snapcraft.yaml syntax docs missing ‘classic’ confinement mode
Metadata
Current evaluation
Classic confinement is now documented in the Snapcraft YAML explanation and a dedicated setup guide; the obsolete syntax page was removed in 7c966e0f7 (#1227).
Suggested action: close resolved
Reason: The maintained docs now describe strict, devmode, and classic confinement, while the dedicated classic-confinement guide includes `confinement: classic` and Store approval requirements. Commit 7c966e0f7 (canonical/snapcraft#1227) removed the obsolete `docs/snapcraft-syntax.md` page and linked to maintained documentation, superseding the outdated text cited in the report.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
30
Quick Win:
25
Complexity:
8
Confidence:
97
Actionability:
90
Issue body
https://github.com/snapcore/snapcraft/blob/master/docs/snapcraft-syntax.md says:
“
confinement (string) The type of confinement supported by the snap. Can be either "devmode" (i.e. this snap doesn't support running under confinement) or "strict" (i.e. full confinement supported via interfaces).
”
I see from canonical-tech@ and some other merge requests that there's at least one other confinement mode, “classic”. The docs should probably mention it :)
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
30
Quick Win:
25
Complexity:
8
Confidence:
97
Actionability:
90
|
close resolved | Classic confinement is now documented in the Snapcraft YAML explanation and a dedicated setup guide; the obsolete syntax page was removed in 7c966e0f7 (#1227). | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
5
Quick Win:
5
Complexity:
0
Confidence:
92
Actionability:
95
|
close resolved | Docs request to document the `classic` value of snapcraft.yaml's `confinement` key. No longer applicable: docs/snapcraft-syntax.md was removed and current docs (docs/explanation/snapcraft-yaml.rst, classic-confinement.rst, enable-classic-confinement.rst) describe strict, devmode and classic. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
16
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
90
Actionability:
90
|
close resolved | Documentation issue requesting 'classic' confinement mode be added to snapcraft.yaml syntax docs. The original file docs/snapcraft-syntax.md no longer exists; docs have been restructured to docs/explanation/snapcraft-yaml.rst which now documents all three confinement modes (strict, devmode, classic). | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
18
Staleness:
92
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
55
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Docs gap: snapcraft-syntax.md listed only devmode/strict confinement, omitting classic. 9.6 years old, 0 comments, no maintainer response; the referenced doc file predates the current restructured docs/reference layout. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
95
Support Request:
0
|
close stale | Documentation omits classic confinement mode in snapcraft.yaml syntax guide. Issue is over 9 years old with no maintainer response. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | Missing 'classic' confinement mode in snapcraft documentation. Unaddressed for over 9 years with no maintainer interaction. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
92
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | Outdated documentation issue from 2018 requesting addition of classic confinement mode to syntax docs. Inactive for over nine years and likely irrelevant due to complete documentation restructuring. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Likely Fixed By:
canonical/snapcraft#1227
(confidence 90%)
Commit 7c966e0f7 removed the stale syntax page; current docs explicitly cover classic confinement.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #946 meta: support classic confinment | snapcraft | merged | Merged snapcraft#946 via commit 97af16ffe added classic confinement metadata support, allowing meta snaps to declare confinement as classic (LP #1647422). | |
| #288 snap: strict -> classic confinement for Charmcraft snap | charmcraft | merged | Merged (commit d49e85e3, merge 0d76670a): switched Charmcraft's snap from strict to classic confinement, added a separate part for core20 Python stage packages, and hardcoded bin/python3 to work around a Snapcraft symlink bug. | |
| #1647422 Support classic confinement | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Classic confinement support was implemented and merged in snapcore/snapcraft#946 via commit 97af16ffe, resolving launchpad/snapcraft#1647422. |