Base stores and device view stores
Base Stores and Device View Stores are stores that exist within the Snap Store and are provided by Canonical. To explain them more clearly, we have broken down the concepts here:
In the Base (Snap) Store:
- Private snap names can be registered
- Uploaded snap revisions can be published
The Device View (Snap) Stores are visible to connected devices:
- They can “include” access to all the snaps in the Base store, thus providing access to its snaps
- They can also include public snaps from the global Snap Store.
- Thus, you can curate a specific set of Brand and public snaps for each of your device types (known as device models)
There are a few points to note about Base Stores and Device View Stores. Firstly, production images may only point at a Device View Store, never at the Base Store. Secondly, only your devices can download, install, and refresh snaps from your private Snap Store.
Additionally, for image builds, developers can use their SSO credentials to download snaps from the dedicated Snap Store (please see the Switching to a Developer Account section).The authentication method used by devices is described below.
The Base Snap Store is represented by the cylinder with the lock and Private Snaps written below. The Device View Snap Store is represented by the cylinder with IoT App Store written below. Note that the Device View store includes the Base store and has been configured to include snaps from the Global Snap Store. In this diagram, the Serial Vault is used by the company’s devices to authenticate and thereby gain access to private snaps.