I cannot refresh snaps

[Roy]

I am using Ubuntu 20.04.2.
I cannot refresh snaps, either in Ubuntu Software or in the Terminal.

For example, this morning I received a notification in the top bar of Ubuntu, saying that there were important OS and app updates available. When I clicked on the notification I was taken to what was recognisably the Ubuntu Software window and when I clicked update all I got an error message. I took a screenshot and uploaded it here. The key point seems to be that there was a snap change conflict because there was already an “auto refresh change in progress”.

So I went to the Terminal, to see if I could refresh there. I got an “Download snap “core” (10908) from channel “latest/stable” (invalid credentials” response. I have now deleted the credentials in ~auth.json folder but don’t know if I should have done that.

What is going wrong and how can I fix it?
Thanks for any advice!

[ijohnson]

Hi, what is the output of snap changes from a terminal on your machine?

[Roy]

Hello,
Thanks for replying. I entered snap changes as a command and this what I got:
D Status Spawn Ready Summary
233 Error today at 08:02 PDT today at 08:16 PDT Auto-refresh snaps “core”, “core20”, “vlc”
234 Error today at 08:26 PDT today at 08:26 PDT Refresh “core” snap
235 Error today at 08:50 PDT today at 08:51 PDT Refresh snaps “core”, “vlc”
236 Error today at 08:51 PDT today at 08:51 PDT Refresh snaps “core”, “vlc”
237 Error today at 08:52 PDT today at 08:53 PDT Refresh snaps “core”, “vlc”
238 Error today at 09:28 PDT today at 09:28 PDT Refresh snaps “core”, “vlc”
239 Error today at 10:43 PDT today at 10:44 PDT Refresh snaps “core”, “vlc”
240 Error today at 10:47 PDT today at 10:47 PDT Refresh snaps “core”, “vlc”
241 Error today at 11:24 PDT today at 11:24 PDT Refresh “vlc” snap
242 Error today at 12:00 PDT today at 12:00 PDT Refresh snaps “vlc”, “core”
243 Error today at 12:04 PDT today at 12:04 PDT Refresh snaps “core”, “vlc”
244 Error today at 12:11 PDT today at 12:11 PDT Refresh snaps “core”, “vlc”
245 Error today at 12:12 PDT today at 12:12 PDT Refresh “vlc” snap
246 Error today at 12:13 PDT today at 12:13 PDT Refresh “core” snap
247 Error today at 12:17 PDT today at 12:17 PDT Refresh “vlc” snap

[ijohnson]

Thanks for that, can you also run:

snap tasks 233
snap tasks 234
snap tasks 247

[Roy]

@ijohnson

snap tasks 247

Yes, I just did that. Do I need to copy the output here?

[ijohnson]

Yes please share the output of these commands so we can see them here

[Roy]

roygardiner@system76-pc:~$ snap tasks 233
Status Spawn Ready Summary
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Ensure prerequisites for “core” are available
Error yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Download snap “core” (10908) from channel “latest/stable”
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Fetch and check assertions for snap “core” (10908)
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Mount snap “core” (10908)
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Run pre-refresh hook of “core” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Stop snap “core” services
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Remove aliases for snap “core”
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Make current revision for snap “core” unavailable
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Copy snap “core” data
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Setup snap “core” (10908) security profiles
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Make snap “core” (10908) available to the system
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Automatically connect eligible plugs and slots of snap “core”
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Set automatic aliases for snap “core”
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Setup snap “core” aliases
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Run post-refresh hook of “core” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Start snap “core” (10908) services
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Clean up “core” (10908) install
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Run configure hook of “core” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Run health check of “core” snap
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Ensure prerequisites for “core20” are available
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Download snap “core20” (975) from channel “latest/stable”
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Fetch and check assertions for snap “core20” (975)
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Mount snap “core20” (975)
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Run pre-refresh hook of “core20” snap if present
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Stop snap “core20” services
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Remove aliases for snap “core20”
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Make current revision for snap “core20” unavailable
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Copy snap “core20” data
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Setup snap “core20” (975) security profiles
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Make snap “core20” (975) available to the system
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Automatically connect eligible plugs and slots of snap “core20”
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Set automatic aliases for snap “core20”
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Setup snap “core20” aliases
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Run post-refresh hook of “core20” snap if present
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Start snap “core20” (975) services
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Clean up “core20” (975) install
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Run health check of “core20” snap
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Ensure prerequisites for “vlc” are available
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Download snap “vlc” (2103) from channel “latest/stable”
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Fetch and check assertions for snap “vlc” (2103)
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Mount snap “vlc” (2103)
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Run pre-refresh hook of “vlc” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Stop snap “vlc” services
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Remove aliases for snap “vlc”
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Make current revision for snap “vlc” unavailable
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Copy snap “vlc” data
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Setup snap “vlc” (2103) security profiles
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Make snap “vlc” (2103) available to the system
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Automatically connect eligible plugs and slots of snap “vlc”
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Set automatic aliases for snap “vlc”
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Setup snap “vlc” aliases
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Run post-refresh hook of “vlc” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Start snap “vlc” (2103) services
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Clean up “vlc” (2103) install
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Run configure hook of “vlc” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:02 PDT Run health check of “vlc” snap
Done yesterday at 08:02 PDT yesterday at 08:16 PDT Consider re-refresh of “core”, “core20”, “vlc”

