snapcraft list-keys returns no keys, but the user has keys
Metadata
Current evaluation
Observed behavior is resolved: keys now displays registered remote-only key fingerprints separately from local keys; legacy list-keys was renamed and removed in Snapcraft 9.
Suggested action: close resolved
Reason: Commit 1c44a58fc (canonical/snapcraft#4245) addressed the missing list-keys case, and the current keys implementation and unit tests explicitly display registered fingerprints that are unavailable locally. The command was renamed in Snapcraft 8.13, and the legacy list-keys alias was removed in Snapcraft 9.0.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
42
Quick Win:
29
Complexity:
28
Confidence:
98
Actionability:
96
Issue body
I am here with ogra checking the snapcraft list-keys command:
$ snapcraft list-keys
Name SHA3-384 fingerprint
It returns nothing for our real users. Mine is <email address hidden>.
When we try to create a key:
$ snapcraft create-key
You have already registered a key named 'default'
It says that we already have a default key. But list-keys is not showing it.
I tried this with a new test user. I ran list-keys and it showed nothing. Then I ran snapcraft create-key and created the default key. Then I ran list-keys, and the key is shown:
$ snapcraft keys
Name SHA3-384 fingerprint
- default EjOBIMR_SUxu6z141hsAB22FBTzzkOf606psj0PXMyu2eMZrc3Vb-TaP7r6CAmUV (not registered)
So there's something weird going on with my user and with ogra's. I'm reporting this bug, because it sounds like a bug to me. But maybe somebody with more experience in keys can tell us if we are doing something wrong.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
42
Quick Win:
29
Complexity:
28
Confidence:
98
Actionability:
96
|
close resolved | Observed behavior is resolved: keys now displays registered remote-only key fingerprints separately from local keys; legacy list-keys was renamed and removed in Snapcraft 9. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
26
Complexity:
22
Confidence:
96
Actionability:
95
|
close resolved | list-keys appeared empty when an account had a registered key without its local keypair. Current keys output now reports registered fingerprints unavailable on the system. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
45
Quick Win:
22
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
85
Actionability:
80
|
keep open | snapcraft list-keys returns an empty table for users who actually have keys, as confirmed by create-key reporting a duplicate default key. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
10
Staleness:
90
Complexity:
50
Confidence:
70
Support Request:
20
|
close stale | Maintainer elopio reported snapcraft list-keys showing an empty table despite the user having a registered key, while create-key says a 'default' key exists. Zero comments, no activity for ~6.4 years; the list-keys command has since been removed and replaced by keys. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
15
|
close stale | Bug report where snapcraft list-keys fails to display existing keys for specific users. No maintainer response or activity in over six years. Likely obsolete in current versions. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
20
|
close stale | snapcraft list-keys returns empty despite existing keys, while create-key reports a key already exists. The issue has been inactive for over 6 years with no maintainer response or updates. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
45
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
20
|
close stale | snapcraft list-keys returns empty despite existing keys, while create-key confirms a key exists. Issue is over 8 years old with no maintainer response or activity for 6+ years. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Related To:
snapstore#1800825
(confidence 98%)
The maintainer explicitly identified this issue as related.
-
Likely Fixed By:
canonical/snapcraft#4245
(confidence 94%)
Commit 1c44a58fc added the missing list-keys handling.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1858994 snapcraft list-keys doesn't show the non-registered key when no key is registered | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | list-keys hid local unregistered keys when no key was registered (snapcraft 3.8). Fixed by 1c44a58fc; today's 'keys' command lists local keys and marks unregistered ones, and list-keys was removed in Snapcraft 9. | |
| #1996618 Snapcraft does not list keys reported from snapd via External Key Manager | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Legacy `snapcraft list-keys` hid keys returned by snapd/External Key Manager when the account had no registered keys; superseded by the craft-app `keys` command and Snapcraft 9 removal of list-keys. | |
| #1720210 snapcraft list-keys with no keys returns an empty table | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Empty-key output was fixed by PR #4245 (commit 1c44a58fc): keys now reports that no keys are registered and points users to register-key help. | |
| #1622037 snapcraft list-keys prints no message when there are no keys | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Fixed in #1784 (commit 5c76509ff); snapcraft list-keys now prints a helpful message when no keys are present instead of an empty table. | |
| #1736864 snapcraft list-keys with no snap keys returns an empty table | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Fixed via merged canonical/snapcraft#1784 (commit 5c76509ff): list-keys now shows registration guidance instead of an empty table when no keys exist. | |
| #1784 cli: show helpful message for 'snapcraft list-keys' with no keys | snapcraft | merged | Merged PR #1784 (commit 5c76509ff): snapcraft list-keys now directs users to register-key --help when no keys exist instead of printing an empty table. | |
| #1621895 Implement `snapcraft list-keys` | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | snapcraft list-keys was implemented by merged PR snapcore/snapcraft#786 in commit 233adda3a, showing store-account keys alongside local key data. | |
| #1637625 snapcraft create-key doesn't require login, but snapcraft list-keys does | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | The authentication inconsistency remains in the renamed keys command: create-key works while logged out, but keys requires Store credentials before showing local keys. | |
| #786 Add `snapcraft list-keys` | snapcraft | merged | Merged #786 as 233adda3a, adding snapcraft list-keys to display keys registered to the user's Store account alongside local key data. |