feat(snap): add `snap` install method to `install.sh` when available by olivercalder · Pull Request #2250 · NVIDIA/OpenShell

olivercalder · 2026-07-13T22:14:46Z

Summary

Update install.sh to install the OpenShell snap package if snapd is available on the system and the required conditions are met. Also add the OPENSHELL_INSTALL_METHOD environment variable to force a particular install method rather than fall back to automatic system detection.

Related Issue

Based on: #1697 (picking up the work from @zyga)

Addresses: #1674

Changes

The install script detects the presence of snapd and if compatible conditions (docker snap) are met, installs the snap from the store.
Adds OPENSHELL_INSTALL_METHOD to override automatic detection
- Supports deb, rpm, snap, and homebrew

Testing

mise run pre-commit passes
Unit tests added/updated
E2E tests added/updated (if applicable)

Checklist

Follows Conventional Commits
Commits are signed off (DCO)
Architecture docs updated (if applicable)

copy-pr-bot · 2026-07-13T22:14:50Z

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github-actions · 2026-07-13T22:14:57Z

All contributors have signed the DCO ✍️ ✅
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olivercalder · 2026-07-13T22:19:03Z

I have read the DCO document and I hereby sign the DCO.

olivercalder · 2026-07-13T22:19:28Z

recheck

…ovisioning Add snap install path to install.sh so that on Linux systems with snapd available and no native Docker Engine installed, the installer chooses the snap path. Snap is preferred when 'snap' command exists and 'snapd.socket' is active. New functions: - has_snapd(): detects snapd availability via snap command + snapd.socket - has_native_docker(): pre-flight check for conflicting native Docker - install_linux_snap(): installs openshell snap, Docker snap if missing, connects interfaces (best-effort), registers gateway via HTTP, verifies status - register_local_gateway_snap(): gateway add with http:// URL (no mTLS) - wait_for_local_gateway_listener_snap(): waits for HTTP listener linux_package_method() returns 'snap' when snapd is available and no native docker, respecting OPENSHELL_INSTALL_METHOD=classic override. The installer handles the full flow: installing Docker snap if missing, connecting all required interfaces, and registering the gateway. Signed-off-by: Zygmunt Krynicki <zygmunt.krynicki@canonical.com>

Fix the snap gateway protocol from https to http to match what the installer actually registers. Correct misleading claims that the installer "exits with an error" and "refuses" snap installs on hosts with native Docker — it silently falls back to classic. Signed-off-by: Zygmunt Krynicki <zygmunt.krynicki@canonical.com>

Adjust the wording of the installation docs for the `openshell` snap. In particular, clarify when the snap will be installed, how it currently requires the docker snap, and how to override the installation method. Also, prune some of the manual interface connections, as these have since been granted autoconnection via snap store assertions. See: https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/please-update-snap-declaration-assertion-for-openshell/51762 Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>

@drew

As @drew suggested, add `deb`, `rpm`, `snap`, and `homebrew` as installation methods which the user can specify via `OPENSHELL_INSTALL_METHOD` rather than falling back to detecting the package manager automatically. `homebrew` is not yet supported on Linux, and it is the only supported option on MacOS. Also adds a TODO to implement `install_linux_homebrew` in the future. Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>

olivercalder · 2026-07-15T03:52:49Z

Rebased to pull in the changes from #2280 which remove the ssh-keys interface, which was the final remaining interface which required manual connection. Now all interfaces are auto-connected.

olivercalder · 2026-07-16T19:03:49Z

We're shipping an improvement to the docker interface in snapd 2.77 to allow the openshell snap to connect to system (non-snap) docker daemons. That will eliminate the requirement for the docker snap to be present. I'm planning to do some testing of snapd latest/edge today to confirm this all works as expected.

Once snapd 2.77 hits latest/stable, the installation instructions and script in this PR can be updated. But we have strict certification processes so it will be several weeks before that happens.

krishicks · 2026-07-16T21:08:14Z

Would you mind updating the release-canary Github Action to use this? Presently it fetches the snap from the release artifacts and installs it manually, but the other installations (excepting Kubernetes) use install.sh to install the latest available version. In the near future this will all change when we revamp the build and release process, but for now consistency is probably better.

I'm unsure about exposing an env var to force the installation mechanism. To me, the contract of install.sh is to do that for you. The only real knob it has today is which version to install, typically dev. We may be adding additional knobs to the installer later, but I don't think we should incorporate that into this change.

