snapcraft options are position-dependent
Metadata
Current evaluation
Reports snapcraft CLI flags are position-dependent: `snapcraft --use-lxd build` silently ignores the flag while `snapcraft build --use-lxd` works. Unanswered for ~7 years; `--use-lxd` was later removed from snapcraft, making the example obsolete.
Suggested action: close stale
Reason: Zero maintainer interaction for ~7 years (last activity 2082 days ago, 0 comments, no labels), and the specific `--use-lxd` option cited was deprecated in snapcraft 6.x and removed in 7.0 (core22), so the reported behavior is no longer reproducible on supported versions. The residual general point about global option placement is a minor UX nit, not worth keeping a 7-year-old issue open for.
Impact:
15
Quick Win:
10.5
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
65
Support Request:
10
Issue body
$ snapcraft --use-lxd build
Support for 'multipass' needs to be set up. Would you like to do that it now? [y/N]:
vs.
$ snapcraft build --use-lxd
Launching a container
Command line options being positional makes for a very confusing user experience. And if `--use-lxd` is an invalid option before the command, it should be a straight-up error instead of being ignored.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
15
Quick Win:
10.5
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
65
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Reports snapcraft CLI flags are position-dependent: `snapcraft --use-lxd build` silently ignores the flag while `snapcraft build --use-lxd` works. Unanswered for ~7 years; `--use-lxd` was later removed from snapcraft, making the example obsolete. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | Unlabelled report that snapcraft CLI flags behave differently depending on whether they precede or follow the subcommand. No maintainer response or comments in nearly seven years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | CLI options in snapcraft are position-dependent, causing confusing behavior and silent failures when flags precede subcommands. The issue is extremely stale with no maintainer engagement or comments. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
35
Confidence:
75
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Reports confusing CLI behavior where snapcraft options must follow the subcommand. Options placed before it trigger unintended prompts or are ignored. No maintainer response or labels. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | snapcraft CLI arguments are position-dependent, causing confusing behavior and silent failures instead of proper errors. Untriaged, zero comments, inactive. Requires a fix to enforce order-independent option parsing. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #4832 `SNAPCRAFT_BUILD_ENVIRONMENT` takes priority over `--use-lxd` | snapcraft | open | SNAPCRAFT_BUILD_ENVIRONMENT was overriding the --use-lxd CLI flag; CRAFT_MANAGED_MODE precedence is intended per maintainer. Fixed by merged PR #4329 (commit 7f8d4cff9) which prioritizes the flag; issue remains open and can be closed. |