Poor error output when no base specified
Metadata
Current evaluation
Improved error handling resolved the unhelpful KeyError when a snapcraft.yaml lacks a base field. The issue was closed after a maintainer confirmed it is no longer an issue, indicating the bug was fixed in a subsequent release.
Suggested action: —
No scores available.
Issue body
### What needs to get done
Specify a `snapcraft.yaml` missing the base:
```
name: testo
```
The error output isn't very helpful:
```
# snapcraft pack
snapcraft internal error: KeyError('None')
```
### Why it needs to get done
Improve friendliness for new users.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Improved error handling resolved the unhelpful KeyError when a snapcraft.yaml lacks a base field. The issue was closed after a maintainer confirmed it is no longer an issue, indicating the bug was fixed in a subsequent release. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed as no longer an issue. Subsequent updates improved error handling for missing base fields, eliminating the unhelpful KeyError. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | Resolved. The unhelpful KeyError when running snapcraft pack without a base field was fixed. The issue was closed as no longer an issue after improved error handling was implemented. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | The unhelpful KeyError when snapcraft.yaml omits a base field was resolved. The issue was closed as no longer an issue after underlying code changes improved error handling. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #4737 Specifying nonstandard base results in strange error message | snapcraft | open | 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. | |
| #5388 fix: don't fail when checking the base | snapcraft | merged | Merged a fix preventing snapcraft from failing early during base checks. Enables user-friendly error reporting for incorrect bases. Approved by two reviewers and merged with 10 additions and 30 deletions across three files. |