fix(coding-agent): avoid cmd.exe for git installs on windows closes #3642

packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 - Fixed `/copy` to avoid unbounded OSC 52 writes and clipboard races that could break terminal rendering or panic the native clipboard addon ([#3639](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/issues/3639))
 - Fixed extension flag docs to show `pi.getFlag()` using registered flag names without the CLI `--` prefix ([#3614](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/issues/3614))
 - Fixed provider retry/timeout settings wiring by adding `retry.provider.{timeoutMs,maxRetries,maxRetryDelayMs}`, migrating legacy `retry.maxDelayMs`, and forwarding provider controls into `streamSimple` request options ([#3627](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/issues/3627))
+- Fixed Windows git package installs to bypass `cmd.exe` for native git commands, so install paths containing spaces no longer break `pi install git:...` with `fatal: Too many arguments` ([#3642](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/issues/3642))
 
 ## [0.70.0] - 2026-04-23
 

packages/coding-agent/src/core/package-manager.ts

@@ -2323,11 +2323,28 @@ export class DefaultPackageManager implements PackageManager {
 		};
 	}
 
+	private shouldUseWindowsShell(command: string): boolean {
+		if (process.platform !== "win32") {
+			return false;
+		}
+		const commandName = basename(command).toLowerCase();
+		return (
+			commandName === "npm" ||
+			commandName === "npx" ||
+			commandName === "pnpm" ||
+			commandName === "yarn" ||
+			commandName === "yarnpkg" ||
+			commandName === "corepack" ||
+			commandName.endsWith(".cmd") ||
+			commandName.endsWith(".bat")
+		);
+	}
+
 	private spawnCommand(command: string, args: string[], options?: { cwd?: string }): ChildProcess {
 		return spawn(command, args, {
 			cwd: options?.cwd,
 			stdio: isStdoutTakenOver() ? ["ignore", 2, 2] : "inherit",
-			shell: process.platform === "win32",
+			shell: this.shouldUseWindowsShell(command),
 		});
 	}
 
@@ -2339,7 +2356,7 @@ export class DefaultPackageManager implements PackageManager {
 		return spawn(command, args, {
 			cwd: options?.cwd,
 			stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
-			shell: process.platform === "win32",
+			shell: this.shouldUseWindowsShell(command),
 			env: options?.env ? { ...process.env, ...options.env } : process.env,
 		});
 	}
@@ -2406,7 +2423,7 @@ export class DefaultPackageManager implements PackageManager {
 		const result = spawnSync(command, args, {
 			stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
 			encoding: "utf-8",
-			shell: process.platform === "win32",
+			shell: this.shouldUseWindowsShell(command),
 		});
 		if (result.status !== 0) {
 			throw new Error(`Failed to run ${command} ${args.join(" ")}: ${result.stderr || result.stdout}`);

packages/coding-agent/test/package-manager.test.ts

@@ -460,6 +460,20 @@ Content`,
 		});
 	});
 
+	describe("windows command spawning", () => {
+		it("should avoid the shell for git so Windows paths with spaces stay single arguments", () => {
+			vi.spyOn(process, "platform", "get").mockReturnValue("win32");
+			const managerWithInternals = packageManager as unknown as {
+				shouldUseWindowsShell(command: string): boolean;
+			};
+
+			expect(managerWithInternals.shouldUseWindowsShell("git")).toBe(false);
+			expect(managerWithInternals.shouldUseWindowsShell("npm")).toBe(true);
+			expect(managerWithInternals.shouldUseWindowsShell("pnpm")).toBe(true);
+			expect(managerWithInternals.shouldUseWindowsShell("C:/Program Files/nodejs/npm.cmd")).toBe(true);
+		});
+	});
+
 	describe("npmCommand", () => {
 		it("should use npmCommand argv for npm installs", async () => {
 			settingsManager = SettingsManager.inMemory({

pi-test.ps1

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+
+$scriptDir = Split-Path -Parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path
+$noEnv = $false
+$forwardArgs = New-Object System.Collections.Generic.List[string]
+
+foreach ($arg in $args) {
+	if ($arg -eq "--no-env") {
+		$noEnv = $true
+	} else {
+		$forwardArgs.Add($arg)
+	}
+}
+
+if ($noEnv) {
+	$envVarsToUnset = @(
+		"ANTHROPIC_API_KEY",
+		"ANTHROPIC_OAUTH_TOKEN",
+		"OPENAI_API_KEY",
+		"GEMINI_API_KEY",
+		"GROQ_API_KEY",
+		"CEREBRAS_API_KEY",
+		"XAI_API_KEY",
+		"OPENROUTER_API_KEY",
+		"ZAI_API_KEY",
+		"MISTRAL_API_KEY",
+		"MINIMAX_API_KEY",
+		"MINIMAX_CN_API_KEY",
+		"AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY",
+		"OPENCODE_API_KEY",
+		"COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN",
+		"GH_TOKEN",
+		"GITHUB_TOKEN",
+		"GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS",
+		"GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT",
+		"GCLOUD_PROJECT",
+		"GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION",
+		"AWS_PROFILE",
+		"AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID",
+		"AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY",
+		"AWS_SESSION_TOKEN",
+		"AWS_REGION",
+		"AWS_DEFAULT_REGION",
+		"AWS_BEARER_TOKEN_BEDROCK",
+		"AWS_CONTAINER_CREDENTIALS_RELATIVE_URI",
+		"AWS_CONTAINER_CREDENTIALS_FULL_URI",
+		"AWS_WEB_IDENTITY_TOKEN_FILE",
+		"AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY",
+		"AZURE_OPENAI_BASE_URL",
+		"AZURE_OPENAI_RESOURCE_NAME"
+	)
+
+	foreach ($name in $envVarsToUnset) {
+		Remove-Item -Path "Env:$name" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+	}
+
+	Write-Host "Running without API keys..."
+}
+
+$tsxBin = Join-Path $scriptDir "node_modules/.bin/tsx.cmd"
+if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $tsxBin)) {
+	throw "tsx not found at $tsxBin. Run npm install from the repo root first."
+}
+
+$cliPath = Join-Path $scriptDir "packages/coding-agent/src/cli.ts"
+& $tsxBin $cliPath @forwardArgs
+$exitCode = $LASTEXITCODE
+if ($exitCode -ne 0) {
+	exit $exitCode
+}