Split the `ubuntu` release canary into three jobs: - `ubuntu-deb`: test that `install.sh` installs the OpenShell .deb package on Ubuntu when snapd is not present. - `ubuntu-deb-native-docker`: test that `install.sh` installs the OpenShell .deb package on Ubuntu when a native docker daemon is present -- this will change when snapd 2.77 is released to the `latest/stable` channel, which will allow the `openshell` snap to connect to non-snap Docker daemons; this job will then be renamed to `ubuntu-snap-native-docker`. - `ubuntu-snap-without-docker`: test that `install.sh` installs both the `openshell` and `docker` snaps if snapd is present and there is no Docker daemon installed. In all variants, the canary tests that `openshell status` succeeds after installation. Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>

The change in snapd to support the `openshell` snap connecting to a non-snap Docker daemon will ship in snapd 2.77, not 2.76. Also, all the `openshell` snap interfaces are now auto-connected, so there is no need for manual connection anymore. Remove these from the description. Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>

The contract of `install.sh` is to choose the best installation method for the host system. Adding the `OPENSHELL_INSTALL_METHOD` variable breaks that contract, so it is best to remove it. Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>

olivercalder · 2026-07-17T03:55:35Z

Done and done, thanks for the suggestions.

I've split the ubuntu job into three, as there are three configurations that I think each deserve their own jobs:

ubuntu-deb: test that install.sh installs the OpenShell .deb package on Ubuntu when snapd is not present.
ubuntu-deb-native-docker: test that install.sh installs the OpenShell .deb package on Ubuntu when a native docker daemon is present.
- This will change when snapd 2.77 is released to the latest/stable channel, which will allow the openshell snap to connect to non-snap Docker daemons; this job will then be renamed to ubuntu-snap-native-docker.
ubuntu-snap-without-docker: test that install.sh installs both the openshell and docker snaps if snapd is present and there is no Docker daemon installed.

In all jobs, test that openshell status works as expected.

The .deb package and snap package both need to be tested, and the snap will need to be tested with both the docker snap and a non-snap Docker daemon, once snapd 2.77 finishes certification testing, so I want to lay the groundwork for that here. The change is already in snapd latest/edge so I want to open another PR based on this PR soon and check that if we tweak the canary job to use snapd latest/edge and install.sh to not gate the snap on docker presence, the openshell snap can now connect to the Docker daemon provided by docker.io in the ubuntu-latest runner.

github-actions · 2026-07-17T15:03:56Z

Label test:e2e applied, but pull-request/2250 is at {"messa while the PR head is c91aea9. A maintainer needs to comment /ok to test c91aea97067e56503eb746e8601e26dfe95f61bb to refresh the mirror. Once the mirror catches up, re-run Branch E2E Checks from the Actions tab.

krishicks · 2026-07-17T15:06:21Z

+          fi
+          sudo systemctl start docker || sudo service docker start
+          mkdir -p "${HOME}/.config/openshell"
+          printf 'OPENSHELL_DRIVERS=docker\n' > "${HOME}/.config/openshell/gateway.env"


Is this line required? I would have expected gateway auto-detection of Docker to work.

krishicks · 2026-07-17T15:12:04Z

-When installing from the Snap Store, snapd automatically connects the `home`,
-`network`, and `network-bind` plugs. The `docker` plug still
-requires manual connection:
+The OpenShell snap requires the Docker snap, which you can install with:


If the OpenShell snap requires the Docker snap, does that also mean it cannot be used with Podman? I'm wondering what this means for auto-detection, which prefers Podman over Docker. It seems like we need to document this limitation of the snap more clearly, if that's the case. I'd expect to see the docs say very clearly that the snap only works with Docker and you should configure Docker as the openshell driver explicitly to avoid issues if you also have Podman running.

krishicks · 2026-07-17T15:22:32Z

/ok to test c91aea9

krishicks · 2026-07-17T15:47:24Z

I ran this with e2e but what I actually meant to do was run the release-canary workflow for it, which I did here: https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/actions/runs/29593468971

The snap installation without Docker failed, which we expect until this is merged and a new snap is published. The others succeeded, though, which is good.

olivercalder requested review from a team, derekwaynecarr, maxamillion and mrunalp as code owners July 13, 2026 22:14

olivercalder mentioned this pull request Jul 13, 2026

feat(snap): add snap install method to install.sh when snap is available #1697

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7 tasks

zyga and others added 4 commits July 14, 2026 22:41

olivercalder force-pushed the feature/install-snap-default branch from 70480f2 to 22525a2 Compare July 15, 2026 03:48

olivercalder added 3 commits July 16, 2026 22:19

krishicks added the test:e2e Requires end-to-end coverage label Jul 17, 2026

krishicks reviewed Jul 17, 2026

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krishicks removed the test:e2e Requires end-to-end coverage label Jul 17, 2026

krishicks self-assigned this Jul 17, 2026

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