fix: honor Windows pwsh for agent commands (#665)

Desktop terminal settings previously only controlled the UI terminal, so Windows sessions could show pwsh while agent PowerShell detection still fell back to Windows PowerShell 5.1. The sidecar now receives a narrow PowerShell-only override and the runtime resolves pwsh through PSHOME and standard Windows paths before falling back.

Fixes #665.

Constraint: Windows terminal shell selection must not make cmd, Git Bash, or arbitrary custom shells drive PowerShellTool execution
Rejected: Reuse the full terminal shell path for agent tools | would couple UI terminal behavior to tool execution and could route non-PowerShell shells into PowerShell detection
Confidence: medium
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep agent command shell selection narrower than terminal UI shell selection unless the permission/parser model is updated with it
Tested: bun test src/utils/shell/powershellDetection.test.ts; cd desktop/src-tauri && cargo test agent_powershell_override --lib; bun run check:native; bun run check:server; git diff --check
Not-tested: Live Windows desktop smoke with installed pwsh
Related: #665
(cherry picked from commit ecd813b9d2aebfb8d8b6d196170177eec969a6de)

desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs

@@ -222,6 +222,7 @@ mod webview_panel;
 const SERVER_STARTUP_LOG_LIMIT: usize = 80;
 const SERVER_BIND_HOST: &str = "0.0.0.0";
 const SERVER_CONTROL_HOST: &str = "127.0.0.1";
+const CLAUDE_CODE_POWERSHELL_PATH_ENV: &str = "CLAUDE_CODE_POWERSHELL_PATH";
 const MAIN_WINDOW_LABEL: &str = "main";
 const TRAY_SHOW_ID: &str = "tray_show";
 const TRAY_QUIT_ID: &str = "tray_quit";
@@ -1386,6 +1387,11 @@ fn resolved_terminal_shell(app: &AppHandle) -> Result<String, String> {
     Ok(override_shell.unwrap_or(system_default))
 }
 
+fn read_agent_powershell_path_override() -> Option<String> {
+    let configured = read_desktop_terminal_config();
+    resolve_agent_powershell_path_override(current_terminal_host_platform(), configured.as_ref())
+}
+
 fn current_terminal_host_platform() -> TerminalHostPlatform {
     #[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
     {
@@ -1432,6 +1438,42 @@ fn resolve_desktop_terminal_shell(
     }
 }
 
+fn is_powershell_executable_path(path: &str) -> bool {
+    let trimmed = path.trim();
+    if trimmed.is_empty() {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    let file_name = trimmed.rsplit(['/', '\\']).next().unwrap_or(trimmed);
+    let lowercase = file_name.to_ascii_lowercase();
+    let base = lowercase.strip_suffix(".exe").unwrap_or(&lowercase);
+    matches!(base, "pwsh" | "powershell")
+}
+
+fn resolve_agent_powershell_path_override(
+    platform: TerminalHostPlatform,
+    config: Option<&DesktopTerminalConfig>,
+) -> Option<String> {
+    if platform != TerminalHostPlatform::Windows {
+        return None;
+    }
+
+    let startup_shell = config?.startup_shell.as_deref()?.trim();
+    match startup_shell {
+        "pwsh" => Some("pwsh.exe".to_string()),
+        "powershell" => Some("powershell.exe".to_string()),
+        "custom" => {
+            let custom_path = config?.custom_shell_path.as_deref()?.trim();
+            if is_powershell_executable_path(custom_path) {
+                Some(custom_path.to_string())
+            } else {
+                None
+            }
+        }
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}
+
 fn normalize_terminal_bash_path(path: Option<String>) -> Result<Option<String>, String> {
     let Some(path) = path else {
         return Ok(None);
@@ -1593,6 +1635,9 @@ fn start_server_sidecar(app: &AppHandle) -> Result<ServerRuntime, String> {
     for (key, value) in terminal_environment(&default_shell(None)) {
         sidecar = sidecar.env(key, value);
     }
+    if let Some(powershell_path) = read_agent_powershell_path_override() {
+        sidecar = sidecar.env(CLAUDE_CODE_POWERSHELL_PATH_ENV, powershell_path);
+    }
     // Pass through CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR so the sidecar (Node.js) uses the same
     // portable config directory. Also set XDG_CACHE_HOME to redirect the
     // env-paths cache from %LOCALAPPDATA%\claude-cli-nodejs\ to alongside
@@ -1920,12 +1965,11 @@ fn kill_windows_sidecars() {
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::{
-        decode_terminal_output, default_utf8_locale, ensure_utf8_locale,
-        dir_has_portable_data, has_meaningful_intersection, is_persistable_window_state,
-        normalize_terminal_bash_path, parse_env_block, resolve_desktop_terminal_shell,
-        resolve_terminal_cwd, run_notification_bridge,
-        select_h5_dist_dir, DesktopTerminalConfig, StoredWindowState, TerminalHostPlatform,
-        SERVER_BIND_HOST, SERVER_CONTROL_HOST,
+        decode_terminal_output, default_utf8_locale, dir_has_portable_data, ensure_utf8_locale,
+        has_meaningful_intersection, is_persistable_window_state, normalize_terminal_bash_path,
+        parse_env_block, resolve_agent_powershell_path_override, resolve_desktop_terminal_shell,
+        resolve_terminal_cwd, run_notification_bridge, select_h5_dist_dir, DesktopTerminalConfig,
+        StoredWindowState, TerminalHostPlatform, SERVER_BIND_HOST, SERVER_CONTROL_HOST,
     };
     use std::{collections::HashMap, fs};
 
