Can snapcraft commands default to base in snapcraft.yaml from build subdirectories?
Metadata
Current evaluation
Snapcraft ignores the top-level snapcraft.yaml base when run from subdirectories, falling back to the latest supported base. Request to make configuration resolution directory-agnostic. Open, inactive for years, needs triage, and awaiting assignment.
Suggested action: close stale
Reason: This issue is nearly 4 years old with zero maintainer engagement or comments. Snapcraft has undergone significant architectural changes since then, including mandatory base requirements and updated project discovery mechanisms, making the requested behavior obsolete or already handled differently. It should be closed as stale due to prolonged inactivity and changed project context.
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
80
Support Request:
10
Issue body
I can see that if I'm running commands like "snapcraft plugins", if I happen to be at the top of a snap build directory, then the command will use the base specified in the snapcraft.yaml file.
However, if I'm in some (non-snap/) subdirectory of that build directory, then the command reverts to simply using the latest supported base. Would it be difficult to extend snapcraft's behaviour to act more like Git, in that no matter where you are in a build directory, the base from the snapcraft.yaml file associated with that build directory will be used? That would be more consistent behaviour.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-19 05:07:34.429941+00:00 | qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
80
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Snapcraft ignores the top-level snapcraft.yaml base when run from subdirectories, falling back to the latest supported base. Request to make configuration resolution directory-agnostic. Open, inactive for years, needs triage, and awaiting assignment. |
| 2026-06-19 05:04:43.830431+00:00 | pending | — | — | — |