[Bug 1421733] Re: --list-channels switch fails with PermissionError

[Barry Warsaw]

** Also affects: ubuntu-system-image
   Importance: Undecided
       Status: New

** No longer affects: system-image (Ubuntu)

** Changed in: ubuntu-system-image
       Status: New => Triaged

** Tags added: client

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1421733

Title:
  --list-channels switch fails with PermissionError

Status in Ubuntu system image (server/client/updater):
  Triaged

Bug description:
  `system-image-cli --list-channels` should provide a list of channels.
  However, it provides no output whatsoever, though it does exit with a
  non-zero status (1). Increasing verbosity reveals a permission error:

  phablet at ubuntu-phablet:/usr/bin$ system-image-cli -vv --list-channels
  [systemimage] Feb 13 09:03:45 2015 (4194) -> [ 1] _cleanup
  [systemimage] Feb 13 09:03:45 2015 (4194) system-image-cli exception
  Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/systemimage/main.py", line 251, in main
      state.run_thru('get_channel')
    File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/systemimage/state.py", line 151, in run_thru
      step()
    File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/systemimage/state.py", line 188, in _cleanup
      safe_remove(os.path.join(data_dir, 'blacklist.tar.xz'))
    File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/systemimage/helpers.py", line 81, in safe_remove
      os.remove(path)
  PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/var/lib/system-image/blacklist.tar.xz'

  Perhaps this should be run with elevated privileges but that doesn't
  inherently make sense to make and I think any documentation we have
  would suggest otherwise, just as there is no suggestion to sudo the
  following command:

  phablet at ubuntu-phablet:/usr/bin$ system-image-cli -i
  current build number: 97
  device name: mako
  channel: ubuntu-touch/devel-proposed
  alias: ubuntu-touch/vivid-proposed
  last update: 2015-02-12 22:50:28
  version version: 97
  version ubuntu: 20150213
  version device: 20150210
  version custom: 20150213

  Similarly, you don't elevate `apt-cache`:

  phablet at ubuntu-phablet:/usr/bin$ apt-cache policy system-image-cli | grep Installed
    Installed: 2.5-0ubuntu1

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