fix(coding-agent): detect pnpm v11 self-update installs

closes #4647

packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 ### Fixed
 
 - Fixed Windows npm self-updates to move loaded native dependency packages out of the active install before reinstalling pi ([#4157](https://github.com/earendil-works/pi/issues/4157)).
+- Fixed `pi update --self` detection for pnpm v11 global installs whose package path resolves through the pnpm store ([#4647](https://github.com/earendil-works/pi/issues/4647)).
 
 ## [0.75.1] - 2026-05-18
 

packages/coding-agent/src/config.ts

@@ -215,16 +215,18 @@ function getGlobalPackageRoots(method: InstallMethod, _packageName: string, npmC
 	}
 }
 
-function normalizeExistingPathForComparison(path: string): string | undefined {
+function normalizeExistingPathForComparison(path: string, resolveSymlinks: boolean): string | undefined {
 	const resolvedPath = resolve(path);
 	if (!existsSync(resolvedPath)) {
 		return undefined;
 	}
-	let normalizedPath: string;
-	try {
-		normalizedPath = realpathSync(resolvedPath);
-	} catch {
-		return undefined;
+	let normalizedPath = resolvedPath;
+	if (resolveSymlinks) {
+		try {
+			normalizedPath = realpathSync(resolvedPath);
+		} catch {
+			return undefined;
+		}
 	}
 	if (process.platform === "win32") {
 		normalizedPath = normalizedPath.toLowerCase();
@@ -232,6 +234,29 @@ function normalizeExistingPathForComparison(path: string): string | undefined {
 	return normalizedPath;
 }
 
+function getPathComparisonCandidates(path: string): string[] {
+	return Array.from(
+		new Set(
+			[normalizeExistingPathForComparison(path, false), normalizeExistingPathForComparison(path, true)].filter(
+				(candidate): candidate is string => !!candidate,
+			),
+		),
+	);
+}
+
+function getEntrypointPackageDir(): string | undefined {
+	const entrypoint = process.argv[1];
+	if (!entrypoint) return undefined;
+	let dir = dirname(entrypoint);
+	while (dir !== dirname(dir)) {
+		if (existsSync(join(dir, "package.json"))) {
+			return dir;
+		}
+		dir = dirname(dir);
+	}
+	return undefined;
+}
+
 function isSelfUpdatePathWritable(): boolean {
 	const packageDir = getPackageDir();
 	try {
@@ -244,17 +269,14 @@ function isSelfUpdatePathWritable(): boolean {
 }
 
 function isManagedByGlobalPackageManager(method: InstallMethod, packageName: string, npmCommand?: string[]): boolean {
-	const packageDir = normalizeExistingPathForComparison(getPackageDir());
-	return (
-		!!packageDir &&
-		getGlobalPackageRoots(method, packageName, npmCommand).some((root) => {
-			const normalizedRoot = normalizeExistingPathForComparison(root);
-			return (
-				!!normalizedRoot &&
-				packageDir.startsWith(normalizedRoot.endsWith(sep) ? normalizedRoot : `${normalizedRoot}${sep}`)
-			);
-		})
-	);
+	const packageDirs = [getPackageDir(), getEntrypointPackageDir()].filter((dir): dir is string => !!dir);
+	const packageDirCandidates = packageDirs.flatMap((dir) => getPathComparisonCandidates(dir));
+	return getGlobalPackageRoots(method, packageName, npmCommand).some((root) => {
+		return getPathComparisonCandidates(root).some((normalizedRoot) => {
+			const rootPrefix = normalizedRoot.endsWith(sep) ? normalizedRoot : `${normalizedRoot}${sep}`;
+			return packageDirCandidates.some((packageDir) => packageDir.startsWith(rootPrefix));
+		});
+	});
 }
 
 export function getSelfUpdateCommand(

packages/coding-agent/test/config.test.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import {
 const execPathDescriptor = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(process, "execPath");
 const originalPath = process.env.PATH;
 const originalPiPackageDir = process.env.PI_PACKAGE_DIR;
+const originalArgv1 = process.argv[1];
 let tempDir: string | undefined;
 
 function setExecPath(value: string): void {
@@ -35,6 +36,11 @@ afterEach(() => {
 	} else {
 		process.env.PI_PACKAGE_DIR = originalPiPackageDir;
 	}
+	if (originalArgv1 === undefined) {
+		process.argv.splice(1, 1);
+	} else {
+		process.argv[1] = originalArgv1;
+	}
 	if (tempDir) {
 		chmodSync(tempDir, 0o700);
 		rmSync(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
@@ -275,6 +281,49 @@ describe("detectInstallMethod", () => {
 		});
 	});
 
+	test("self-updates pnpm v11 global installs resolved through the store", () => {
+		const temp = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "pi-pnpm11-"));
+		const binDir = join(temp, "bin");
+		const root = join(temp, "Library", "pnpm", "global", "v11");
+		const packageName = "@earendil-works/pi-coding-agent";
+		const globalPackageDir = join(root, "11e9a", "node_modules", "@earendil-works", "pi-coding-agent");
+		const storePackageDir = join(
+			temp,
+			"Library",
+			"pnpm",
+			"store",
+			"v11",
+			"links",
+			"@earendil-works",
+			"pi-coding-agent",
+			"0.75.0",
+			"hash",
+			"node_modules",
+			"@earendil-works",
+			"pi-coding-agent",
+		);
+		mkdirSync(globalPackageDir, { recursive: true });
+		mkdirSync(storePackageDir, { recursive: true });
+		mkdirSync(binDir, { recursive: true });
+		writeFileSync(join(globalPackageDir, "package.json"), "{}");
+		writeFileSync(join(binDir, process.platform === "win32" ? "pnpm.cmd" : "pnpm"), createFakePnpmScript(root));
+		chmodSync(join(binDir, process.platform === "win32" ? "pnpm.cmd" : "pnpm"), 0o755);
+		tempDir = temp;
+		process.env.PATH = `${binDir}${delimiter}${originalPath ?? ""}`;
+		process.env.PI_PACKAGE_DIR = storePackageDir;
+		process.argv[1] = join(globalPackageDir, "dist", "cli.js");
+		setExecPath(join(storePackageDir, "dist", "cli.js"));
+
+		const command = getSelfUpdateCommand(packageName);
+
+		expect(detectInstallMethod()).toBe("pnpm");
+		expect(command).toEqual({
+			command: "pnpm",
+			args: ["install", "-g", packageName],
+			display: `pnpm install -g ${packageName}`,
+		});
+	});
+
 	test("self-updates renamed yarn global installs by removing the old package first", () => {
 		createYarnGlobalInstall();