@@ -2177,6 +2221,57 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn agent_powershell_override_uses_windows_power_shell_preferences() {
+        let pwsh = DesktopTerminalConfig {
+            startup_shell: Some("pwsh".to_string()),
+            custom_shell_path: None,
+        };
+        assert_eq!(
+            resolve_agent_powershell_path_override(TerminalHostPlatform::Windows, Some(&pwsh)),
+            Some("pwsh.exe".to_string())
+        );
+
+        let powershell = DesktopTerminalConfig {
+            startup_shell: Some("powershell".to_string()),
+            custom_shell_path: None,
+        };
+        assert_eq!(
+            resolve_agent_powershell_path_override(
+                TerminalHostPlatform::Windows,
+                Some(&powershell),
+            ),
+            Some("powershell.exe".to_string())
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn agent_powershell_override_accepts_only_custom_power_shell_paths() {
+        let custom_pwsh = DesktopTerminalConfig {
+            startup_shell: Some("custom".to_string()),
+            custom_shell_path: Some(r"C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe".to_string()),
+        };
+        assert_eq!(
+            resolve_agent_powershell_path_override(
+                TerminalHostPlatform::Windows,
+                Some(&custom_pwsh),
+            ),
+            Some(r"C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe".to_string())
+        );
+
+        let custom_bash = DesktopTerminalConfig {
+            startup_shell: Some("custom".to_string()),
+            custom_shell_path: Some(r"C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe".to_string()),
+        };
+        assert_eq!(
+            resolve_agent_powershell_path_override(
+                TerminalHostPlatform::Windows,
+                Some(&custom_bash),
+            ),
+            None
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn server_sidecar_binds_lan_but_reports_loopback_control_url() {
         assert_eq!(SERVER_BIND_HOST, "0.0.0.0");

src/utils/shell/powershellDetection.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test'
+import {
+  isPowerShellExecutablePath,
+  resolvePowerShellPathOverride,
+} from './powershellDetection.js'
+
+describe('PowerShell detection override', () => {
+  test('accepts pwsh and powershell executable paths', () => {
+    expect(
+      isPowerShellExecutablePath('C:\\Program Files\\PowerShell\\7\\pwsh.exe'),
+    ).toBe(true)
+    expect(
+      isPowerShellExecutablePath(
+        'C:\\Windows\\System32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe',
+      ),
+    ).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  test('rejects custom shells that are not PowerShell executables', () => {
+    expect(
+      isPowerShellExecutablePath('C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\\bash.exe'),
+    ).toBe(false)
+    expect(isPowerShellExecutablePath('cmd.exe')).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  test('resolves configured command names through PATH lookup', async () => {
+    const resolved = await resolvePowerShellPathOverride('pwsh.exe', {
+      getPlatform: () => 'macos',
+      probePath: async () => null,
+      which: async command =>
+        command === 'pwsh.exe'
+          ? 'C:\\Program Files\\PowerShell\\7\\pwsh.exe'
+          : null,
+    })
+
+    expect(resolved).toBe('C:\\Program Files\\PowerShell\\7\\pwsh.exe')
+  })
+
+  test('resolves Windows pwsh through PSHOME before PATH lookup', async () => {
+    const resolved = await resolvePowerShellPathOverride('pwsh.exe', {
+      getPlatform: () => 'windows',
+      probePath: async path =>
+        path === 'C:\\Program Files\\PowerShell\\7\\pwsh.exe' ? path : null,
+      readWindowsPwshHome: async () => 'C:\\Program Files\\PowerShell\\7',
+      which: async () => null,
+    })
+
+    expect(resolved).toBe('C:\\Program Files\\PowerShell\\7\\pwsh.exe')
+  })
+
+  test('falls back to known Windows PowerShell install paths', async () => {
+    const resolved = await resolvePowerShellPathOverride('powershell.exe', {
+      getPlatform: () => 'windows',
+      probePath: async path =>
+        path ===
+        'C:\\Windows\\System32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe'
+          ? path
+          : null,
+      which: async () => null,
+    })
+
+    expect(resolved).toBe(
+      'C:\\Windows\\System32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe',
+    )
+  })
+
+  test('ignores missing or non-PowerShell overrides', async () => {
+    await expect(
+      resolvePowerShellPathOverride('C:\\Tools\\bash.exe', {
+        probePath: async () => 'C:\\Tools\\bash.exe',
+        which: async () => null,
+      }),
+    ).resolves.toBeNull()
+
+    await expect(
+      resolvePowerShellPathOverride('C:\\Missing\\pwsh.exe', {
+        getPlatform: () => 'macos',
+        probePath: async () => null,
+        which: async () => null,
+      }),
+    ).resolves.toBeNull()
+  })
+})

src/utils/shell/powershellDetection.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,15 @@
+import { execFile } from 'child_process'
 import { realpath, stat } from 'fs/promises'
+import { win32 as pathWin32 } from 'path'
 import { getPlatform } from '../platform.js'
+import type { Platform } from '../platform.js'
 import { which } from '../which.js'
 
