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Exec key from desktop files gets trimmed when installed by snapd

View original Launchpad issue

Metadata

Project
snapcraft (launchpad)
Number
#1658123
Type
issue
State
closed
Author
~osomon
Labels
—
Created
Updated
Closed

Current evaluation

Snapcraft 2.25 emitted invalid Exec keys (e.g. `tus.tus`) for apps named like their parent package, so snapd stripped the key. Fixed by merged PR #1061 in commit b393badb4, which generates a proper Exec key for those apps.

Resolution: closed resolved

Reason: The reporter pointed to snapcore/snapcraft PR #1061 as the fix; that PR was merged and landed as commit b393badb4 ("meta: proper Exec key in desktop files for apps named like their parent package. (#1061)"), which corrected the generated Exec value for apps whose name matches the parent package.

Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot

No scores available.

Issue body

Since snapcraft 2.25 (and the fix for bug #1588359), desktop files get invalid Exec keys for some snaps, and it appears that consequently snapd removes the key altogether when installing the snap. $ grep Exec /snap/tus/current/meta/gui/tus.desktop Exec=tus.tus %U (note how `tus.tus` is not a valid alias, it won’t launch if executed in a terminal, the valid command is `tus`) $ grep Exec /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications/tus_tus.desktop || echo "no Exec line" no Exec line

Evaluation history

Date Model Scores Action Summary
stealth/space-bunny-alpha — closed resolved Snapcraft 2.25 emitted invalid Exec keys (e.g. `tus.tus`) for apps named like their parent package, so snapd stripped the key. Fixed by merged PR #1061 in commit b393badb4, which generates a proper Exec key for those apps.
stealth/space-bunny-alpha — closed resolved Desktop-file Exec rewriting produced invalid aliases (tus.tus) causing snapd to strip Exec; fixed in snapcraft PR #1061 (commit b393badb4), closing LP bug #1658123.
stealth/space-bunny-alpha — closed resolved Fixed desktop Exec rewriting for same-named apps in Snapcraft PR #1061 (commit b393badb4), preventing invalid commands such as tus.tus.
qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b — — Snapd incorrectly trims invalid Exec keys from desktop files during installation. The report was closed without resolution and appears abandoned.
qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b — — Closed without resolution. The bug where snapd removes invalid Exec keys from desktop files during installation was abandoned due to inactivity.

Update history

Date Change
created

Related work

  • Likely Fixed By: canonical/snapcraft#1061 (confidence 97%)

    Merged PR titled "Fix Exec key in desktop files for apps named like their parent package (LP: #1658123)"; resolving commit b393badb4.

  • Likely Fixed By: b393badb4 (confidence 90%)

    Commit that landed PR #1061, correcting the Exec key in generated desktop files.

  • Related To: snapcraft (launchpad)#1588359 (confidence 45%)

    Earlier bug whose snapcraft 2.25 fix (#1588359) introduced the regression that produced the malformed Exec key.

  • Related To: canonical/snapcraft#6385 (confidence 30%)

    Later change mediating desktop files, indicating the desktop-file handling path was rewritten again after this fix.

Related issues

Issue Project State Summary Similarity
#6298 fix: allow desktop files without an Exec key snapcraft merged Merged PR #6298 (commit ea842ae55) makes Snapcraft accept desktop entries lacking an Exec key, fixing #5799; Exec reformatting now only runs when the key exists and test_missing_exec_entry was updated.
77%
#1061 Fix Exec key in desktop files for apps named like their parent package (LP: #1658123). snapcraft merged Merged PR #1061 fixed desktop-file Exec keys for apps whose names match their parent package, resolving LP #1658123 in commit b393badb4.
75%
#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.
70%