snapcraft create-key incorrect error message
Metadata
Current evaluation
Fixed by canonical/snapcraft#3844 (commit ef3318398), which distinguishes an existing local key from a registered key; released in Snapcraft 7.1.1 on stable.
Resolution: closed resolved
Reason: PR #3844 added a distinct KeyAlreadyExistsError and updated create-key handling. A maintainer confirmed that Snapcraft 7.1.1 on stable fixes the issue.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
No scores available.
Issue body
Description:
"snapcraft create-key" will error with a message that says a key has been registered when it has not been.
To reproduce:
```bash
# verify key "test1" has not been created yet
snapcraft keys
# create key that has not been registered with "snapcraft register"
snapcraft create-key test1
# See that key "test1" has "(not registered)" to the right of its fingerprint
snapcraft keys
# Receive incorrect error message
snapcraft create-key test1
```
Note: I'm not aware of any way to delete a key, so you will probably have "test1" in your keys forever. Sorry!
Suggested fix:
Change wording to say "You have already created a key named 'key_name'"
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Fixed by canonical/snapcraft#3844 (commit ef3318398), which distinguishes an existing local key from a registered key; released in Snapcraft 7.1.1 on stable. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Corrected the duplicate-key error so it no longer implies Store registration; the fix shipped in Snapcraft 7.1.1. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed stale | The incorrect create-key error wording was never fixed; Launchpad bug #1979907 was closed without a resolution or implementing the proposed change. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Reported an incorrect error message for snapcraft create-key. The report was closed without a fix or resolution. No pull requests were merged, and the suggested wording change was not implemented. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Abandoned. The incorrect error message in snapcraft create-key for locally created keys was not fixed. The suggested wording update was never implemented. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed. The misleading error message for snapcraft create-key was corrected to clarify that a key was already created rather than registered. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | The snapcraft create-key error message report was closed without a fix. Zero comments and no linked pull requests indicate the report was abandoned or closed as stale. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Likely Fixed By:
canonical/snapcraft#3844
(confidence 99%)
Commit ef3318398 added separate errors for keys that already exist versus keys already registered.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1637623 snapcraft create-key displays an ugly error when the keys don't match | snapcraft (launchpad) | open | snapcraft create-key still surfaces a raw CalledProcessError traceback when the two entered passphrases don't match; code confirms subprocess.check_call at keys.py:162 is unguarded. | |
| #1629942 Implement `snapcraft create-key` | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Implemented `snapcraft create-key` wrapping `snap create-key`, with early errors for existing local/store keys. Merged as snapcore/snapcraft PR #824 (commit 01d512e65); maintainer closed the Launchpad bug pointing at that PR. | |
| #824 Add `snapcraft create-key` | snapcraft | merged | Merged #824 in commit 01d512e65, adding `snapcraft create-key` to wrap `snap create-key` and reject names already registered with the store. |