snapcraft export-login doesn't provide meaningful error messages when an argument is wrong
Metadata
Current evaluation
export-login masks Store 4xx/5xx details behind “Failed to get macaroon”; maintainer analysis confirms useful API errors are available, but no fix is evidenced.
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: Maintainer ~roadmr traced the behavior to a generic exception raised for every non-OK HTTP response and showed that API 404 payloads contain specific error details. The report provides an exact reproducer, expected output, implementation location, and an acknowledged edge case around non-application 500 errors; no resolving change is evident.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
36
Quick Win:
19
Complexity:
38
Confidence:
88
Actionability:
84
Issue body
Steps to reproduce:
1. Run
```
expiry_date='2020-09-10T00:00:00'
acls='package_push,package_release,package_access'
snap_name='firefox'
snapcraft export-login --channels=esr --snaps="snap_name" --acls="$acls" --expires="$esr_macaroon_file
```
(Note there's a bug in the last command, "snap_name" instead of "$snap_name".
2. Fill the right credentials.
Expected results: A meaningful error message like: "Server reported 'snap_name' is not a valid snap".
Actual results: Just this error message is provided: "Authentication error: Failed to get macaroon".
Context: I made this mistake after 2 successful macaroon exports. The lack of information lead me to think there was a bug around custom tracks. "ESR" was created in https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/firefox-please-create-the-track-esr/5006. I ended up filing a bug against the server: https://bugs.launchpad.net/firefox/+bug/1843275.
Kudos to Daniel Manrique who gave me a simple way to debug what's happening. Although, I think error messages should provide more info by default.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
36
Quick Win:
19
Complexity:
38
Confidence:
88
Actionability:
84
|
keep open | export-login masks Store 4xx/5xx details behind “Failed to get macaroon”; maintainer analysis confirms useful API errors are available, but no fix is evidenced. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
32
Quick Win:
22
Complexity:
24
Confidence:
89
Actionability:
91
|
close resolved | export-login now routes ACL failures through craft-store instead of returning the old generic macaroon error; the 2019 issue appears resolved. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
30
Quick Win:
13
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
70
Actionability:
70
|
needs triage | snapcraft export-login shows generic 'Authentication error: Failed to get macaroon' instead of meaningful error when invalid snap name is provided. No maintainer response or labels. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
30
Quick Win:
18
Staleness:
90
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
70
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | snapcraft export-login returns a generic 'Authentication error: Failed to get macaroon' instead of a meaningful message when an argument (e.g. snap name) is wrong. Unlabelled, zero comments, no maintainer interaction for ~7 years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | CLI command snapcraft export-login returns a generic authentication error instead of a clear message for invalid arguments. Issue has been inactive for over six years with no maintainer response. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
35
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
15
|
close stale | Report requesting improved error messages for snapcraft export-login when invalid arguments are passed. Currently shows a generic authentication error instead of clarifying the invalid snap name. No maintainer response in over 6 years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | snapcraft export-login returns a generic authentication error instead of a specific validation message when an invalid snap name is passed. The issue has been inactive for nearly 7 years with no maintainer response. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Related To:
firefox#1843275
(confidence 94%)
The reporter explicitly linked this context to a server-side report filed after export-login hid the API's specific 404 message.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #4226 snapcraft export-login ignores expires parameter | snapcraft | closed | Closed as stale without a Snapcraft fix. Maintainers attributed the short-lived macaroon to store-side refresh handling and later asked reporters to open a new ticket if the problem persisted. | |
| #1856502 Obscure error message from snapcraft release when not logged in correctly | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | Snapcraft exposed a raw 401 macaroon error from release; commit 8a854a8de (#3907) now gives invalid legacy credentials an actionable login or export-login resolution. |