cabal upload creates candidate without asking

[edsko]

This might be what we want, but it might result in a lot of unnecessary candidate packages on Hackage; especially since the instructions say:

Package successfully uploaded as candidate. You can now preview the result at
'https://hackage.haskell.org/package/ghc-dump-tree-0.2.0.2/candidate'. To
publish the candidate, use 'cabal upload --publish'.

but don't explain how the candidate can be deleted (in fact, the wording suggests to me that --upload will delete the candidate, but it doesn't).

Perhaps a better UI might be cabal upload --publish versus cabal upload --candidate with either --publish or --candidate required.

Pinging @dcoutts and @hvr .

[hvr]

@edsko Well, there was the idea to have hackage automatically delete a candidate when its published or the exact same version uploaded, and then reject candidates being uploaded for which the very same version already exists published in the index.

IOW, candidates ought to be really just one of 3 states for a package version:

• non-existing
• candidate
• published

[edsko]

Fair enough.

[23Skidoo]

I think there's currently no way to delete a package candidate (except maybe via REST API?).

[edsko]

There is, although it took me a minute to find it as well. After you click on "Edit package information" you will be given an option to delete a candidate.

[23Skidoo]

Thanks, now I see it. You must go to https://hackage.haskell.org/package/foo-$VER/candidate/maintain instead of https://hackage.haskell.org/package/foo/maintain.

[ezyang]

Can we close this bug?

[23Skidoo]

there was the idea to have hackage automatically delete a candidate when its published or the exact same version uploaded

Is there a hackage-server ticket for this feature?

[hvr]

@23Skidoo now there is... :-)

[23Skidoo]

OK, closing in favour of haskell/hackage-server#558.