windows-pty-command-shims

name	windows-pty-command-shims
description	Launch PATH commands and .cmd shims reliably from node-pty on Windows
domain	process-management
confidence	high
source	observed

Context

Use this when Electron main-process code launches interactive tools through node-pty on Windows, especially tools installed through shims such as Volta, npm global bins, or other .cmd wrappers.

Patterns

• Do not assume pty.spawn('tool', args, options) can resolve a Windows .cmd shim.
• For command-shim tools, spawn the command shell and let it resolve PATH:

  const commandShell = process.env.ComSpec || process.env.COMSPEC || 'cmd.exe';
  pty.spawn(commandShell, ['/d', '/c', 'tool', ...args], options);
  

• Keep non-Windows launches direct:

  pty.spawn('tool', args, options);
  

• Put platform-specific launch behavior behind one helper so start/resume/restart paths cannot drift.

Examples

• electron/services/session-manager.ts uses spawnCopilotPty() so new Copilot sessions and resumed sessions both use the Windows cmd.exe /d /c copilot ... wrapper.

Anti-Patterns

• Direct Windows shim spawn — pty.spawn('copilot', args, options) can fail with Cannot create process, error code: 2 when copilot resolves to copilot.cmd.
• Renderer-side workaround — fix command launch in Electron main-process session management rather than adding retries or silent error handling in React.