Document new core22 variable to enable experimental extensions
Metadata
Current evaluation
Closed as resolved. The deprecated CLI flag was not restored due to the time elapsed. The required environment variable SNAPCRAFT_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_EXTENSIONS=1 is now documented in the official how-to guide.
Suggested action: —
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Issue body
### What needs to get done
Document and improve messaging explaining that enabling experimental extensions in core22 requires the usage of an environment variable instead of the --enable-experimental-extension flag.
The solution could be:
- When running snapcraft with the old flag in core22, add an error message indicating that the flag does not exist anymore.
- Document the behaviour on [snapcraft-extensions](https://snapcraft.io/docs/snapcraft-extensions) page.
### Why it needs to get done
In Core22, it appears that the process for enabling experimental extensions has been modified. Instead of using the --enable-experimental-extensions flag, it is now required to set the environment variable SNAPCRAFT_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_EXTENSIONS=1 before executing the snapcraft command. However, when running snapcraft with the old --enable-experimental-extensions flag, no error is explicitly reported, simply the the experimental flags are ignored. This makes the process time-consuming and unclear for the developer.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed as resolved. The deprecated CLI flag was not restored due to the time elapsed. The required environment variable SNAPCRAFT_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_EXTENSIONS=1 is now documented in the official how-to guide. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed. The team acknowledged the deprecated flag oversight but deemed adding a deprecation notice too late. Resolution involved publishing documentation for the new SNAPCRAFT_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_EXTENSIONS environment variable. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed. Documentation updated to cover the new SNAPCRAFT_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_EXTENSIONS environment variable. Maintainers declined adding a CLI error or deprecation notice due to the time elapsed since the flag was removed. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | Resolved by documenting the SNAPCRAFT_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_EXTENSIONS environment variable. The deprecated CLI flag will not be restored with a deprecation notice due to the time elapsed. Closed. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | Documentation updated to cover the SNAPCRAFT_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_EXTENSIONS environment variable for core22. Maintainers declined adding a deprecation error for the removed flag due to the time elapsed. Issue closed. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3775 provider: forward SNAPCRAFT_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_EXTENSIONS | snapcraft | merged | Merged a change forwarding the SNAPCRAFT_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_EXTENSIONS environment variable to providers, ensuring experimental extensions are properly enabled during builds. | |
| #4093 cli: add option to enable experimental plugins for snapcraft_legacy | snapcraft | merged | Merged after reviewer approval and passing CI. Adds the --enable-experimental-extensions CLI flag and corresponding environment variable to snapcraft_legacy, enabling experimental plugins for core18 and core20. | |
| #4085 cli: add option to enable experimental plugins | snapcraft | merged | Merged. Adds CLI flag --enable-experimental-plugins and env var SNAPCRAFT_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_PLUGINS to enable experimental plugins. Approved by reviewer, passed CI, and merged with 34 additions and 8 deletions across 3 files. |