sign-build --local just doesn't work
Metadata
Current evaluation
Fixed by merged PR #5826 (commit bf00a385e, "fix: parse a snap file for the sign-build command"), which declared the missing snap-file argument in the legacy sign-build command; tracked internally as SNAPCRAFT-1180.
Resolution: closed resolved
Reason: Maintainer @bepri traced the failure to the undeclared 'snap-file' argument in snapcraft/commands/legacy.py, and PR #5826 added it, resolving the 'unrecognized arguments' / 'Missing argument' errors.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
No scores available.
Issue body
### Bug Description
```
$ snapcraft sign-build --local --key-name local-key --verbosity trace *.snap
2025-07-16 15:18:23.106 Starting snapcraft, version 8.10.1
2025-07-16 15:18:23.106 Logging execution to '/home/user/.local/state/snapcraft/log/snapcraft-20250716-151823.092624.log'
2025-07-16 15:18:23.106 Raw pre-parsed sysargs: args={'help': False, 'verbose': False, 'quiet': False, 'verbosity': <EmitterMode.TRACE: 5>, 'version': False} filtered=['sign-build', '--local', '--key-name', 'local-key', 'test-snap_1.0_amd64.snap']
2025-07-16 15:18:23.106 General parsed sysargs: command='sign-build' args=['--local', '--key-name', 'local-key', 'test-snap_1.0_amd64.snap']
2025-07-16 15:18:23.106 Configuring application...Usage: snapcraft [options] command [args]...
Try 'snapcraft sign-build -h' for help.
Error: unrecognized arguments: test-snap_1.0_amd64.snap
```
```
$ ls -l test-snap_1.0_amd64.snap
-rwxrwxrwx 1 user user 589808 Jul 16 14:42 test-snap_1.0_amd64.snap
$ snapcraft list-keys
The following keys are available on this system:
Name SHA3-384 fingerprint
* local-key XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
```
### To Reproduce
1. Have an unsigned local `.snap` file
1. Try to sign it with `--local` and a registered key
### Environment
* LXD
* Ubuntu 24.04
### snapcraft.yaml
```yaml
n/a - trying to sign a built snap. The snap builds fine.
```
### Relevant log output
```shell
2025-07-16 15:18:23.106 Starting snapcraft, version 8.10.1
2025-07-16 15:18:23.106 Logging execution to '/home/user/.local/state/snapcraft/log/snapcraft-20250716-151823.092624.log'
2025-07-16 15:18:23.106 Raw pre-parsed sysargs: args={'help': False, 'verbose': False, 'quiet': False, 'verbosity': <EmitterMode.TRACE: 5>, 'version': False} filtered=['sign-build', '--local', '--key-name', 'local-key', 'test-snap_1.0_amd64.snap']
2025-07-16 15:18:23.106 General parsed sysargs: command='sign-build' args=['--local', '--key-name', 'local-key', 'test-snap_1.0_amd64.snap']
2025-07-16 15:18:23.106 Configuring application...Usage: snapcraft [options] command [args]...
Try 'snapcraft sign-build -h' for help.
```
### Additional context
When I run it without specifying a file, it tells me:
```
Usage: snapcraft sign-build [OPTIONS] <snap-file>
Try 'snapcraft sign-build -h' for help.
Error: Missing argument '<snap-file>'.
```
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Fixed by merged PR #5826 (commit bf00a385e, "fix: parse a snap file for the sign-build command"), which declared the missing snap-file argument in the legacy sign-build command; tracked internally as SNAPCRAFT-1180. | |
| stealth/space-bunny-alpha | — | closed resolved | Fixed sign-build's missing snap-file argument parsing in merged PR #5826 (commit bf00a385e), restoring local signing. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Triaged and closed. The missing snap-file argument declaration in the command definition was identified as the root cause. An internal Jira ticket was created to track the fix. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed after identifying the missing <snap-file> argument declaration in legacy.py. The bug was resolved via an internal ticket to add the missing argument. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed without a public fix after identifying the missing snap-file argument declaration in legacy.py. An internal ticket was created, but the issue was ultimately abandoned. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | Closed after triage. An internal ticket was created to track the fix for the missing CLI argument declaration. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related work
-
Likely Fixed By:
canonical/snapcraft#5826
(confidence 97%)
Merged fix commit bf00a385e 'fix: parse a snap file for the sign-build command' directly targets the missing snap-file argument identified in the issue.
-
Related To:
canonical/snapcraft#6228
(confidence 45%)
Later refactor migrating the sign-build command out of the legacy command set (commit 2904d0be2), following the same fix.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #5826 fix: parse a snap file for the sign-build command | snapcraft | merged | Merged PR #5826 (commit bf00a385e) fixed sign-build snap-file parsing and removed duplicate --local help text; it fixes #5618. | |
| #831 'sign-build' implementation. | snapcraft | merged | Merged as commit ded7281c9, adding sign-build to generate, sign, and optionally push snap-build assertions; superseded PR #795. | |
| #6228 refactor: migrate sign-build command | snapcraft | merged | Merged PR #6228 as commit 2904d0be2, migrating the sign-build command from Snapcraft's legacy codebase as part of SNAPCRAFT-1320. | |
| #1629984 trying to sign-build without keys leaves a -build file, empty | snapcraft (launchpad) | closed | Merged canonical/snapcraft PR #848 (d0b49816f), fixing failed sign-build runs that left empty "-build" files by selecting a key before writing output. |