remote build: remove legacy remote builder
Metadata
Current evaluation
Superseded by a merged pull request that removed the legacy remote builder and related configuration, completing the deprecation cleanup for Snapcraft 9.
Suggested action: —
No scores available.
Issue body
### What needs to get done
- Remove the legacy remote builder
- Remove all logic that determines which remote builder to use
- Remove the env var `SNAPCRAFT_REMOTE_BUILD_STRATEGY`
- Remove support for reading credentials from the legacy location ([source](https://github.com/canonical/snapcraft/blob/5a4146557e3396981cb90415526a6ae956f9a549/snapcraft/services/remotebuild.py#L36))
- Update/simplify the docs:
- https://documentation.ubuntu.com/snapcraft/stable/explanation/remote-build/
### Why it needs to get done
The legacy remote builder is deprecated in favor of the new remote builder. The legacy remote builder is designed for core20 snaps and will be removed in Snapcraft 9.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Superseded by a merged pull request that removed the legacy remote builder and related configuration, completing the deprecation cleanup for Snapcraft 9. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | The legacy remote builder, related configuration logic, and environment variables were removed as part of a cleanup effort ahead of Snapcraft 9. The issue was closed after implementation. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b | — | — | Closed as completed. The legacy remote builder, associated logic, environment variable, and credential handling were removed. Documentation was updated to reflect the new remote builder. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | The legacy remote builder, associated configuration logic, environment variables, and credential handling were removed. The issue was closed after the deprecated code was successfully removed and documentation updated. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 | — | — | Closed as implemented. The legacy remote builder, associated selection logic, SNAPCRAFT_REMOTE_BUILD_STRATEGY environment variable, and legacy credential support were removed for Snapcraft 9. |
Update history
No update history recorded yet.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #4144 remote build: legacy builder cannot parse core22 snapcraft.yaml syntax | snapcraft | closed | Won't fix. The legacy remote builder lacks core22 syntax support and was descoped in favor of the new remote builder. The legacy builder will be removed in Snapcraft 9, making this enhancement unnecessary. | |
| #4365 remote-build: legacy builder complains about the wrong part name | snapcraft | closed | Marked won't fix. The legacy remote builder causing misleading validation errors for core22 snaps will be removed in Snapcraft 9, rendering the issue obsolete. No code changes were implemented. | |
| #5712 remote build: legacy builder should give a friendly error when passing `--project` | snapcraft | closed | Marked as won't fix. The legacy remote builder is being removed in Snapcraft 9, making the requested error message enhancement unnecessary. | |
| #4886 Use legacy remote builder for core20 snaps | snapcraft | closed | Superseded and closed pending dependency #4885. The legacy remote builder fallback for core20 snaps was deferred, with tracking moved to internal ticket CRAFT-3071. | |
| #4895 fix(remotebuild): require core20 snaps to use the legacy remote builder | snapcraft | merged | Merged. Requires core20 snaps to use the legacy remote builder since the new builder cannot parse core20 snapcraft.yaml files. Resolves #4886. Approved and passed CI. | |
| #5435 remote build: deprecate `--build-for` | snapcraft | open | Deprecate --build-for in snapcraft remote-build to align with Craft Application and other craft tools. Triaged by maintainer who confirmed it can ship in a minor release, but blocked by Launchpad's new build farm migration for --platform support. Code confirms --build-for is still active without deprecation warning. | |
| #3648 cli: reintroduce remote-build and promote to snapcraft help | snapcraft | merged | Merged the reintroduction of the remote-build CLI command and promoted it to snapcraft help. Approved by one reviewer, passed CI checks, and resolved Launchpad bug #1943244 via a single-file, four-line deletion. | |
| #3600 remote build: use channel defaults (CRAFT-568) | snapcraft | merged | Merged changes remove hardcoded channel forcing for snapcraft and core18 in remote builds, aligning with snapcraft's core20 transition. Approved and merged with a minimal diff. Launchpad now auto-selects the correct build-base. |