Adding "icon" filed in the snapcraft.yaml template to define a package icon
Metadata
Current evaluation
The current `snapcraft init` template still omits icon guidance; the maintainer suggested a commented-out icon option, but no implementation followed.
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: The maintainer explicitly said they were not against adding a commented-out icon, but the current `snapcraft/templates/simple/snap/snapcraft.yaml.j2` still has no icon entry even though `Project.icon` and current documentation support icons. This remains a valid, narrowly scoped template-discoverability enhancement, with only the choice between a comment and a generated placeholder needing resolution.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
25
Quick Win:
16
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
78
Issue body
Currently, if I use "snapcraft init", it generates a template snapcraft.yaml for developers to start with. However, it misses "icon" field in the file, which is not so obvious to developers if a package icon is needed for making it different in the ubuntu store. Currently, a lot of snap apps just show a default icon which makes them look the same. It would be nice for each of them having a dedicated icon in the Ubuntu Store.
In the template, it would be good to have the icon field defined like:
icon: xxx.png/svg
so that developers know where to customize the snap package icon. They can easily design their own icon and replace it with their own.
Thanks & best regards,
XiaoGuo
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
25
Quick Win:
16
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
78
|
keep open | The current `snapcraft init` template still omits icon guidance; the maintainer suggested a commented-out icon option, but no implementation followed. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
22
Quick Win:
4
Complexity:
35
Confidence:
62
Actionability:
28
|
keep open | Request to add an 'icon' field to the snapcraft init template. Triaged 2017: kyrofa objected (init output must build; a shipped default icon would defeat the purpose). Proposed fix targets a now-deprecated key. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
30
Quick Win:
22
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
80
Actionability:
80
|
keep open | Request to add the `icon` field to the `snapcraft init` template (`snapcraft.yaml.j2`) to guide developers on defining a package icon for the Ubuntu Store. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
18
Staleness:
92
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
65
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Feature request to add an icon field to the snapcraft init template so developers know how to set a package icon for the Ubuntu Store. Filed ~9.5 years ago with no labels, no comments, and no maintainer interaction; request remains unaddressed. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Request to add an icon field to the snapcraft init template to guide developers on setting package icons for the Ubuntu Store. Unaddressed for nearly 9.5 years with no maintainer interaction. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Request to add an icon field to the snapcraft.yaml template generated by snapcraft init. Issue is over 9 years old with zero maintainer engagement or activity. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | Feature request to add an icon field to the snapcraft init template. Untriaged, inactive for over 9 years with no maintainer response. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Related To:
snapcraft (launchpad)#1578231
(confidence 85%)
That item corrected tutorial guidance that used deprecated icon syntax; it informs icon compatibility but does not add an icon hint to the init template.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1759090 snapcraft snap doesn't have an icon | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Snapcraft’s logo was added as the snap icon via PR #3702, merged as commit 2ccd3bdf5. | |
| #1578231 Your first snap: Use of icon in snapcraft.yaml is deprecated | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Docs fixed in canonical/snapcraft#542 (commit a9f2a7d7a): the 'Your first snap' tutorial now tells users to place icon.png/icon.svg under setup/gui instead of the deprecated icon key. Shipped in snapcraft 2.10+16.10 and 2.10.1. | |
| #409 Explain the new way to provide snap icons. | snapcraft | merged | Merged guidance clarifying the supported way to provide snap icons in snapcraft.yaml, resolving LP #1561327 (merge 4073f89fc). | |
| #914 meta: icon is now dedeprecated | snapcraft | merged | PR #914 merged as commit 4a4435cbe, re-deprecating the icon deprecation: the icon entry in snapcraft.yaml is again the preferred method, overriding any icon in the setup directory (LP: #1610268). | |
| #1567041 snapcraft init creates icon entry | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Fixed by merged ubuntu-core/snapcraft#433 (commit af86cddce): snapcraft init no longer generates an icon entry. |