Snapcraft 7 inconsistent CLI options handling
Metadata
Current evaluation
Snapcraft 7's inconsistent --verbose handling was fixed by snapcore/snapcraft#4024 (commit be005b98d); a maintainer confirmed it was resolved in Snapcraft 7.3.
Resolution: closed resolved
Reason: PR #4024 was merged as commit be005b98d, passing --verbose and -v to snapcraft_legacy. A maintainer later confirmed the reported --verbose problem was resolved in Snapcraft 7.3.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
No scores available.
Issue body
The snapcraft 7 command options differ depending on the snap's base. The command help shows options that work only if the snap base is core22.
This is particularly an issue in reusable CI workflows when the snap base isn't fixed. Snapcraft 7 + core22 doesn't print the build errors to standard output/err but rather to a file which isn't always accessible (e.g. when building snaps on Launchpad). Setting the verbose flag will work when core22 is used but results in an error and non-zero exit code otherwise.
$ snapcraft --version
snapcraft 7.0.8
$ snapcraft --help
Usage:
snapcraft [help] <command>
Summary: Package, distribute, and update snaps for Linux and IoT
Global options:
-h, --help: Show this help message and exit
-v, --verbose: Show debug information and be more
verbose
-q, --quiet: Only show warnings and errors, not
progress
-t, --trace: Show all information needed to trace
internal behaviour
-V, --version: Show the application version and
exit
...
$ snapcraft --verbose
...
Try 'snapcraft -h' for help.
Error: No such option: --verbose Did you mean --version?
$ yq ".base" snap/snapcraft.yaml
core20
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Snapcraft 7's inconsistent --verbose handling was fixed by snapcore/snapcraft#4024 (commit be005b98d); a maintainer confirmed it was resolved in Snapcraft 7.3. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Snapcraft 7 legacy CLI ignored --verbose on core18/core20; fixed by merged PR canonical/snapcraft#4024 (commit be005b98d, CRAFT-1292), released in Snapcraft 7.3. Remaining --verbosity gap tracked in canonical/snapcraft#5424, shipped in 8.11 via #5646. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Legacy --verbose/-v handling was fixed by merged PR canonical/snapcraft#4024 and released in Snapcraft 7.3; broader legacy verbosity flags were unified in 8.11 via PR #5646. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed stale | Snapcraft’s cross-base CLI option inconsistency was closed without resolution. Commit be005b98d (PR #4024) forwards --verbose and -v to the legacy CLI, but is not recorded as the closer. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed without resolution. Inconsistent CLI option handling across snap bases remains unaddressed. Likely abandoned or superseded by newer Snapcraft releases due to zero comments and prolonged inactivity. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed without resolution due to inactivity. The inconsistent CLI option handling across different snap bases in Snapcraft 7 remains unaddressed. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed without resolution. The inconsistent CLI option handling across snap bases in Snapcraft 7 remains unresolved, causing CI workflow failures. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | Closed without resolution. Snapcraft 7 CLI options varied by base, causing CI failures. No fix was implemented, suggesting the issue was abandoned or superseded by newer versions. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Likely Fixed By:
snapcore/snapcraft#4024
(confidence 99%)
Merged fix that forwarded --verbose and -v to snapcraft_legacy.
-
Related To:
canonical/snapcraft#5424
(confidence 85%)
Later maintainer comment linked remaining verbosity work to this issue.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1986643 "snapcraft extension" both does and does not accept "--verbose" | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Reported inconsistent handling of --verbose: verbose logging started, then the CLI errored with 'No such option'. Fixed by snapcore/snapcraft#4024 (commit be005b98d) forwarding --verbose/-v to snapcraft_legacy, shipped in snapcraft 7.3; tracked as CRAFT-1292. | |
| #1980686 snapcraft build won't allow `verbose` flag | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Snapcraft 7.0.11 fixed core22 only; canonical/snapcraft#4024 (be005b98d) later forwarded -v and --verbose to snapcraft_legacy for core18/core20 builds. | |
| #2016662 7.3.1 Error: No such option: --verbosity (Possible options: --verbose, --version) | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Legacy (core20) code path rejected --verbosity/--verbose/--quiet. Fixed via canonical/snapcraft#5423: PR #5646 (commit 3aeded2fa) plus follow-up PR #5680 (4a7663069), shipped in Snapcraft 8.11/8.11.1; snapcraft_legacy later removed entirely. | |
| #5424 Add `--verbosity`, `--verbose`, and `--quiet` for legacy commands in Snapcraft 7 | snapcraft | closed | Enhancement request for --verbosity/--verbose/--quiet on legacy commands in Snapcraft 7. Maintainer closed it 2025-08-07 noting it shipped in Snapcraft 8.11 via #5423 (PR #5646, commit 3aeded2fa) and is not planned for Snapcraft 7. | |
| #1986645 Some snapcraft 7.x commands have irrelevant "help" info | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Fixed in Snapcraft 8 by command-group help refactoring merged in canonical/snapcraft#4934 (commit 6a388877f). | |
| #1834628 snapcraft does not recognize -s flag, only --step, while help says otherwise | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Resolved by snapcore/snapcraft#2737, which aligned the clean command's step option, help output, and generated cleanup guidance with actual CLI parsing. |