Specifying nonstandard base results in strange error message
Metadata
Current evaluation
The misleading error for unsupported base values appears superseded by current enum-based validation and newer supported bases, but no specific resolving commit or release was identified.
Suggested action: close resolved
Reason: The report targets Snapcraft 8.1.0 behavior for bases beyond core18/core20/core22/core24; current code enumerates StableBase values as core22/core24/core26 and validates `base: StableBase`, eliminating the reported generic mismatch. No resolving SHA or release was found, so the historical state cannot be verified precisely.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
15
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
82
Actionability:
90
Issue body
### Bug Description
When attempting to build a snap which declares a `base` not one of `core{,18,20,22,24}`, a "Bad snapcraft.yaml content" error occurs. This error does not reflect the reality of the `snapcraft.yaml` being used to build the snap.
### To Reproduce
Tested with snapcraft 8.1.0.pst4+gitbe36b4dc (rev 11373). Use the provided `snapcraft.yaml` and execute `snapcraft --verbosity=verbose`.
### Environment
Ubuntu 23.10, `--use-lxd`.
### snapcraft.yaml
```shell
name: my-snap-name # you probably want to 'snapcraft register <name>'
base: foo # the base snap is the execution environment for this snap
version: '0.1' # just for humans, typically '1.2+git' or '1.3.2'
summary: Single-line elevator pitch for your amazing snap # 79 char long summary
description: |
This is my-snap's description. You have a paragraph or two to tell the
most important story about your snap. Keep it under 100 words though,
we live in tweetspace and your description wants to look good in the snap
store.
grade: devel # must be 'stable' to release into candidate/stable channels
confinement: devmode # use 'strict' once you have the right plugs and slots
parts:
my-part:
# See 'snapcraft plugins'
plugin: nil
```
### Relevant log output
```shell
dilyn@Ares:~/test -> snapcraft
Starting snapcraft, version 8.1.0.post4+gitbe36b4dc
Logging execution to '/home/dilyn/.local/state/snapcraft/log/snapcraft-20240416-130243.609661.log'
Running on amd64 for amd64
Bad snapcraft.yaml content:
- 'architectures' keyword is not supported for base 'foo'. Use 'platforms' keyword instead.
Full execution log: '/home/dilyn/.local/state/snapcraft/log/snapcraft-20240416-130243.609661.log'
```
### Additional context
When using snapcraft 7.x, I instead get a keyError, as I would expect for an (invalid) base:
```
dilyn@Ares:~/test -> snapcraft_7
Starting Snapcraft 7.5.5
Logging execution to '/home/dilyn/.local/state/snapcraft/log/snapcraft-20240416-130407.161566.log'
Running on amd64 for amd64
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/snap/snapcraft/11039/bin/snapcraft", line 8, in <module>
sys.exit(run())
File "/snap/snapcraft_7/11039/lib/python3.8/site-packages/snapcraft/cli.py", line 256, in run
_run_dispatcher(dispatcher, global_args)
File "/snap/snapcraft_7/11039/lib/python3.8/site-packages/snapcraft/cli.py", line 229, in _run_dispatcher
dispatcher.run()
File "/snap/snapcraft_7/11039/lib/python3.8/site-packages/craft_cli/dispatcher.py", line 448, in run
return self._loaded_command.run(self._parsed_command_args)
File "/snap/snapcraft_7/11039/lib/python3.8/site-packages/snapcraft/commands/lifecycle.py", line 265, in run
super().run(parsed_args)
File "/snap/snapcraft_7/11039/lib/python3.8/site-packages/snapcraft/commands/lifecycle.py", line 138, in run
parts_lifecycle.run(self.name, parsed_args)
File "/snap/snapcraft_7/11039/lib/python3.8/site-packages/snapcraft/parts/lifecycle.py", line 216, in run
_run_command(
File "/snap/snapcraft_7/11039/lib/python3.8/site-packages/snapcraft/parts/lifecycle.py", line 262, in _run_command
_run_in_provider(project, command_name, parsed_args)
File "/snap/snapcraft_7/11039/lib/python3.8/site-packages/snapcraft/parts/lifecycle.py", line 545, in _run_in_provider
build_base = providers.SNAPCRAFT_BASE_TO_PROVIDER_BASE[snapcraft_base]
KeyError: 'foo'
```
However, I also get a keyError just in case I specify a *valid* base, like `core22-desktop`.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
15
Complexity:
15
Confidence:
82
Actionability:
90
|
close resolved | The misleading error for unsupported base values appears superseded by current enum-based validation and newer supported bases, but no specific resolving commit or release was identified. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
30
Quick Win:
17
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
80
Actionability:
80
|
keep open | Invalid base 'foo' causes misleading 'architectures' error instead of 'unknown base' error. | |
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
30
Quick Win:
18
Staleness:
70
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
60
Support Request:
10
|
needs triage | Snapcraft 8.x reports a misleading 'architectures keyword not supported for base foo' error when snapcraft.yaml declares an invalid base, instead of an invalid-base error. No maintainer response; only a Jira sync bot comment. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
90
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
10
|
close stale | Unlabelled bug report from over two years ago regarding a misleading error message when specifying an invalid base in snapcraft.yaml. No maintainer engagement or labels present. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
95
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
Support Request:
5
|
needs triage | Bug in snapcraft where an invalid base value triggers a misleading architectures error instead of a clear validation failure. Untriaged with no maintainer response in over two years. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related issues
No related issues found above the similarity threshold.