snapcraft and the store disagree on what to call developer namespaces
Metadata
Current evaluation
Naming mismatch between snapcraft's username prompt and the store's "developer namespace" field. Closed by mr-cal (2026-08-25) noting Snapcraft no longer knows or lets users set developer namespaces; 2FA part split to software-center-agent#1665411.
Resolution: closed stale
Reason: No code change fixed the wording mismatch; maintainer ~mr-cal closed it with "Snapcraft no longer is aware or lets users set developer namespaces", i.e. the affected feature was decommissioned. The 2FA side of the report was split off by ~elopio into software-center-agent#1665411.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
No scores available.
Issue body
"""
$ snapcraft login
Enter your Ubuntu One SSO credentials.
Email: <email address hidden>
Password:
We strongly recommend enabling multi-factor authentication: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SSO/FAQs/2FA
You need to set a username. It will appear in the developer field alongside the other details for your snap. Please visit https://myapps.developer.ubuntu.com/dev/account/ and login again.
Login failed.
"""
Assuming the role of a new user, I set a username when I created my account. It's ev+test. The thing you want me to do the store calls something entirely different (and equally confusing):
"""
The Developer namespace will be appended to all your package names to help avoid name collisions across the store.
The namespace is required only when uploading a package for Phone or Snappy; however, it cannot be removed once set and cannot be changed while you have active packages.
Developer namespace
[_________________]
Enter a value consisting of lower-case letters, numbers or hyphens. Hyphens can not occur at the start or end of the chosen value.
"""
Can we please sync these up so they use the same language?
I'd also suggest not showing the 2FA suggestion unless there's a successful login. Saying "login failed" is a bit redundant given that you just instructed them to login again. That might be better at the start of the paragraph, if present at all.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed stale | Naming mismatch between snapcraft's username prompt and the store's "developer namespace" field. Closed by mr-cal (2026-08-25) noting Snapcraft no longer knows or lets users set developer namespaces; 2FA part split to software-center-agent#1665411. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed stale | The namespace feature was decommissioned: @mr-cal noted Snapcraft no longer recognizes or lets users set developer namespaces. The separate 2FA concern was filed as software-center-agent#1665411. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Superseded. Snapcraft no longer prompts for or manages developer namespaces, rendering the terminology mismatch obsolete. The secondary 2FA UX concern was split into a separate bug report. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Superseded. Snapcraft no longer manages or allows users to set developer namespaces, making the terminology mismatch obsolete. The secondary 2FA feedback was tracked separately. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Inconsistent terminology between snapcraft CLI and Ubuntu Developer Store regarding developer namespaces, with a UX suggestion for 2FA messaging. Unaddressed for over nine years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Reports terminology mismatch between snapcraft CLI and Ubuntu Store for developer namespaces. Suggests aligning language and adjusting 2FA prompt placement. No maintainer response in over 9 years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Report requests terminology alignment between snapcraft CLI and Ubuntu Store for developer namespaces, plus a minor UX fix for login error messaging. Unaddressed for over nine years. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Related To:
software-center-agent#1665411
(confidence 90%)
Separate bug filed by reporter ~ev for the misleading 2FA recommendation shown after a failed login, per ~elopio's comment on 2017-02-14.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1886223 snapcraft recommends bad naming standards | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Proposed rewrite of the `snapcraft register` name-claim prompt, which wrongly says snaps can be renamed and steers users toward $username- name suffixes, contradicting the docs. Still present verbatim at HEAD. | |
| #1602094 snapcraft upload error because of missing short namespace doesn't tell how to solve the problem | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Closed as obsolete after the store stopped causing the missing short-namespace error; no Snapcraft fix PR or commit was identified. |