`name` field missing from packed charm's `metadata.yaml` when defined in `charmcraft.yaml` alongside a separate `metadata.yaml`

[javierdelapuente]

Check existing issues

• I've verified that this bug isn't described by any existing issues.

Bug description

When a project has name in charmcraft.yaml and a separate metadata.yaml (without name), the packed .charm file contains a metadata.yaml with no name field. This makes the charm undeployable — Juju rejects it with "metadata: name: expected string, got nothing".

Steps to reproduce

1. Create a project with name: my-charm in charmcraft.yaml and a separate metadata.yaml that has summary, description, and relations but no name field.
2. Run charmcraft pack --destructive-mode.
3. Unzip the resulting .charm and inspect metadata.yaml — name is absent.
4. Attempt to deploy locally: juju deploy ./my-charm_*.charm → fails with "metadata: name: expected string, got nothing".

Environment

charmcraft 4.0.1 (snap), destructive mode, Ubuntu 24.04 amd64.

charmcraft.yaml

name: example-charm
type: charm
platforms:
  ubuntu@24.04:amd64:
parts:
  charm: {}


With a separate `metadata.yaml` containing `summary`, `description`, and relations but no `name`.

Log output

juju.errors.JujuError: {"error":"cannot upload charm: invalid charm archive: metadata: name: expected string, got nothing","error-code":"bad request"}

[gfouillet]

I got this bug too. This prevent some charms packed with charmcraft 4.0 to be deployed by Juju.

• charms with only a charmcraft.yaml will works fine (metadata.yaml will be packed as expected)
• charms with a charmcraft.yaml and a metadata.yaml won't works (metadata.yaml will be packed as in the charms repo, without fields that should be fetched from charmcraft.yaml)