Default pkg-config paths not found

Metadata

Project: snapcraft (launchpad)
Number: #1661070
Type: issue
State: open
Author: ~mrjogo
Labels: robotics
Created: 2017-02-01 06:55 PM UTC
Updated: 2017-03-21 07:21 PM UTC
Closed: —

Current evaluation

pkg-config's hardcoded host-absolute default search paths break scripts run inside snaps (e.g. Gazebo). Acknowledged by sergiusens as a sysroot/prefix problem with a test subject supplied, but still unimplemented; the proposed wrapper fix is now obsolete.

Suggested action: keep open

Reason: sergiusens explicitly acknowledged the defect ("pkg-config does not have a concept of only one sysroot... at least 3") and mrjogo supplied the requested Gazebo test subject, so the bug is triaged and valid. It is not resolved: grepping the current tree shows PKG_CONFIG_PATH only in docs, never in snapcraft source, and the sibling .pc-rewriting bug #1661787 was fixed by commit 0a7f753ac (PR #5157) — which mrjogo explicitly says does NOT address this report. However, the issue's proposed remedy (setting PKG_CONFIG_PATH "in the wrappers") targets the snapcraft 2.x wrapper machinery that no longer exists, so a modern maintainer must re-scope before this is implementable.

Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot

Impact: 40 Quick Win: 7 Complexity: 65 Confidence: 70 Actionability: 48

Issue body

pkg-config has built-in paths that it searches: $ pkg-config --variable pc_path pkg-config /usr/local/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/pkgconfig:/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig:/usr/local/share/pkgconfig:/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/pkgconfig:/usr/lib/pkgconfig:/usr/share/pkgconfig However, these are absolute, so they are different in a snap. This results in scripts that use pkg-config failing (such as https://github.com/ros-simulation/gazebo_ros_pkgs/blob/kinetic-devel/gazebo_ros/scripts/gzserver#L26). One solution might be setting the correct default paths in the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable in the wrappers (similar to how PATH is treated).

Evaluation history

Date	Model	Scores	Action	Summary
2026-10-02 06:57 PM UTC	stealth/space-bunny-alpha	Impact: 40 Quick Win: 7 Complexity: 65 Confidence: 70 Actionability: 48	keep open	pkg-config's hardcoded host-absolute default search paths break scripts run inside snaps (e.g. Gazebo). Acknowledged by sergiusens as a sysroot/prefix problem with a test subject supplied, but still unimplemented; the proposed wrapper fix is now obsolete.
2026-09-30 08:39 PM UTC	stealth/space-bunny-alpha	Impact: 48 Quick Win: 12 Complexity: 68 Confidence: 87 Actionability: 78	keep open	Snap runtime pkg-config uses host-absolute defaults, so scripts cannot find bundled .pc files. The sysroot and prefix problem was acknowledged and a Gazebo test supplied, but no fix is evident.
2026-09-23 11:44 PM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Impact: 30 Quick Win: 11 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 70 Actionability: 60	keep open	pkg-config default paths not found in snaps; suggests setting PKG_CONFIG_PATH in wrappers. Open for 9+ years with no maintainer response.
2026-09-01 07:40 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.8-27b	Impact: 40 Quick Win: 24 Staleness: 90 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 55 Support Request: 15	needs triage	pkg-config's built-in absolute search paths don't match a snap's layout, so runtime scripts calling pkg-config (e.g. ROS gazebo_ros) fail; suggests setting PKG_CONFIG_PATH in wrappers. Open ~9.5 years, 0 comments, no maintainer response.
2026-07-23 11:50 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 98 Complexity: 15 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 10	close stale	pkg-config default paths fail in snap environment; suggests setting PKG_CONFIG_PATH in wrappers. Issue is over 9 years old with no maintainer response.
2026-07-22 12:18 PM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 98 Complexity: 15 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 10	close stale	Report that snap environments don't inherit system pkg-config paths, causing build scripts to fail. Suggests setting PKG_CONFIG_PATH in wrappers. Issue is over 9 years old with no maintainer response or activity.
2026-07-09 08:22 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 95 Complexity: 35 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 10	close stale	Issue reports pkg-config default paths failing inside snap environments, suggesting PKG_CONFIG_PATH adjustments in wrappers. Open for over 9 years with no maintainer response or comments.

Update history

Date	Change
2017-03-21 07:21 PM UTC	created

Related work

Related To: snapcraft (launchpad)#1661787 (confidence 90%)
Reporter explicitly distinguishes this issue from the .pc rewriting bug, which was resolved in snapcraft 8.7 by commit 0a7f753ac (PR #5157, 'don't modify prefix for relocatable pkg-config files').
Related To: snapcraft (launchpad)#1577514 (confidence 80%)
Reporter states this is "a subset of bug #1577514" (hardcoded pkg-config default search paths); that bug is now closed stale, and its preload/confinement approach would address this too.

Related issues

No related issues found above the similarity threshold.