No helpfull message when command doesn't exist
Metadata
Current evaluation
Snapcraft gave only a generic pack failure when an app command was absent from the staged snap; commit 44930f709 and PR #3321 later added command-not-found validation.
Suggested action: close resolved
Reason: Repository history contains resolving commit 44930f709, titled "meta: add error check for 'command not found' (#3321)", which directly matches the Snapcraft 8.0.1 reproducer. The clear YAML example and exact nonexistent command make the original report readily verifiable.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
38
Quick Win:
23
Complexity:
32
Confidence:
96
Actionability:
88
Issue body
If the command specified in the YAML doesn't actually exist, snapcraft provides the following non-helpful message:
Command '['snap', 'pack', '--filename', 'liquidctl_test_amd64.snap', '--compression', 'xz', PosixPath('/root/prime'), PosixPath('/root/project')]' returned non-zero exit status 1.
Failed to execute pack in instance.
I used the following example
snapcraft.yaml:
name: liquidctl
summary: empty
description: |
empty
version: test
base: core22
confinement: strict
parts:
liquidctl:
plugin: python
source: .
stage-packages:
- python3-usb
apps:
liquidctl:
command: wrongname # Here is the line that makes it fails.
plugs:
- raw-usb
- hardware-observe
If the file could be checked, that would help to provide a helpful message for developers.
snapcraft --version
snapcraft 8.0.1
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
38
Quick Win:
23
Complexity:
32
Confidence:
96
Actionability:
88
|
close resolved | Snapcraft gave only a generic pack failure when an app command was absent from the staged snap; commit 44930f709 and PR #3321 later added command-not-found validation. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
32
Quick Win:
11
Complexity:
58
Confidence:
91
Actionability:
80
|
needs triage | Snapcraft 8.0.1 produces only a generic pack failure when an app command does not exist; this request to validate the command remains untriaged. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Impact:
35
Quick Win:
26
Staleness:
85
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
65
Support Request:
15
|
needs triage | Unhelpful error when snapcraft.yaml command doesn't exist; no maintainer response in 967 days | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
10
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
needs triage | Reports unhelpful error message when a snapcraft.yaml command does not exist. Provides minimal reproducible example. Unlabeled, no maintainer response, inactive for ~2.5 years. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
70
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | Snapcraft shows a cryptic exit status 1 error when a specified app command doesn't exist. Issue is unlabelled, has no maintainer comments, and has been inactive for ~2.5 years. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
needs triage | Unhelpful error message when a snapcraft.yaml command does not exist. The report is unlabelled and has seen no maintainer activity or comments in over two years. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Likely Fixed By:
snapcraft#3321
(confidence 98%)
PR #3321, implemented by commit 44930f709, added an error check for commands missing from the snap.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1791175 check for the existence of a command | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Missing app-command validation received a clearer error in merged PR snapcraft#2272, committed as 65ba888da. | |
| #3321 meta: add error check for "command not found" | snapcraft | merged | Merged in snapcraft#3321 via commit 44930f709: missing app commands now raise InvalidAppCommandNotFound; PrimedCommandNotFoundError was removed and unit tests added. |