snapcraft validate and sign-build are inconsistent when there are multiple keys
Metadata
Current evaluation
Snapcraft validate silently uses the default signing key while sign-build prompts with multiple keys; the inconsistency is reproducible, but no resolution or maintainer decision is recorded.
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: The body provides a concrete two-key reproducer: validate requests the passphrase for default, while sign-build displays a numbered key selector. The store label and maintainer-authored report indicate it is triaged; current keys.py still implements the sign-build selector, and no resolving commit, PR, or maintainer decision is cited, so it should remain open pending a policy choice and fix.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
45
Quick Win:
21
Complexity:
35
Confidence:
70
Actionability:
72
Issue body
When there are multiple signing keys, snapcraft sign-build shows a wizard-like text and lets you enter a number to select the key you want. snapcraft validate instead uses the default key.
I'm not sure what's the right behaviour, but they should be consistent.
$ snapcraft list-keys
Name SHA3-384 fingerprint
* default pvqbQVTvSgeMIuUXyr0d_4O_DLQNUDitvmficJ66KYcn_qZKDZcBT6XbgRm7Dcwb
* test 5bsceVZqUkv01S4PxD10guWHQqvCNS7Mwv-I_U089NbcLhC-hnQ78zMGQGr9IZFN
$ snapcraft validate u1test20161026 ubuntu-core=4
Getting details for ubuntu-core
Signing validation ubuntu-core=4
You need a passphrase to unlock the secret key for
user: "default"
4096-bit RSA key, ID D017FEB3, created 2016-01-01
$ snapcraft sign-build *.snap
Select a key:
Number Name SHA3-384 fingerprint
1 default pvqbQVTvSgeMIuUXyr0d_4O_DLQNUDitvmficJ66KYcn_qZKDZcBT6XbgRm7Dcwb
2 test 5bsceVZqUkv01S4PxD10guWHQqvCNS7Mwv-I_U089NbcLhC-hnQ78zMGQGr9IZFN
Key number: 1
You need a passphrase to unlock the secret key for
user: "default"
4096-bit RSA key, ID D017FEB3, created 2016-01-01
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
45
Quick Win:
21
Complexity:
35
Confidence:
70
Actionability:
72
|
keep open | Snapcraft validate silently uses the default signing key while sign-build prompts with multiple keys; the inconsistency is reproducible, but no resolution or maintainer decision is recorded. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
18
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
55
Actionability:
70
|
keep open | Inconsistency between snapcraft validate and sign-build when multiple signing keys exist: sign-build prompts for key selection, validate uses default key. Open with no maintainer response. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
14
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
55
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | snapcraft validate uses the default signing key while sign-build shows a key-selection wizard when multiple keys exist; the two commands should behave consistently. Open since 2016, zero comments, no maintainer response. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
100
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
0
|
close stale | Inconsistency between snapcraft validate and sign-build regarding key selection when multiple keys exist. Issue is completely inactive for ~9.7 years with no maintainer response. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Inconsistency between snapcraft validate and sign-build when multiple signing keys exist. The issue is extremely stale with no maintainer interaction or activity in nearly a decade. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
99
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | Inconsistency between snapcraft validate and sign-build regarding key selection when multiple keys exist. Issue is over 9 years old with no maintainer interaction. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Related To:
snapcraft#6208
(confidence 58%)
Git history shows a later validate-command migration, but it does not demonstrate that key-selection behavior was corrected.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2104274 Snapcraft has unclear behavior when providing same build-snap from different channels | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Conflicting build-snap channels can install stable instead of an explicitly requested candidate; maintainers acknowledged the ambiguity, but no fix or conflict-resolution policy is recorded. |