Snapcraft

Build and publish Snap packages for the Snapcraft store

The snapcraft stage builds .snap packages from your Linux binaries and optionally publishes them to the Snap Store.

Classification

Packager + optional Submitter — builds snap packages from Linux binaries and, when publish: true is set, uploads them to the Snap Store. The Snap Store upload is a Submitter-group operation (no rollback; already-installed snaps keep the revision).

Minimal config

crates:
  - name: myapp
    snapcrafts:
      - summary: "My application"
        description: "A longer description shown in the Snap Store."

Full config reference

crates:
  - name: myapp
    snapcrafts:
      - id: ""                         # optional; unique identifier
        ids: []                        # optional; filter by build IDs
        name: ""                       # optional; snap package name (default: binary name)
        title: ""                      # optional; user-facing application title
        summary: ""                    # optional; single-line description (max 78 chars)
        description: ""                # optional; extended description
        icon: ""                       # optional; path to .png or .svg icon
        base: core22                   # optional; core | core18 | core20 | core22 | core24 | bare
        grade: ""                      # optional; stable | devel
        license: ""                    # optional; SPDX identifier
        confinement: strict            # optional; strict | devmode | classic
        plugs: {}                      # optional; interface plug definitions
        assumes: []                    # optional; required snapd features
        apps: {}                       # optional; named app entries (auto-generated if omitted)
        layout: {}                     # optional; filesystem layout mappings (accepts `layouts:` alias)
        extra_files: []                # optional; additional static files to bundle
        name_template: ""              # optional; output filename template
        publish: false                 # optional; upload to Snap Store after building
        channel_templates: []          # optional; store channels to release to
        replace: false                 # optional; remove archive artifacts, keep snap only
        mod_timestamp: ""             # optional; fixed timestamp for reproducible builds
        skip: false                    # optional; accepts `disable:` alias (deprecation-warned)

Authentication

Variable	Description
`SNAPCRAFT_STORE_CREDENTIALS`	Snapcraft login credentials (base64-encoded). Obtain via `snapcraft export-login --snaps myapp --channels stable -`.

Alternatively, run snapcraft login before releasing to authenticate interactively.

Common gotchas

snapcraft must be on PATH: install via sudo snap install snapcraft --classic.
Linux only: the stage ignores non-Linux artifacts. Ensure at least one Linux build target is configured.
Icon auto-write: the icon field copies the file to meta/gui/<name>.<ext> inside the staged prime directory before snapcraft pack runs. The source path may be absolute or relative to the project root. The icon does NOT appear in snap.json.
grade: stable + confinement: devmode: snapcraft will warn that devmode snaps cannot be published to the stable channel.

Republish / update behavior

Not applicable — once a snap revision is uploaded to the Snap Store, it cannot be removed. Already-installed snaps keep the revision they installed. Use a different channel_templates target (e.g., edge) for pre-release builds.

Config fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
`id`	string		Unique identifier for referencing this config from other stages.
`ids`	list	all	Filter to specific build IDs.
`name`	string	binary name	Snap package name in the store.
`title`	string		User-facing application title.
`summary`	string	crate `description`	Single-line description (max 78 characters). Falls back to the resolved `description` (which itself falls back to the crate's `Cargo.toml` `package.description`); the result is hard-capped at 78 characters.
`description`	string		Extended description shown in the store.
`icon`	string		Path to the snap icon image (`.png` or `.svg`). Anodizer copies the file to `meta/gui/<name>.<ext>` inside the staged prime directory before `snapcraft pack` runs. The icon is picked up by snapcraft via the GUI metadata channel and does NOT appear in `snap.json`, keeping uploads schema-clean. The source path may be absolute or relative to the project root.
`base`	string	`core22`	Base snap: `core`, `core18`, `core20`, `core22`, `core24`, `bare`.
`grade`	string		Release quality: `stable` or `devel`.
`license`	string		SPDX license identifier.
`confinement`	string	`strict`	Security model: `strict`, `devmode`, or `classic`.
`plugs`	map		Interface plug definitions (HashMap<String, Value>). Keys are plug names; values are plug attributes.
`assumes`	list		Required snapd features or minimum versions.
`apps`	map	auto	Named app entries. Auto-generates a default entry from the first binary if omitted.
`layout`	map		Filesystem layout mappings for sandbox accessibility. The plural `layouts:` spelling is still accepted via serde alias.
`extra_files`	list		Additional static files to bundle in the snap.
`name_template`	string	`<name>_<version>_<arch>.snap`	Output filename template.
`publish`	bool	`false`	Upload to the Snap Store after building.
`channel_templates`	list		Store channels to release to (e.g. `edge`, `beta`, `stable`).
`replace`	bool	`false`	Remove matching archive artifacts, keeping only the snap.
`mod_timestamp`	string		Fixed timestamp for reproducible builds (e.g. `{{ CommitTimestamp }}`).
`skip`	bool/template	`false`	Skip this snapcraft config. The GoReleaser `disable:` spelling is accepted as a deprecation-warned alias.

Confinement values

Value	Description
`strict`	Fully confined to declared interfaces (default, recommended for production).
`devmode`	Development mode — no confinement enforcement, useful for testing.
`classic`	Traditional package — no sandbox, requires Snap Store approval.

App config (`apps`)

Each entry under apps describes an application exposed by the snap.

Field	Type	Description
`command`	string	Command path relative to the snap root. Defaults to the app's name when omitted.
`args`	string	Additional arguments appended to the command.
`daemon`	string	Run as a daemon: `simple`, `forking`, `oneshot`, `notify`, `dbus`.
`stop_mode`	string	Signal used to stop the daemon: `sigterm`, `sigkill`, etc.
`restart_condition`	string	When to restart: `on-failure`, `always`, `never`, etc.
`plugs`	list	Interfaces this app needs.
`slots`	list	Interface slots this app provides (this is the only place snap slots are configured; there is no top-level `slots`).
`environment`	map	Environment variables for the app.

When no apps map is provided, a default entry is generated using the first binary's name with the command bin/<name>.

Layout config (`layout`)

Field	Type	Description
`bind`	string	Bind-mount a host directory into the snap.
`symlink`	string	Create a symlink within the snap's layout.

Architecture mapping

Target triple components are mapped to Snapcraft architecture names:

Rust target	Snap arch
`x86_64` / `amd64`	`amd64`
`aarch64` / `arm64`	`arm64`
`armv7`	`armhf`
`i686` / `i386`	`i386`
`s390x`	`s390x`
`ppc64le`	`ppc64el`
`riscv64`	`riscv64`

Publishing to the Snap Store

Set publish: true and authenticate with snapcraft login (or set SNAPCRAFT_STORE_CREDENTIALS) before running anodizer. When channel_templates is provided, the snap is released to those channels automatically via snapcraft upload --release.

Full example

crates:
  - name: myapp
    snapcrafts:
      - name: myapp
        title: "My Application"
        summary: "A fast, cross-platform tool"
        description: |
          A longer description displayed in the Snap Store.
          Supports multiple paragraphs.
        base: core22
        grade: stable
        confinement: strict
        license: MIT
        plugs:
          home: {}
          network: {}
        apps:
          myapp:
            command: bin/myapp
            plugs:
              - home
              - network
        extra_files:
          - LICENSE
        publish: true
        channel_templates:
          - edge
          - stable
        replace: true