…
Download snap “core” (10908) from channel “latest/stable”

2021-04-01T08:02:44-07:00 ERROR invalid credentials

…
Consider re-refresh of “core”, “core20”, “vlc”

2021-04-01T08:16:17-07:00 INFO No re-refreshes found.

roygardiner@system76-pc:~$ snap tasks 234
Status Spawn Ready Summary
Done yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Ensure prerequisites for “core” are available
Error yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Download snap “core” (10908) from channel “latest/stable”
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Fetch and check assertions for snap “core” (10908)
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Mount snap “core” (10908)
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Run pre-refresh hook of “core” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Stop snap “core” services
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Remove aliases for snap “core”
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Make current revision for snap “core” unavailable
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Copy snap “core” data
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Setup snap “core” (10908) security profiles
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Make snap “core” (10908) available to the system
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Automatically connect eligible plugs and slots of snap “core”
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Set automatic aliases for snap “core”
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Setup snap “core” aliases
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Run post-refresh hook of “core” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Start snap “core” (10908) services
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Clean up “core” (10908) install
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Run configure hook of “core” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Run health check of “core” snap
Done yesterday at 08:26 PDT yesterday at 08:26 PDT Consider re-refresh of “core”

…
Download snap “core” (10908) from channel “latest/stable”

2021-04-01T08:26:25-07:00 ERROR invalid credentials

roygardiner@system76-pc:~$ snap tasks 247
Status Spawn Ready Summary
Done yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Ensure prerequisites for “vlc” are available
Error yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Download snap “vlc” (2103) from channel “latest/stable”
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Fetch and check assertions for snap “vlc” (2103)
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Mount snap “vlc” (2103)
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Run pre-refresh hook of “vlc” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Stop snap “vlc” services
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Remove aliases for snap “vlc”
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Make current revision for snap “vlc” unavailable
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Copy snap “vlc” data
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Setup snap “vlc” (2103) security profiles
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Make snap “vlc” (2103) available to the system
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Automatically connect eligible plugs and slots of snap “vlc”
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Set automatic aliases for snap “vlc”
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Setup snap “vlc” aliases
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Run post-refresh hook of “vlc” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Start snap “vlc” (2103) services
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Clean up “vlc” (2103) install
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Run configure hook of “vlc” snap if present
Hold yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Run health check of “vlc” snap
Done yesterday at 12:17 PDT yesterday at 12:17 PDT Consider re-refresh of “vlc”

…
Download snap “vlc” (2103) from channel “latest/stable”

2021-04-01T12:17:53-07:00 ERROR invalid credentials

[ijohnson]

Have you ever logged into your Ubuntu SSO account using snap login on the command line or perhaps through some mechanism inside the ubuntu software center?

[Roy]

I logged into the ubuntu account yesterday, in the Terminal, and online using my browser. I also logged in in the Terminal today. I do not recall logging in "inside the Ubuntu Software"app.
FYI, in my own ill-informed attempts yesterday to find a fix to this problem I removed the contents of the auth.json file at home/snap/snapstore/518/.snap. I do recall the content was a one line entry, containing my SSO email, and possibly my password.
FYI. I did change my SSO password back in January and I just have an uneducated hunch that might have caused this problem.

This may be irrelevant…bu could it be related to the livepatch service? I think I set that up but can’t remember if it was successful.

[roadmr]

You can try snap logout and then snap login again to refresh your authentication

[Roy]

I have done that several times during the past couple of days so I guess I am correctly authenticated. However, I did not see the auth.json file updated. Formerly it contained my email address and, possibly, my password.
Of course this does not explain the error messages (“invalid credentials”) that I am still getting

[Roy]

I am getting a bit desperate now. I have been to various ubuntu sites to check on what my login details were. I found that I had a few years ago had a different auth.json ID and I deleted that from my laptop but the problem (of not being able to update snaps) persists. I can successfully login at the command line but I cannot refresh, either at the command line or in Ubuntu Software.
How can I erase all my snap history and start again, from scratch?

[ogra]

have you see this thread ?

Download snap core invalid credentials

I cannot refresh my snap on ubuntu 18. I get the following error: error: cannot perform the following tasks: - Download snap "core" (8268) from channel "stable" (invalid credentials) - Download snap "core18" (1668) from channel "stable" (invalid credentials) The following is the snap logfile: Jan 23 10:53:56 pc-ici17 dbus-daemon[2821]: apparmor="DENIED" operation="dbus_bind" bus="session" name="org.keepassxc.KeePassXC.MainWindow" mask="bind" pid=7253 label="snap.keepassxc.keepassxc" Jan 23 1…

[Roy]

Thank you so much! This is exactly the problem I am having. I have five different listed IDs! The bad news for me is that this is a known bug in snapd that allows the multiple IDs to be created. I have just manually deleted one of the snaps that would not update, using Ubuntu software, and am installing the update manually. The other snap that would not update is not even in my listed snaps so I cannot explain that. I am having a cup of tea to muse over the meaning of life and if I should reinstall snapd, as suggested in the link that you posted to me. Thanks again for your kind help!