No helpfull message when command doesn't exist
Metadata
Current evaluation
Unhelpful error when snapcraft.yaml command doesn't exist; no maintainer response in 967 days
Suggested action: needs triage
Reason: The issue has no labels, no comments, and no maintainer response after 967 days. While the bug report is clear with a minimal reproducer, it has not been assessed or prioritized by maintainers. The lack of any maintainer engagement after nearly 3 years warrants triage rather than automatic closure, as there's no evidence the issue is no longer applicable.
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
26.25
Staleness:
85
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
65
Support Request:
15
Issue body
If the command specified in the YAML doesn't actually exist, snapcraft provides the following non-helpful message:
Command '['snap', 'pack', '--filename', 'liquidctl_test_amd64.snap', '--compression', 'xz', PosixPath('/root/prime'), PosixPath('/root/project')]' returned non-zero exit status 1.
Failed to execute pack in instance.
I used the following example
snapcraft.yaml:
name: liquidctl
summary: empty
description: |
empty
version: test
base: core22
confinement: strict
parts:
liquidctl:
plugin: python
source: .
stage-packages:
- python3-usb
apps:
liquidctl:
command: wrongname # Here is the line that makes it fails.
plugs:
- raw-usb
- hardware-observe
If the file could be checked, that would help to provide a helpful message for developers.
snapcraft --version
snapcraft 8.0.1
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
26.25
Staleness:
85
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
65
Support Request:
15
|
needs triage | Unhelpful error when snapcraft.yaml command doesn't exist; no maintainer response in 967 days | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
needs triage | Reports unhelpful error message when a snapcraft.yaml command does not exist. Provides minimal reproducible example. Unlabeled, no maintainer response, inactive for ~2.5 years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
70
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | Snapcraft shows a cryptic exit status 1 error when a specified app command doesn't exist. Issue is unlabelled, has no maintainer comments, and has been inactive for ~2.5 years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
needs triage | Unhelpful error message when a snapcraft.yaml command does not exist. The report is unlabelled and has seen no maintainer activity or comments in over two years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
90
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
needs triage | Reports cryptic error when a snapcraft.yaml command doesn't exist. Suggests adding validation for better UX. Unlabeled, no maintainer response, inactive for over two years. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2065230 No help text for the "help" sub-command when in a directory containing snapcraft.yaml | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | snapcraft help help command not found when in directory with snapcraft.yaml. Issue is 848 days old with no maintainer response. | |
| #1550496 Error message when command can't be found/isn't executable is terrible | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Unhelpful error messages for missing or non-executable commands in Snapcraft YAML were not addressed. The report was closed without resolution or a fix, likely abandoned due to age and lack of activity. | |
| #1633613 useless "no such file or directory" message | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | A confusing snapcraft error message report was closed without comments or resolution, likely abandoned due to prolonged inactivity. No fix or workaround was implemented. | |
| #1986645 Some snapcraft 7.x commands have irrelevant "help" info | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Closed without resolution. Snapcraft 7.x pull command help text incorrectly displayed irrelevant options. Zero comments were posted, and no fix was implemented, leaving the report abandoned. |