+export const POWERSHELL_PATH_OVERRIDE_ENV = 'CLAUDE_CODE_POWERSHELL_PATH'
+const WINDOWS_DEFAULT_PWSH_PATH = 'C:\\Program Files\\PowerShell\\7\\pwsh.exe'
+const WINDOWS_DEFAULT_POWERSHELL_PATH =
+  'C:\\Windows\\System32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe'
+
 async function probePath(p: string): Promise<string | null> {
   try {
     return (await stat(p)).isFile() ? p : null
@@ -10,6 +18,117 @@ async function probePath(p: string): Promise<string | null> {
   }
 }
 
+function basenameWithoutExe(candidate: string): string {
+  return candidate
+    .trim()
+    .split(/[/\\]/)
+    .pop()!
+    .toLowerCase()
+    .replace(/\.exe$/, '')
+}
+
+export function isPowerShellExecutablePath(candidate: string): boolean {
+  const basename = basenameWithoutExe(candidate)
+  return basename === 'pwsh' || basename === 'powershell'
+}
+
+function hasPathSeparator(candidate: string): boolean {
+  return candidate.includes('/') || candidate.includes('\\')
+}
+
+async function readWindowsPwshHome(): Promise<string | null> {
+  return new Promise(resolve => {
+    execFile(
+      'cmd.exe',
+      ['/C', 'pwsh', '-NoProfile', '-Command', '$PSHOME'],
+      {
+        maxBuffer: 8192,
+        timeout: 3000,
+        windowsHide: true,
+      },
+      (error, stdout) => {
+        if (error) {
+          resolve(null)
+          return
+        }
+
+        const trimmed = stdout.toString().trim()
+        resolve(trimmed || null)
+      },
+    )
+  })
+}
+
+type PowerShellDetectionDeps = {
+  getPlatform?: () => Platform
+  probePath?: (p: string) => Promise<string | null>
+  readWindowsPwshHome?: () => Promise<string | null>
+  which?: (command: string) => Promise<string | null>
+}
+
+async function resolveWindowsPowerShellFallbackPath(
+  basename: 'pwsh' | 'powershell',
+  deps: PowerShellDetectionDeps,
+): Promise<string | null> {
+  const platform = (deps.getPlatform ?? getPlatform)()
+  if (platform !== 'windows') {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  const pathProbe = deps.probePath ?? probePath
+
+  if (basename === 'pwsh') {
+    // PowerShell Core may be invokable via Windows shell/app aliases while
+    // absent from the sidecar PATH. Ask pwsh where it actually lives.
+    const psHome = await (deps.readWindowsPwshHome ?? readWindowsPwshHome)()
+    if (psHome) {
+      const resolvedFromHome = await pathProbe(
+        pathWin32.join(psHome, 'pwsh.exe'),
+      )
+      if (resolvedFromHome) {
+        return resolvedFromHome
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return pathProbe(
+    basename === 'pwsh'
+      ? WINDOWS_DEFAULT_PWSH_PATH
+      : WINDOWS_DEFAULT_POWERSHELL_PATH,
+  )
+}
+
+export async function resolvePowerShellPathOverride(
+  override = process.env[POWERSHELL_PATH_OVERRIDE_ENV],
+  deps: PowerShellDetectionDeps = {},
+): Promise<string | null> {
+  const trimmed = override?.trim()
+  if (!trimmed || !isPowerShellExecutablePath(trimmed)) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  const pathProbe = deps.probePath ?? probePath
+  const basename = basenameWithoutExe(trimmed) as 'pwsh' | 'powershell'
+  const resolvedPath = await pathProbe(trimmed)
+  if (resolvedPath) {
+    return resolvedPath
+  }
+
+  const windowsFallback = await resolveWindowsPowerShellFallbackPath(
+    basename,
+    deps,
+  )
+  if (windowsFallback) {
+    return windowsFallback
+  }
+
+  if (!hasPathSeparator(trimmed)) {
+    return (deps.which ?? which)(trimmed)
+  }
+
+  return null
+}
+
 /**
  * Attempts to find PowerShell on the system via PATH.
  * Prefers pwsh (PowerShell Core 7+), falls back to powershell (5.1).
@@ -22,6 +141,11 @@ async function probePath(p: string): Promise<string | null> {
  * Windows/macOS, PATH is sufficient.
  */
 export async function findPowerShell(): Promise<string | null> {
+  const overridePath = await resolvePowerShellPathOverride()
+  if (overridePath) {
+    return overridePath
+  }
+
   const pwshPath = await which('pwsh')
   if (pwshPath) {
     // Snap launcher hangs in subprocesses. Prefer the direct binary.