using source-branch and source-tag not possible but no explanation in help why this is the case
Metadata
Current evaluation
Source branch, tag, and commit are intentionally exclusive, but the sources help still describes them separately without documenting the restriction.
Suggested action: needs triage
Reason: The reported error is clear, and the matching current craft_parts/sources/sources.py help still lists source-branch, source-commit, and source-tag independently without explaining their exclusivity. The sole commenter explains the intended Git semantics, while newer PartSpec documentation now calls the fields mutually incompatible, so the remaining help-text gap is valid but has not received maintainer triage.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
28
Quick Win:
21
Complexity:
14
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
88
Issue body
trying to build a kernel snap from a certain tag and branch results in the following error:
Sorry, an error occurred in Snapcraft:
Failed to pull source: cannot specify both 'source-branch' and 'source-tag' for a git source.
See `snapcraft help sources` for more information.
looking at "snapcraft help sources" does not explain that these two are mutually exlusive in any way:
...
- source-branch: <branch-name>
Snapcraft will checkout a specific branch from the source tree. This
only works on multi-branch repositories from git and hg (mercurial).
...
- source-tag: <tag>
Snapcraft will checkout the specific tag from the source tree revision
control system.
...
they should either not be mutually exclusive (why are they at all) or there should be a proper hint in the help that one disables support for the other
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
28
Quick Win:
21
Complexity:
14
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
88
|
needs triage | Source branch, tag, and commit are intentionally exclusive, but the sources help still describes them separately without documenting the restriction. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
18
Quick Win:
15
Complexity:
8
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
93
|
close resolved | Git revision selectors are intentionally mutually exclusive, and current Part Property documentation now explains this, resolving the old help-text omission. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
25
Quick Win:
13
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
81
Actionability:
65
|
needs triage | Documentation request to explain that source-branch and source-tag are mutually exclusive for Git sources; it remains open, unlabelled, and untriaged without maintainer response. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
17
Staleness:
90
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
55
Support Request:
20
|
needs triage | Request to document in `snapcraft help sources` that source-branch and source-tag are mutually exclusive for git sources (or allow both). Filed ~6.8 years ago by ogra with no labels, comments, or maintainer response; current state unverified. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
40
|
close stale | User reports that using both 'source-branch' and 'source-tag' in Snapcraft fails with an error, but the help documentation doesn't explain why they are mutually exclusive. Issue is over 6 years old with no activity. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
25
|
close stale | Snapcraft errors when both source-branch and source-tag are specified, but help docs don't explain they are mutually exclusive. Unlabelled, no maintainer response, inactive for ~6.7 years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
92
Support Request:
25
|
close stale | Snapcraft fails when using both source-branch and source-tag, citing mutual exclusivity, but help docs lack explanation. Issue is completely inactive for over six years with no maintainer response. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related issues
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