snapcraft and other snap commands don't support a --debug for behind the scenes debugging information
Metadata
Current evaluation
Request for verbose diagnostics when Snapcraft store commands hang; modern Snapcraft provides --verbosity=debug across commands, and --trace now redirects users to that mode.
Suggested action: close resolved
Reason: Snapcraft 8.11 release notes state that quiet, verbose, debug, and trace verbosity options are available across commands, directly addressing the missing diagnostic mode. Current code also maps --trace to --verbosity=debug, while commit 010fd708d added environment-controlled verbosity support.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
38
Quick Win:
20
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
76
Issue body
I was attempting to perform a snapcraft release when the command hung. I killed it after 60s of inactivity. I then tried other snap info commands which did eventually work on 40s response times with truncated responses. I wanted to see what was up so I attempted to use a --debug on the cli in an effort to get an idea of what address/api calls it might be trying to make so I can check network routing details/etc. I was unable to get that info from the command.
I'd love to see this added as it's proven extremely helpful in my Juju cli use to be able to add a --debug and have a step by step guide on what the client is doing in an effort to help me diagnose/debug.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
38
Quick Win:
20
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
76
|
close resolved | Request for verbose diagnostics when Snapcraft store commands hang; modern Snapcraft provides --verbosity=debug across commands, and --trace now redirects users to that mode. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
48
Quick Win:
30
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
95
Actionability:
88
|
close resolved | Slow Store commands lacked detailed diagnostics; Snapcraft now offers --verbosity=debug globally, while lifecycle --debug is reserved for opening a failure shell. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
42
Quick Win:
14
Complexity:
47
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
64
|
needs triage | Requests detailed diagnostics for slow Store commands, especially API calls and network failures. Current Snapcraft offers general --verbosity=debug output, but lifecycle --debug is for debug shells. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
21
Staleness:
90
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
65
Support Request:
25
|
close stale | Feature request (2018) for a --debug flag on snapcraft/snap CLI commands to expose backend API/network activity for diagnosing hangs. Unlabelled, zero comments, no maintainer engagement in ~7 years. Current code already offers unified verbosity levels (quiet/brief/verbose/debug/trace) via --verbose/--verbosity/CRAFT_VERBOSITY_LEVEL and a --debug shell option, largely superseding the ask. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Request to add a --debug flag to snapcraft and snap CLI commands for backend debugging and network tracing. Unlabelled, zero comments, and over eight years old with no maintainer engagement. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | Feature request to add a --debug CLI flag to snapcraft and snap commands for network/API troubleshooting. Issue remains completely untriaged with no maintainer interaction after over eight years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | Feature request to add a --debug flag to snapcraft and snap commands for detailed API/network debugging. Unlabelled, no maintainer response, inactive for ~7 years. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Likely Fixed By:
snapcraft#3958
(confidence 84%)
Commit 010fd708d introduced environment-controlled verbosity, supporting the now-standard debug mode; later releases exposed the same modes as global CLI arguments.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1609803 snapcraft cleanbuild --no-clean-up | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Cleanbuild debugging landed in snapcore/snapcraft PR #740 (commit a24083e75); follow-up PR #1404 made --debug enter a shell when builds fail. |