Error message when command can't be found/isn't executable is terrible
Metadata
Current evaluation
Replaced the opaque shell failure with a clear missing-command error; fixed by canonical/snapcraft#350 via commit 23e598149.
Resolution: closed resolved
Reason: canonical/snapcraft#350 was merged in commit 2886cc47c, with implementation commit 23e598149, replacing the generic non-zero shell error with a useful missing-command message.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
No scores available.
Issue body
If the command specified in the YAML doesn't actually exist (or even if it's simply not executable), Snapcraft errors out with the following rather unhelpful error:
Stripping ubuntu-calculator-app
Command '['/bin/sh', '/tmp/tmpp34ahko1', '/bin/sh', '/tmp/tmpwd8i66vu']' returned non-zero exit status 1
That should instead say what the problem is.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Replaced the opaque shell failure with a clear missing-command error; fixed by canonical/snapcraft#350 via commit 23e598149. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Replaced the opaque shell error with a clear missing-command error; fixed by merged canonical/snapcraft#350 (commit 23e598149; merge 2886cc47c). | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Added dedicated invalid-command errors for missing and non-executable app commands in merged PR canonical/snapcraft#2539 (commit e0cb7cb94). | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Fixed by merged PR #350 (commit 23e598149), replacing the generic exit-status failure with a clear error for a nonexistent configured command; noted in the 2.4 release notes. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | 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. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed without resolution. The unhelpful error message for missing or non-executable commands in Snapcraft YAML remains unaddressed. No fix was implemented. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Likely Fixed By:
canonical/snapcraft#350
(confidence 100%)
Merged fix for reporting when a specified command cannot be found or executed.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2272 meta: friendlier message for incorrect app command | snapcraft | merged | Merged in canonical/snapcraft#2272 (65ba888da), adding a clearer missing app-command error and a warning for commands not relative to the prime directory. | |
| #350 Clear error when specifying a non existing command | snapcraft | merged | Merged snapcraft#350 to show a clear PATH error for missing commands and add test coverage, resolving LP #1550496. |