fix(coding-agent): fix Windows self-update

Fixes #3857

packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 ### Fixed
 
 - Fixed Cloudflare Workers AI attribution headers to honor the install telemetry setting.
+- Fixed `pi update --self` detection and execution for Windows package-manager shim installs, including symlinked global package roots, and print the manual fallback command when self-update fails. ([#3857](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/issues/3857))
 
 ## [0.70.5] - 2026-04-27
 

packages/coding-agent/src/config.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { spawnSync } from "child_process";
-import { existsSync, readFileSync } from "fs";
+import { existsSync, readFileSync, realpathSync } from "fs";
 import { homedir } from "os";
 import { dirname, join, resolve, sep } from "path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "url";
@@ -94,6 +94,9 @@ function readCommandOutput(command: string, args: string[]): string | undefined
 		encoding: "utf-8",
 		stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "ignore"],
 		timeout: 2000,
+		// Windows package managers are commonly .cmd shims. Use the shell so Node can execute them;
+		// command and args are fixed literals from getGlobalPackageRoots(), not user input.
+		shell: process.platform === "win32",
 	});
 	if (result.status !== 0) return undefined;
 	const stdout = result.stdout.trim();
@@ -128,18 +131,32 @@ function getGlobalPackageRoots(method: InstallMethod): string[] {
 	}
 }
 
-function isManagedByGlobalPackageManager(method: InstallMethod): boolean {
+function normalizeExistingPathForComparison(path: string): string | undefined {
-	let packageDir = resolve(getPackageDir());
+	const resolvedPath = resolve(path);
+	if (!existsSync(resolvedPath)) {
+		return undefined;
+	}
+	let normalizedPath: string;
+	try {
+		normalizedPath = realpathSync(resolvedPath);
+	} catch {
+		return undefined;
+	}
 	if (process.platform === "win32") {
-		packageDir = packageDir.toLowerCase();
+		normalizedPath = normalizedPath.toLowerCase();
+	}
+	return normalizedPath;
+}
+
+function isManagedByGlobalPackageManager(method: InstallMethod): boolean {
+	const packageDir = normalizeExistingPathForComparison(getPackageDir());
+	if (!packageDir) {
+		return false;
 	}
 	return getGlobalPackageRoots(method).some((root) => {
-		let normalizedRoot = resolve(root);
+		const normalizedRoot = normalizeExistingPathForComparison(root);
-		if (process.platform === "win32") {
-			normalizedRoot = normalizedRoot.toLowerCase();
-		}
 		return (
-			existsSync(normalizedRoot) &&
+			normalizedRoot !== undefined &&
 			(packageDir === normalizedRoot ||
 				packageDir.startsWith(normalizedRoot.endsWith(sep) ? normalizedRoot : `${normalizedRoot}${sep}`))
 		);

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

@@ -271,6 +271,12 @@ function printSelfUpdateUnavailable(): void {
 	}
 }
 
+function printSelfUpdateFallback(): void {
+	const command = getSelfUpdateCommand(PACKAGE_NAME);
+	if (!command) return;
+	console.error(chalk.dim(`If this keeps failing, run this command yourself: ${command.display}`));
+}
+
 async function runSelfUpdate(): Promise<void> {
 	const command = getSelfUpdateCommand(PACKAGE_NAME);
 	if (!command) {
@@ -281,7 +287,9 @@ async function runSelfUpdate(): Promise<void> {
 
 	console.log(chalk.dim(`Updating ${APP_NAME} with ${command.display}...`));
 	await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
-		const child = spawn(command.command, command.args, { stdio: "inherit" });
+		// Windows package managers are commonly .cmd shims. Use the shell so Node can execute them;
+		// command and args come from getSelfUpdateCommandForMethod(), not user input.
+		const child = spawn(command.command, command.args, { stdio: "inherit", shell: process.platform === "win32" });
 		child.on("error", (error) => {
 			reject(error);
 		});
@@ -451,7 +459,15 @@ export async function handlePackageCommand(args: string[]): Promise<boolean> {
 				}
 				if (updateTargetIncludesSelf(target)) {
 					if (canSelfUpdate()) {
-						await runSelfUpdate();
+						try {
+							await runSelfUpdate();
+						} catch (error: unknown) {
+							const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : "Unknown package command error";
+							console.error(chalk.red(`Error: ${message}`));
+							printSelfUpdateFallback();
+							process.exitCode = 1;
+							return true;
+						}
 						console.log(chalk.green(`Updated ${APP_NAME}`));
 					} else {
 						printSelfUpdateUnavailable();