core22 support in Snapcraft 7.0 introduces new underlying layers and concepts that require some changes when migrating from core20 to core22; support for core20 and other bases is unaffected by Snapcraft 7.0.

Parts

Snapcraft has moved to a more general syntactical mechanism that can be used consistently across the *craft ecosystem. Most of the following changes are a reflection of that alignment.

While snapcraftctl is still supported, the new craftctl is now preferred.

Overriding pull

override-pull: |
    snapcraftctl pull

translates to

override-pull: |
    craftctl default

Overriding build

override-build: |
    snapcraftctl build

translates to

override-build: |
    craftctl default

Overriding stage

override-stage: |
    snapcraftctl stage

translates to

override-stage: |
    craftctl default

Overriding prime

override-prime: |
    snapcraftctl prime

translates to

override-prime: |
    craftctl default

Setting a version

override-<step>: |
    snapcraftctl set-version 1.0.0

translates to

override-<step>: |
    craftctl set version=1.0.0

Setting a grade

override-<step>: |
    snapcraftctl set-grade stable

translates to

override-<step>: |
    craftctl set grade=stable

Grammar

The try keyword is no longer available, instead of trying use the architecture specific entry for a predictable result such that

stage-packages:
    - try:
        - criu

now uses the architecture specific on entry

stage-packages:
    - on amd64:
        - criu

Architectures

The keywords for architectures are now build-on and build-for:

architectures:
  - build-on: [amd64]
    run-on: [arm64]

translates to

architectures:
  - build-on: [amd64]
    build-for: [arm64]

Environment variables

These environment variables are still supported but should be migrated to the following:

• SNAPCRAFT_PART_SRC_WORK → CRAFT_PART_SRC_WORK
• SNAPCRAFT_PART_SRC → CRAFT_PART_SRC
• SNAPCRAFT_PROJECT_DIR → CRAFT_PROJECT_DIR
• SNAPCRAFT_PART_BUILD → CRAFT_PART_BUILD
• SNAPCRAFT_PROJECT_NAME → CRAFT_PROJECT_NAME
• SNAPCRAFT_PART_BUILD_WORK → CRAFT_PART_BUILD_WORK
• SNAPCRAFT_ARCH_TRIPLET → CRAFT_ARCH_TRIPLET
• SNAPCRAFT_PARALLEL_BUILD_COUNT → CRAFT_PARALLEL_BUILD_COUNT
• SNAPCRAFT_PRIME → CRAFT_PRIME
• SNAPCRAFT_TARGET_ARCH → CRAFT_TARGET_ARCH
• SNAPCRAFT_STAGE → CRAFT_STAGE
• SNAPCRAFT_PART_NAME → CRAFT_PART_NAME
• SNAPCRAFT_PART_INSTALL → CRAFT_PART_INSTALL

Getting the grade

While SNAPCRAFT_PROJECT_GRADE is still supported, craftctl get grade is now preferred.

Getting the version

While SNAPCRAFT_PROJECT_VERSION is still supported, craftctl get version is now preferred.

Unbound variable verification

Snapcraft will now report errors in case of unbound variables in user scriptlets and in variables set by the user in build-environment. A typical situation this can happen is if LD_LIBRARY_PATH is extended and no previous value is set. In this case, the :+ parameter expansion syntax can be used (such as in ${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:+:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH} to only expand if the variable is set), or just set the new value since there’s no previous value assigned to the variable.

part:
  user-part:
    ...
    build-environment:
      - LD_LIBRARY_PATH: $CRAFT_STAGE/usr/lib/$CRAFT_ARCH_TRIPLET${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:+:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH}

Filesets

The filesets keyword is no longer supported in snapcraft.yaml. Instead, files and directories to include or exclude should be defined with the stage and prime keywords for a part.

Application defaults

Snapcraft provided environment

Snapcraft used to setup a snap.yaml that looked like the following:

apps:
    <user-defined-app>:
        command-chain: [snap/snapcraft-runner.sh]
        command: <user-defined-command>

This was not overridable and to get rid of it, there was a legacy way of dealing with this, which was to define the following in snapcraft.yaml

apps:
    <user-defined-app>:
        adapter: none
        command: <user-defined-command>

Snapcraft has moved to defining an environment for each application entry instead of setting up a command-chain, with a simple way to override or disable.

Default behavior

snapcraft.yaml has no entries in the root environment, then snap.yaml will have

environment:
    LD_LIBRARY_PATH: <snapcraft-value>
    PATH: <snapcraft-value>

Overriding an entry

A user can override one of these by defining it, such that if they define PATH like,

environment:
    PATH: <user-value>

Then snap.yaml will have

environment:
    LD_LIBRARY_PATH: <snapcraft-value>
    PATH: <user-value>

Nulling an entry

A user can nullify an entry by using a YAML null entry, such that if they define PATH like,

environment:
    PATH: null

Then snap.yaml will have

environment:
    LD_LIBRARY_PATH: <snapcraft-value>

Plugins

Most plugins do not install the base dependency by default anymore to allow more control when building.

Go plugin

go is no longer installed by default, to use the snap of go from the latest/stable channel do:

parts:
    user-part:
        source: .
        plugin: go
        build-snaps: [go/latest/stable]

to install from the deb:

parts:
    user-part:
        source: .
        plugin: go
        build-packages: [golang-go]

to build go from source:

parts:
    user-part:
        source: .
        plugin: go
        after: [go-deps]
    go-deps:
        source: ...
        plugin: ...

Rust plugin

rustc and cargo are no longer installed by default, to install the deb do:

parts:
    user-part:
        source: .
        plugin: rust
        build-packages: [cargo, rustc]

NPM plugin

node and npm are no longer installed by default, to use the node snap do:

parts:
    user-part:
        source: .
        plugin: npm
        build-snaps: [node/16/stable]

to include the node binary in the actual build (and provide npm), do

parts:
    user-part:
        source: .
        plugin: npm
        npm-include-node: true

Meson plugin

meson is no longer installed by default, to use the meson deb do:

parts:
    user-part:
        source: .
        plugin: meson
        build-packages: [meson, ninja-build]

to build meson from an alternate source:

parts:
    user-part:
        source: .
        plugin: meson
        after: [meson-deps]
    meson-deps:
        plugin: nil
        override-build: |
            pip install meson

Python plugin

The following environment variable names should be migrated:

• SNAPCRAFT_PYTHON_INTERPRETER → PARTS_PYTHON_INTERPRETER
• SNAPCRAFT_PYTHON_VENV_ARGS → PARTS_PYTHON_VENV_ARGS

Destructive Mode

sudo is no longer run on behalf of the user, it was a leftover from the pre-containerization era and considered redundant with build instance usage since Snapcraft already runs as root in the managed environment.

Additionally, to avoid any interaction during the lifecycle processing to prevent blocking, and the CLI library in today’s UI reflects that by not implementing support to user input. If required, use sudo in the call to Snapcraft itself.

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Last updated 6 months ago.