~10 years ago, last activity ~7 years ago), no labels, no maintainer response, and the premise is outdated: modern snapcraft builds run in a confined core20/core22 base where the host PATH/ccache is not inherited. |