Cannot run snapcraft in docker anymore
Metadata
Current evaluation
Snapcraft crashes with SnapCtlError when run in Docker without snapd; reporter found a working Dockerfile workaround, maintainer kept it open to improve error handling. Triaged as enhancement, last activity 493 days ago.
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: Maintainer mr-cal explicitly stated 'I'm going to leave this issue open because we can improve the error handling' after the reporter confirmed a workaround. The issue is triaged (Status: Triaged, Type: Enhancement) and the underlying crash path (snaphelpers SnapCtlError in craft_application config) is still present in the codebase, so the error-handling improvement remains valid.
Impact:
50
Quick Win:
30.0
Staleness:
65
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
75
Support Request:
40
Issue body
### Bug Description
I cannot run snapcraft in docker container anymore. It requires snapd to be running.
### To Reproduce
Build a docker container with snapcraft in it and then use that docker container to build a snap
### Environment
Docker with noble based image
### snapcraft.yaml
```yaml
no yaml config needed
```
### Relevant log output
```shell
root@d04e7a25f671:/datax# SNAP_INSTANCE_NAME=snapcraft snapcraft version
snapcraft internal error: SnapCtlError('Call to snapctl failed with error 1: error: cannot communicate with server: Post "http://localhost/v2/snapctl": dial unix /run/snapd-snap.socket: connect: no such file or directory\n')
Full execution log: '/root/.local/state/snapcraft/log/snapcraft-20240930-150845.117122.log'
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/craft_application/application.py", line 568, in run
return_code = self._run_inner()
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/snapcraft/application.py", line 215, in _run_inner
return_code = super()._run_inner()
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/craft_application/application.py", line 521, in _run_inner
platform = self.get_arg_or_config(parsed_args, "platform")
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/craft_application/application.py", line 511, in get_arg_or_config
return self.services.config.get(item)
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/craft_application/services/config.py", line 175, in get
value = handler.get_raw(item)
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/craft_application/services/config.py", line 103, in get_raw
return self._snap.get(snap_item)
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/snaphelpers/_conf.py", line 125, in get
options = self.get_options(top_key)
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/snaphelpers/_conf.py", line 114, in get_options
options.fetch()
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/snaphelpers/_conf.py", line 86, in fetch
self._config = self._snapctl.config_get(*self._keys)
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/snaphelpers/_ctl.py", line 147, in config_get
conf = json.loads(self.run("get", "-d", *keys))
File "/snap/snapcraft/current/lib/python3.10/site-packages/snaphelpers/_ctl.py", line 271, in run
raise SnapCtlError(process)
snaphelpers._ctl.SnapCtlError: Call to snapctl failed with error 1: error: cannot communicate with server: Post "http://localhost/v2/snapctl": dial unix /run/snapd-snap.socket: connect: no such file or directory
```
```
### Additional context
_No response_
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.8-27b |
Impact:
50
Quick Win:
30.0
Staleness:
65
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
75
Support Request:
40
|
keep open | Snapcraft crashes with SnapCtlError when run in Docker without snapd; reporter found a working Dockerfile workaround, maintainer kept it open to improve error handling. Triaged as enhancement, last activity 493 days ago. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
75
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
20
|
keep open | Snapcraft fails in Docker due to missing snapd socket. User resolved via Dockerfile workaround. Maintainer acknowledged and requested keeping it open for error handling improvements. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
85
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
90
Support Request:
0
|
keep open | Triaged enhancement to improve error handling when snapcraft runs in Docker without snapd. Maintainer explicitly requested it remain open for future implementation. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
80
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
75
Support Request:
10
|
keep open | Snapcraft fails in Docker due to missing snapd socket and environment checks. Contributors shared workarounds using custom extraction and launcher scripts. The issue remains open to improve error handling and support containerized builds. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related work
-
Related To:
snapcore/snapcraft#3971
(confidence 70%)
Commit 1aec6c84b 'snap config: do not crash when config cannot be retrieved (#3971)' addresses the same snapd-unavailable crash in snapcraft's own snap_config path, but the reported traceback goes through craft_application's config service instead.
-
Related To:
snapcore/snapcraft#3974
(confidence 65%)
Commit 3a1ed84d5 'snap config: catch more errors when config cannot be retrieved (#3974)' broadens the same error handling, relevant to the requested improvement.
-
Related To:
snapcraft (launchpad)#1956216
(confidence 55%)
Prior Launchpad bug about snapcraft not working in Docker, referenced in repo history (PR #3607) as an earlier instance of the same class of problem.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1956216 Snapcraft is no longer working within a Docker container | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Closed without resolution. The report detailed a snapcraft ModuleNotFoundError in Docker containers, but received no comments or fixes. The issue remains abandoned. | |
| #1836355 Docker Container https://hub.docker.com/r/snapcore/snapcraft on edge doesnt contain snapd | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Closed without resolution. The report regarding missing snapd in the snapcore/snapcraft:edge Docker image was abandoned due to prolonged inactivity. No fix or follow-up was provided. | |
| #1826611 Running snapcraft 3 w/ core18 base in docker incorrectly reports missing lib deps | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Closed as stale. Snapcraft resolved the issue by updating its Dockerfiles and migrating to OCI rocks for builds, eliminating the incorrect core18 dependency warnings in Docker. |