Stop fontconfig from loading from host’s /etc/fonts/conf.d
Metadata
Current evaluation
Merged as snapcraft#4257 via commit 7877ca5bb, preventing fontconfig from loading host /etc/fonts/conf.d and fixing conflicting font selection.
Resolution: closed resolved
Reason: PR #4257 was approved and merged as commit 7877ca5bb. It removed host /etc/fonts/conf.d loading from the generated fontconfig configuration, resolving the font confusion reported in Launchpad bug #2025651.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
No scores available.
Issue body
Fixes: https://launchpad.net/bugs/2025651
At the moment the snaps in at least lunar and mantic load font configuration both from `gnome-42-2204` and from the host system’s `/etc/fonts/conf.d`. This has proved to confuse fontconfig and result in unexpected issues. Stopping the snaps from loading from `/etc/fonts/conf.d` seems to fix the issue.
This PR reverts part of https://github.com/snapcore/snapcraft/commit/407dc755, which is sad IMO. But it’s a result of the reluctance to use font configuration from the host system as expressed in [this comment](https://github.com/ubuntu/gnome-sdk/issues/49#issuecomment-1216321729), and for now the proposed change is the easiest way to stop fontconfig from being confused.
- [x] Have you followed the [guidelines for contributing](https://github.com/snapcore/snapcraft/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)?
- [x] Have you signed the [CLA](http://www.ubuntu.com/legal/contributors/)?
- [ ] Have you successfully run `make lint`?
- [ ] Have you successfully run `pytest tests/unit`?
-----
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Merged as snapcraft#4257 via commit 7877ca5bb, preventing fontconfig from loading host /etc/fonts/conf.d and fixing conflicting font selection. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Merged PR #4257 as commit 7877ca5bb, stopping core20 snaps from loading host /etc/fonts/conf.d and fixing the fontconfig confusion in Launchpad #2025651. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Merged as 7877ca5bb; desktop extensions now exclude the host’s /etc/fonts/conf.d, resolving conflicting fontconfig behavior in Lunar and Mantic (LP #2025651). | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Merged as commit 7877ca5bb, preventing fontconfig from loading host /etc/fonts/conf.d and resolving Snap font confusion (Launchpad #2025651). | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Merged to prevent fontconfig from loading host /etc/fonts/conf.d, resolving snap font confusion. Approved by two reviewers, passes CI, and reverts part of a prior commit. Single file change. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | Merged to prevent fontconfig from loading the host's /etc/fonts/conf.d in snaps, resolving font rendering confusion. Validated across core20 and core22 bases and applied after maintainer review to fix unexpected font issues. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related work
-
Related To:
snapcraft#3586
(confidence 100%)
PR #4257 explicitly reverts part of commit 407dc755, merged by #3586, to avoid conflicting host font configuration.
-
Related To:
snapcraft-desktop-integration#13
(confidence 98%)
A parallel fix for newer desktop integration; maintainers retained #4257 because core20 snaps still use Snapcraft scripts.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3509 extensions: don't expose host system fontconfig cache | snapcraft | merged | Merged in snapcore/snapcraft#3509 via commit 6efa4ef6c, preventing GNOME and KDE desktop plugs from exposing the host fontconfig cache. |