snapcraft could be more helpful in figuring out prime/organize errs vs executable bits
Metadata
Current evaluation
UX request to split the combined command-chain "does not exist or is not executable" error into two distinct messages; acknowledged by sergiusens in 2020 but still unimplemented in setup_assets.py
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: The code at HEAD still contains the exact combined message the issue complains about: `_validate_command_chain` in snapcraft/parts/setup_assets.py:406 raises "The command-chain item {item!r} defined in {name} does not exist or is not executable" with resolution "Ensure that {item!r} is relative to the prime directory", and `_is_executable` collapses `not path.is_file()` and the missing exec-bit check into one boolean, so the ambiguity is structural. Pickaxe search for the message text returns only the commits that introduced it (8e2f28e48, 194989b4e, c1750097e) plus 'chore: remove snapcraft_legacy' — no commit ever split the two conditions, and all four test assertions in tests/unit/parts/test_setup_assets.py still expect the combined string. Maintainer sergiusens explicitly endorsed the report ("this is indeed something we should work on"), so it is triaged and valid; the 2258-day age is not grounds for closure since the affected subsystem is active and the request remains valid.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Issue body
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
27
Quick Win:
19
Complexity:
12
Confidence:
88
Actionability:
82
|
keep open | UX request to split the combined command-chain "does not exist or is not executable" error into two distinct messages; acknowledged by sergiusens in 2020 but still unimplemented in setup_assets.py | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
22
Complexity:
22
Confidence:
82
Actionability:
80
|
keep open | UX request to split the combined command-chain error into distinct 'does not exist' vs 'not executable' messages; acknowledged by sergiusens as worth doing, still unfixed in setup_assets.py. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
30
Quick Win:
19
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
70
Actionability:
80
|
needs triage | Request to improve error message for command-chain validation by separating 'file not found' from 'not executable' cases. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
15
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
70
Support Request:
15
|
close stale | Request to improve snapcraft error message for command-chain items to distinguish between missing file, wrong location, and non-executable script. No maintainer interaction in 6+ years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
98
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
5
|
close stale | Suggests improving snapcraft's error messages for command-chain failures to distinguish between file location mismatches and missing executable permissions. Untriaged and inactive for ~6 years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Feature request to improve snapcraft error messages for command-chain failures, distinguishing between missing files and executable permissions. Unaddressed for over six years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
0
|
close stale | Suggests improving snapcraft's error message to distinguish between missing command-chain files and missing executable permissions. Untriaged and inactive for ~6 years. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
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Related To:
snapcraft (launchpad)#1606346
(confidence 40%)
Thematically similar UX/error-message-clarity request in the same project (missing git executable produced an unclear OS error), but a different code path; not a duplicate and does not resolve this issue.
Related issues
No related issues found above the similarity threshold.