re-running snapcraft when override-build dirty fails complaining about pip
Metadata
Current evaluation
Bug report about core18 python plugin failing with "No module named pip" on dirty rebuilds of an override-build part was closed as stale in Aug 2026; the python plugin has since changed substantially.
Resolution: closed stale
Reason: No fix was merged; maintainer @mr-cal closed the issue on 2026-08-25 with the comment "Closing as stale - the python plugin has changed quite a bit since this bug report." Interim comments noted the pip/requirements handling was fixed in snapcraft 3.3 and that a later report on 4.4.2 (mvo, 2020-11-29) was worked around with snapcraft clean.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
No scores available.
Issue body
Filing on behalf of a user.
$ snapcraft --shell-after
Launching a VM.
Skipping pull copy-stuff (already ran)
Skipping pull desktop-gtk3 (already ran)
Skipping pull rubber-band-async (already ran)
Skipping build copy-stuff (already ran)
Skipping build desktop-gtk3 (already ran)
Copying needed target link from the system /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/liblzma.so.5.2.2
Copying needed target link from the system /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpcre.so.3.13.3
Cleaning later steps and re-building rubber-band-async ('override-build' property changed)
/root/parts/rubber-band-async/install/usr/bin/python3: No module named pip
Failed to run '/root/parts/rubber-band-async/install/usr/bin/python3 -m pip wheel --no-index --find-links /root/parts/rubber-band-async/python-packages --wheel-dir /tmp/tmpytyegx1n --requirement /root/project/requirements-linux.txt https://extras.wxpython.org/wxPython4/extras/linux/gtk3/ubuntu-18.04/wxPython-4.0.4-cp36-cp36m-linux_x86_64.whl': Exited with code 1.
Run the same command again with --debug to shell into the environment if you wish to introspect this failure.
An error occurred when trying to execute 'sudo -i env SNAPCRAFT_HAS_TTY=True snapcraft snap' with 'multipass': returned exit code 2.
I would think this user error if not for the fact that pip comes from the plugin itself, so on first inspection it looks like snapcraft is cleaning the pip installation but not reinstalling it prior to running again.
Here's the snapcraft.yaml:
name: rubber-band-async # you probably want to 'snapcraft register <name>'
version: '0.1' # just for humans, typically '1.2+git' or '1.3.2'
summary: Rubberband wxPython app with wxasync clock # 79 char long summary
description: |
...
grade: devel # must be 'stable' to release into candidate/stable channels
confinement: strict # use 'strict' once you have the right plugs and slots
base: core18
apps:
rubber-band-async:
command: desktop-launch python3 $SNAP/rubber_band_async.py
plugs: [x11, unity7, pulseaudio, home, gsettings, network]
environment:
LD_LIBRARY_PATH: $LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$SNAP/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/pulseaudio
python:
command: usr/bin/python -vvv
python3:
command: usr/bin/python3 -vvv
python-nopath:
command: python -vvv
python3-nopath:
command: python3 -vvv
report:
command: python3 $SNAP/report_snap_env.py
report-hack:
command: python3 $SNAP/report_snap_env.py
environment:
PATH: $PATH:$SNAP/bin/
PYTHONPATH: $PYTHONPATH:$SNAP/lib/python3.6/site-packages
parts:
desktop-gtk3:
build-packages:
- build-essential
- libgtk-3-dev
make-parameters:
- FLAVOR=gtk3
plugin: make
source: https://github.com/ubuntu/snapcraft-desktop-helpers.git
source-subdir: gtk
stage-packages:
- libxkbcommon0
- ttf-ubuntu-font-family
- dmz-cursor-theme
- light-themes
- adwaita-icon-theme
- gnome-themes-standard
- shared-mime-info
- libgtk-3-0
- libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0
- libglib2.0-bin
- libgtk-3-bin
- unity-gtk3-module
- libappindicator3-1
- locales-all
- xdg-user-dirs
- ibus-gtk3
- libibus-1.0-5
- fcitx-frontend-gtk3
copy-stuff:
plugin: dump
source: .
rubber-band-async:
# See 'snapcraft plugins'
plugin: python
python-version: python3
source: .
stage-packages:
# - libc6
- libssl-dev
- libjpeg-dev
- libtiff-dev
- libsdl1.2-dev
- libnotify-dev
- freeglut3
- ibus-gtk3
- libwebkitgtk-3.0-0
- zlib1g
- libsm6
- libpulse0
- libslang2
#after: [desktop-gtk3]
python-packages:
#- https://extras.wxpython.org/wxPython4/extras/linux/gtk3/ubuntu-18.04/wxPython-4.0.4-cp37-cp37m-linux_x86_64.whl
- https://extras.wxpython.org/wxPython4/extras/linux/gtk3/ubuntu-18.04/wxPython-4.0.4-cp36-cp36m-linux_x86_64.whl
requirements:
- /root/project/requirements-linux.txt
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed stale | Bug report about core18 python plugin failing with "No module named pip" on dirty rebuilds of an override-build part was closed as stale in Aug 2026; the python plugin has since changed substantially. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed stale | Closed as stale in August 2026 because the Python plugin had changed substantially since the pip failure report; no fixing PR or commit was linked. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed as stale. The python plugin has changed significantly since the report, rendering the original pip issue obsolete. A snapcraft clean workaround was noted, but no direct fix was applied. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
45
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
15
|
close stale | Snapcraft python plugin fails with missing pip when rebuilding after a dirty override-build. Issue is 7+ years old, uses deprecated core18 base, and has zero maintainer interaction. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
45
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
15
|
close stale | Snapcraft fails with missing pip module when re-running after a dirty override-build. Issue is 7+ years old, has no comments, and uses the deprecated core18 base. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
45
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
20
|
close stale | Issue reports snapcraft python plugin failing with No module named pip when re-running after modifying override-build. Unaddressed for over 7 years, uses deprecated core18 base. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1911062 core18 built python snap not usable from override-build snippet in another snap's snapcraft.yaml | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Closed as stale in 2026 after five years; newer Python plugins changed substantially, making the reported core18 sitecustomize behavior obsolete. | |
| #1882124 snapcraft does not properly surface an error message during the pip presence checking on the second and subsequent runs | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Legacy core18 Python pip check hid the underlying distutils traceback; the affected plugin path was removed with core18 support, making the report obsolete. | |
| #1861638 pip fails when project requirement result binary already exists | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Legacy core18 Python builds prompted on stale pip-download archives during repeat builds; core18 and the affected download-based workflow have since been removed. |