The --base command option for the `snapcraft help` command no longer works
Metadata
Current evaluation
The removed legacy help CLI advertised `--base` but rejected the documented example; `snapcraft_legacy` has since been deleted, leaving no affected command to restore.
Suggested action: close stale
Reason: The maintainer confirmed the failure and traced `snapcraft help help` to obsolete help from `snapcraft_legacy`. Commit ffb164b7a removed that subsystem, and the current tree contains no `snapcraft_legacy` implementation, so restoring this legacy command's `--base` option is no longer relevant; generic help improvements remain tracked in canonical/craft-cli#200.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
15
Complexity:
12
Confidence:
94
Actionability:
86
Issue body
It can't even run the example command in the `snapcraft help` commands's help text:
```
$ snapcraft help help
Usage: snapcraft help [OPTIONS] <topic>
Examples:
snapcraft help go --base core18
Options:
--base [core18|core20] Show help for specific base
$ snapcraft help go --base core18
Usage: snapcraft [options] command [args]...
Try 'snapcraft -h' for help.
Error: Too many parameters when requesting help; pass a command (optionally with --format), '--all', or leave it empty
```
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
15
Complexity:
12
Confidence:
94
Actionability:
86
|
close stale | The removed legacy help CLI advertised `--base` but rejected the documented example; `snapcraft_legacy` has since been deleted, leaving no affected command to restore. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
9
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
96
Actionability:
55
|
close stale | Confirmed regression in legacy Snapcraft help: the documented snapcraft help go --base core18 command fails because stale help text is shown; the legacy CLI has since been removed. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
18
Quick Win:
5
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
92
Actionability:
40
|
close stale | Obsolete regression report: `snapcraft help <plugin> --base core18|core20` failed, but the legacy help path and both targeted ESM bases have since been removed; no triage or activity for 1,050 days. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Impact:
15
Quick Win:
12
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
75
Support Request:
30
|
close stale | The --base option for snapcraft help command no longer works; issue is 1030 days old with no maintainer activity or comments | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | The --base flag for snapcraft help fails with a parameter error despite being documented. The issue remains open with no maintainer response or comments after nearly three years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | snapcraft help --base flag fails with a parameter error, contradicting documented examples. Issue is nearly 3 years old with no maintainer response. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
70
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Untriaged bug report from 974 days ago stating snapcraft help go --base core18 fails with a parameter error. No maintainer interaction or comments. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Related To:
canonical/craft-cli#200
(confidence 99%)
The maintainer explicitly linked this craft-cli feature request while diagnosing the stale legacy help.
Related issues
No related issues found above the similarity threshold.