feat(remote-build): add --project-dir argument to support build paths
Metadata
Current evaluation
Adds --project-dir argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Under active review with maintainer suggesting alternative approaches using build-path or upstream monorepo feature.
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: The PR is under active review with maintainer mr-cal providing feedback on September 4, suggesting the build-path approach or upstream craft-application#1109 monorepo feature as alternatives. The author indicated they would push updates after the August 24 feedback. The PR needs further development to address the maintainer's concerns about the os.chdir approach.
Impact:
50
Quick Win:
22.5
Staleness:
35
Complexity:
55
Confidence:
75
Issue body
Fixes #6287
**Describe your changes:**
This PR introduces the `--project-dir` command-line argument for the `snapcraft remote-build` command to support monorepo setups and custom build paths, fulfilling the requirements outlined in Issue #6287.
**Key Technical Details:**
* **Command-Line Interface:** Added the `--project-dir` option in `snapcraft/commands/remote.py`, mapping it to the newly supported `build_path` parameter in upstream `craft-application`.
* **Testing (Unit):** Added unit tests in `tests/unit/commands/test_remote.py` to verify the argument parsing and API calls. A pre-existing test fixture (`test_multiple_artifacts_per_build_on`) was bypassed for the `PLR0917` linter rule using `# noqa: PLR0917` to keep the PR scope focused and avoid unrelated refactoring.
* **Testing (Spread):** Created a new spread test environment under `tests/spread/core24/remote-build/` (including `task.yaml`, `arguments.txt`, `expected-snaps.txt`, and dummy project data) to exercise the `--project-dir` functionality in a remote build scenario.
* **Release Notes:** Documented the new feature in `docs/release-notes/snapcraft-9-0.rst` under the "Minor features" section.
---
- [x] I've followed the [contribution guidelines](https://github.com/canonical/snapcraft/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).
- [x] I've signed the [CLA](http://www.ubuntu.com/legal/contributors/).
- [x] I've successfully run `make lint && make test`.
- [x] I've added or updated any relevant documentation.
- [x] In documents I changed, I [added a meta description](https://canonical-starflow.readthedocs-hosted.com/how-to/add-a-page-meta-description/) if one was missing.
- [x] I've updated the relevant release notes.
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Impact:
50
Quick Win:
22.5
Staleness:
35
Complexity:
55
Confidence:
75
|
keep open | Adds --project-dir argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Under active review with maintainer suggesting alternative approaches using build-path or upstream monorepo feature. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
5
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
90
|
needs review | Adds --project-dir CLI argument for snapcraft remote-build to support monorepos. Currently awaiting contributor updates after maintainer feedback indicates the current chdir-based fix causes git repository detection failures and suggests using build-path instead. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
5
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
85
|
needs review | Adds --project-dir CLI argument for remote-build to support monorepos. Currently under active review with maintainer feedback on git directory handling and acknowledged CI lint failures. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
5
Complexity:
35
Confidence:
90
|
needs review | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit and spread tests. Recently updated to fix a FileNotFoundError by parsing sys.argv early. Awaiting maintainer review. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
10
Complexity:
40
Confidence:
85
|
needs review | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Recently updated to fix a FileNotFoundError by overriding the project directory before framework initialization. Awaiting maintainer review; known unrelated lint failure acknowledged by maintainer. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
10
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
90
|
keep open | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit and spread tests, plus release notes. Currently awaiting contributor updates to fix a FileNotFoundError and rebase on main, with maintainer approval to ignore unrelated lint failures. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
5
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
|
keep open | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit and spread tests. Currently awaiting author updates to fix a FileNotFoundError and merge main, with maintainer approval to ignore unrelated lint failures. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
10
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
|
keep open | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit and spread tests, updates release notes. Currently awaiting contributor's follow-up commits to fix a FileNotFoundError and rebase on main. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
5
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
|
needs review | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit and spread tests. Author is rebasing and fixing a maintainer-reported FileNotFoundError. Awaiting maintainer review. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
10
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
|
keep open | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit and spread tests, plus release notes. Currently awaiting author's push to fix a FileNotFoundError and rebase on main, with maintainer approval to ignore unrelated lint failures. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
10
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
85
|
keep open | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit and spread tests. Currently awaiting author's follow-up commit to fix a FileNotFoundError and address CI lint failures. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
5
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
|
keep open | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit and spread tests. Maintainer acknowledged unrelated lint failures; author is preparing updates to fix a FileNotFoundError and merge main. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
10
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
|
needs review | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit and spread tests, updates release notes. Awaiting maintainer review; CI lint failure acknowledged and deferred to another PR. | |
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Staleness:
15
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
|
needs review | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit and spread tests, plus release notes. Awaiting maintainer review; CI lint failures acknowledged and deferred to another PR. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
5
Complexity:
25
Confidence:
85
|
needs review | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit/spread tests and docs. Awaiting maintainer review and guidance on pre-existing lint failures. | |
| qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6 |
Staleness:
5
Complexity:
20
Confidence:
85
|
needs review | Adds --project-dir CLI argument to snapcraft remote-build for monorepo support. Includes unit/spread tests and docs. Currently awaiting maintainer guidance on unrelated lint failures and initial review. |
Update history
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Related work
-
Related To:
canonical/craft-application#1109
(confidence 70%)
Maintainer mr-cal mentioned this monorepo feature in craft-application as a potential alternative approach to handle --project-dir functionality, though uncertainty remains about enabling it selectively for remote-builds.
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6287 remote-build: support build paths | snapcraft | open | Enhancement to add --project-dir support for remote-build command, allowing users to specify build paths when multiple snapcraft.yaml files exist. Issue is triaged and assigned to a contributor after upstream dependency was resolved. | |
| #1128 feat(remotebuild): add build-path to snap recipes | craft-application | merged | Merged. Adds build-path to snap recipes and RemoteBuildService, resolving #1106 and unblocking snapcraft #6287. Exposed as --project-dir in the remote-build command. Approved by two reviewers and passed CI. | |
| #1106 remote-build: support `build_path` for snaps | craft-application | closed | Accepted and closed. The build_path enhancement for snaps is scoped to the remote-build subcommand for now, with plans to expand to other lifecycle commands later. |