gnome-3-38 extension not compatible with python plugin on core20

Metadata

Project: snapcraft
Number: #1959851
Type: issue
State: open
Author: ~goodsoftworx
Labels: —
Created: 2022-02-02 21:11:36.573320+00:00
Updated: 2022-02-02 21:11:36.573320+00:00
Closed: —

Current evaluation

gnome-3-38 extension overrides PYTHONPATH, breaking python plugin builds for PyGObject on core20. Open, unassigned, zero comments, inactive for years. Needs triage and fix to restore core20 Python snap compatibility.

Suggested action: needs triage

Reason: The issue has no maintainer response, labels, or comments after 4.5 years, indicating it has not been assessed or prioritized. Per guidelines, unassessed issues default to triage, though its age and lack of follow-up suggest a human reviewer should verify if the problem still exists in current snapcraft versions before deciding on closure.

Staleness: 98 Complexity: 60 Confidence: 75 Support Request: 10

Issue body

The gnome-3-38 extension sets PYTHONPATH to its own python interpreter, seemingly overriding python plugin functionality and causing build errors. This seems to have a larger negative impact on python-based GTK 3 snaps (PyGObject), which requires both the python plugin and the gnone-3-38 extension (on core20). This apparent incompatibility between gnome-3-38 and the python plugin on core20 has driven developers to either use a custom python installation by overriding PYTHONPATH, or downgrade to core18 + gnome-3-34. Please refer to the following related forum topics for more details: https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/gnome-extension-conflicts-with-python-plugin/23921 https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/build-a-snap-with-any-version-of-python-i-want/10420 https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/pygobject-and-snap-problem/28477

Evaluation history

Date	Model	Scores	Action	Summary
2026-06-19 04:08:17.135965+00:00	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 98 Complexity: 60 Confidence: 75 Support Request: 10	needs triage	gnome-3-38 extension overrides PYTHONPATH, breaking python plugin builds for PyGObject on core20. Open, unassigned, zero comments, inactive for years. Needs triage and fix to restore core20 Python snap compatibility.
2026-06-19 04:05:40.213615+00:00	pending	—	—	—