App name in snapcraft.yaml must match case of .desktop file
Metadata
Current evaluation
Case-mismatched app and desktop names can strip Exec from the generated desktop file; maintainers acknowledged missing capitalized-name support, but no fix or decision is recorded.
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: The report provides two exact YAML cases showing the difference between matching and mismatched capitalization, and the resulting desktop file is silently broken. It has the capitalized-app-name label and a maintainer acknowledged that capitalized names were unsupported, but the thread never resolves whether support or explicit validation is preferred and contains no resolving reference.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
45
Quick Win:
15
Complexity:
48
Confidence:
78
Actionability:
66
Issue body
When building out a snap, I just ran into this:
When the app name is capitalized the same way as the .desktop file, it works:
apps:
Alacritty:
command: |
env XDG_CONFIG_HOME=$SNAP_DATA alacritty
desktop: Alacritty.desktop
However, if it doesn't, like:
apps:
alacritty:
command: |
env XDG_CONFIG_HOME=$SNAP_DATA alacritty
desktop: Alacritty.desktop
when snapcraft goes to edit the exec line in the .desktop file, it just removes it instead and leaves a broken .desktop file
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
45
Quick Win:
15
Complexity:
48
Confidence:
78
Actionability:
66
|
keep open | Case-mismatched app and desktop names can strip Exec from the generated desktop file; maintainers acknowledged missing capitalized-name support, but no fix or decision is recorded. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
48
Quick Win:
25
Complexity:
32
Confidence:
88
Actionability:
76
|
needs triage | A case-mismatched app key and .desktop filename reportedly removes Exec, leaving a broken launcher. Current desktop mediation still preserves case, and the open issue has had no triage since 2017. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
17
Complexity:
35
Confidence:
82
Actionability:
75
|
keep open | Open, maintainer-acknowledged Snapcraft limitation: a case-mismatched app key and .desktop filename can drop the Exec line, leaving a broken launcher; no documented fix is recorded. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
70
Quick Win:
34
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
85
Actionability:
80
|
keep open | Snapcraft breaks .desktop files when app name case differs from desktop file name, removing the Exec line. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
21
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
55
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | Snapcraft breaks the .desktop file Exec line when the app name case in snapcraft.yaml mismatches the .desktop filename. Reported 2016, untriaged, no maintainer response, inactive 9 years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
80
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | Snapcraft breaks .desktop file Exec lines when the app name case in snapcraft.yaml mismatches the .desktop filename. Untriaged and inactive for over nine years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Snapcraft incorrectly strips the Exec line from .desktop files when the app name case in snapcraft.yaml mismatches the filename. Unaddressed for nearly a decade. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Snapcraft breaks .desktop files when the snapcraft.yaml app name case does not match the .desktop filename. The issue has been inactive for over 8 years with no maintainer response. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Related To:
snapcraft (launchpad)#1814907
(confidence 68%)
Also concerns desktop-file Exec rewriting, although it addresses app/snap-name suffix handling and was closed as a non-issue.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1814907 desktop file Exec mangling broken | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Closed as a non-issue: Snapcraft omits the app suffix when snap and app names match; renaming the snap produced the documented Exec=somethingelse.kbruch %U. |