appstream support lacking provided ids (impairing backwards compat)
Metadata
Current evaluation
AppStream extractor and snap.yaml `common-id` accept only one id, ignoring `<provides><id>` legacy ids used when desktop files are renamed; maintainers say it needs snapd/store support and rediscussion. Still unimplemented.
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: Code confirms the gap is still live: snapcraft/meta/appstream.py:100 reads only the root `id`, no `<provides>` parsing exists anywhere in the repo, and schema/snapcraft.json plus snapcraft/models/project.py:478 still type `common-id` as a single string. Two maintainers already triaged it — ~sergiusens noted "snapd would need to support an array for common-id and so would the store", and ~pedronis said the single-common-id decision "was agreed" and changing it "probably needs to be rediscussed somewhere a bit more visible than a bug". It cannot be completed in snapcraft alone, so it stays open as an acknowledged, upstream-blocked feature request rather than being closed.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Issue body
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
4
Complexity:
70
Confidence:
80
Actionability:
40
|
keep open | AppStream extractor and snap.yaml `common-id` accept only one id, ignoring `<provides><id>` legacy ids used when desktop files are renamed; maintainers say it needs snapd/store support and rediscussion. Still unimplemented. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
3
Complexity:
75
Confidence:
76
Actionability:
30
|
keep open | AppStream extractor and snap.yaml `common-id` accept only a single id, ignoring `<provides><id>` legacy ids used for renamed desktop-file backwards compatibility. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
58
Quick Win:
21
Complexity:
48
Confidence:
92
Actionability:
70
|
keep open | Unresolved: AppStream provides IDs are ignored; only a scalar common-id is modeled, leaving renamed-application aliases and backward-compatible lookup unsupported. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
40
Quick Win:
14
Staleness:
90
Complexity:
65
Confidence:
55
Support Request:
5
|
needs triage | Snapcraft's appstream extractor and common-id mapping assume a single id per appstream file, ignoring <provides> ids needed for backwards compatibility and de-duplication. No maintainer response, no labels, 0 comments, last activity 2463 days ago. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
65
Confidence:
80
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Snapcraft's AppStream extractor ignores <provides> IDs, breaking backwards compatibility for renamed desktop files. Unaddressed for ~8 years with no maintainer interaction. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
45
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
15
|
close stale | AppStream extractor assumes single ID per component, ignoring provides legacy IDs. Lacks maintainer feedback, references EOL Ubuntu 19.04, and has been inactive for over six years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
60
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
15
|
close stale | Reports missing AppStream provides ID parsing in the snap extractor, breaking backwards compatibility for renamed desktop files. Unaddressed for over 8 years with no maintainer interaction. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Related To:
snapcraft#2758
(confidence 60%)
Merged PR 'appstream: support legacy ids without desktop suffix' added the .desktop-suffix fallback in snapcraft/meta/appstream.py:126-130; that addresses a different legacy-id problem and does not parse <provides> ids.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2758 appstream: support legacy ids without desktop suffix | snapcraft | merged | Merged in canonical/snapcraft#2758 via 6fc81672c, adding a .desktop fallback for legacy AppStream IDs so launchers are found without launchable entries. |