Give `organize` access to variables set during the build step

Metadata

Project: snapcraft
Number: #5241
Type: issue
State: open
Author: dilyn-corner
Labels: Status: Triaged Type: Enhancement
Created: 2025-02-06 06:53 PM UTC
Updated: 2025-04-21 07:48 PM UTC
Closed: —

Current evaluation

Enhancement: let `organize` expand variables defined in build-environment or computed during the build step. Triaged as valid; maintainer mr-cal filed upstream craft-parts#1076 (open), so it awaits work in craft-parts.

Suggested action: keep open

Reason: Labelled 'Status: Triaged'/'Type: Enhancement' and explicitly endorsed by maintainer mr-cal ("I think this is a good idea"), who filed the upstream bug craft-parts#1076 (still open). No fix exists in this repo: craft_parts/executor/part_handler.py calls organize_files() with the raw spec.organize_files dict and there is no expandvars/environment-substitution call anywhere in craft-parts, so the behaviour is unimplemented. Impact is moderate convenience (override-build mv workaround exists), and complexity is nontrivial because shell-local variables computed inside override-build (e.g. kver) cannot simply be read from the parent environment — craftctl set/project-variable plumbing or new semantics are needed.

Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot

Impact: 32 Quick Win: 10 Complexity: 60 Confidence: 86 Actionability: 80

Issue body

### What needs to get done When snapcraft performs the build step for a part, keys in `build-environment` or variables set during the build should exist for the `organize` portion of the build step to use. ### Why it needs to get done Suppose something like the below: ``` parts: foo: build-environment: NAME: bar VERSION: baz ``` If some piece of `foo` needs to be in a specifically named directory, this must currently be done manually: ``` override-build: | craftctl default mv -f "${CRAFT_PART_INSTALL}/my/file" "${CRAFT_PART_INSTALL}/$NAME/$VERSION/my/file" ``` The `organize` part of the build step is a more natural use-case: ``` organize: my/file: $NAME/$VERSION/my/file ``` The utility becomes more obvious just in case `$NAME` or `$VERSION` are generated and only known *during the build* (i.e. in the case of kernel snaps): ``` override-build: | craftctl default kver="$(basename "${CRAFT_PART_INSTALL}/lib/modules/"*)" organize: modules/**/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtw88: (component/wlan)/modules/$kver/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtw88 ```

Evaluation history

Date	Model	Scores	Action	Summary
2026-10-02 05:15 PM UTC	stealth/space-bunny-alpha	Impact: 32 Quick Win: 10 Complexity: 60 Confidence: 86 Actionability: 80	keep open	Enhancement: let `organize` expand variables defined in build-environment or computed during the build step. Triaged as valid; maintainer mr-cal filed upstream craft-parts#1076 (open), so it awaits work in craft-parts.
2026-09-20 01:47 PM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Impact: 65 Quick Win: 23 Complexity: 55 Confidence: 75 Actionability: 80	keep open	Enhancement to allow organize keyword to reference variables set during build step. Triaged and tracked upstream in craft-parts#1076, both open with no progress.
2026-09-01 02:52 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.8-27b	Impact: 50 Quick Win: 20 Staleness: 55 Complexity: 60 Confidence: 75 Support Request: 5	keep open	Enhancement request to allow the organize keyword to access build-environment variables and variables set during the build step. Triaged by a maintainer and tracked upstream in craft-parts#1076, which remains open with no progress.
2026-07-22 12:14 PM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 70 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 85 Support Request: 10	keep open	Enhancement request to allow organize directives to access variables defined in build-environment or set during override-build. Triaged, with maintainer support and an upstream craft-parts issue created.
2026-07-08 05:07 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 85 Complexity: 40 Confidence: 80 Support Request: 10	keep open	Feature request to let organize directives access build-environment or override-build variables. Triaged, escalated upstream, and awaiting resolution despite over a year of inactivity.

Update history

No update history recorded yet.

Related work

Blocked By: craft-parts#1076 (confidence 95%)
mr-cal created this upstream issue; organize is implemented in craft_parts/executor/organize.py, so snapcraft cannot fix it alone.

Related issues

Issue	Project	State	Summary	Similarity
#1076 Give organize access to variables set during the build step #5241	craft-parts	open	Enhancement to let organize reference variables populated during the build step, enabling paths known only at build time; triaged and still open with no implementation evidence.	78%