Dotnetup: add `env` command to update PathPreference mode by dsplaisted · Pull Request #54545 · dotnet/sdk

dsplaisted · 2026-06-01T23:23:52Z

Replace dotnetup defaultinstall <user|system> with a noun-verb env command family
backed by a renamed three-value PathPreference enum:

dotnetup env set <none|shell|everywhere>   # persist mode in config and apply
dotnetup env show                   # display current mode; if applied state has
                                    # drifted from the configured mode, report that
                                    # too
dotnetup env script                 # print a shell-specific script that exports
                                    # PATH/DOTNET_ROOT for the current dotnet
                                    # install (formerly `dotnetup print-env-script`)

env set is idempotent — running it again with the same mode is a no-op (and is also
how you re-sync after something else has clobbered your PATH; see the key scenario
below).

Modes:

none — Don't modify your environment; use dotnetup dotnet to invoke.
shell — Wire dotnetup into your shell's profile file (only shells that load
profiles see the user dotnet).
everywhere — Wire dotnetup into your shell profile and your user-level
PATH/DOTNET_ROOT so cmd.exe, IDEs, and shortcuts also see it.

You can also configure whether dotnetup itself should be added to the path with --dotnetup-on-path true or --dotnetup-on-path false as parameters to env set.

Some sample outputs:

$ dotnetup env set shell
dotnet and dotnetup are on your PATH.
To apply the change to this terminal now, run:
  eval "$('/path/to/dotnetup' env script)"
Or open a new terminal.

$ dotnetup env show
dotnetup environment:
  dotnet access     shell
  dotnetup on PATH  true

Detected drift between configured settings and the current environment:
  - Shell profile is missing the dotnetup managed block.
  - Windows user PATH / DOTNET_ROOT still has 'everywhere'-mode wiring (expected dotnet access: 'shell').
  - dotnetup is configured to be on PATH but is missing from the user PATH.

Run 'dotnetup env set' to re-sync.

…config

…for how to activate them

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR reworks dotnetup’s environment configuration surface by replacing the legacy defaultinstall command family with a new env command family (env set/show/script/clear). It also refactors the underlying model to treat “dotnet access mode” and “dotnetup-on-PATH” as two orthogonal settings, adds drift/activation analysis, and updates tests and localized strings accordingly.

Changes:

Introduces dotnetup env commands (set/show/script/clear) and keeps a hidden print-env-script alias for compatibility.
Replaces the old PathPreference config with DotnetAccessMode + DotnetupOnPath, adds compatibility shims for legacy config shapes, and adds drift/activation logic.
Updates shell/profile wiring and adds/updates unit tests for the new behavior.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 65 out of 65 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
test/dotnetup.Tests/TestShellProvider.cs	Adds a reusable test shell provider for profile-entry tests.
test/dotnetup.Tests/ShellProfileManagerTests.cs	Updates profile-entry expectations to use `env script` and new flags.
test/dotnetup.Tests/ParserTests.cs	Updates parsing tests for the new `env` command surface (and legacy alias).
test/dotnetup.Tests/MockDotnetInstallManager.cs	Extends test double to track new env-application calls/flags.
test/dotnetup.Tests/InstallWorkflowTests.cs	Updates onboarding/config detection to the new config model.
test/dotnetup.Tests/InitWorkflowTests.cs	Updates init workflow tests to use `DotnetAccessMode`.
test/dotnetup.Tests/FakeEnvironmentStateInspector.cs	Adds a test double for observed environment state.
test/dotnetup.Tests/EnvShellProviderTests.cs	Updates provider tests to `env script`/new activation behavior.
test/dotnetup.Tests/EnvSettingsApplierTests.cs	Adds tests for applying/removing composed env settings.
test/dotnetup.Tests/EnvScriptSelectionResolverTests.cs	Adds tests for `env script` selection-flag resolution.
test/dotnetup.Tests/EnvDriftAnalyzerTests.cs	Adds tests for configured-vs-observed drift reporting.
test/dotnetup.Tests/EnvCommandTests.cs	Adds behavioral tests for `env set/clear/show`.
test/dotnetup.Tests/EnvActivationStatusTests.cs	Adds tests for “is it active in this terminal?” evaluation.
test/dotnetup.Tests/DotnetupConfigTests.cs	Updates config tests for new schema + legacy read-compat.
test/dotnetup.Tests/DefaultInstallCommandTests.cs	Removes tests for the deleted `defaultinstall` command.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.zh-Hant.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.zh-Hans.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.tr.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.ru.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.pt-BR.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.pl.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.ko.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.ja.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.it.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.fr.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.es.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.de.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.cs.xlf	Updates localization entries for renamed mode strings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Strings.resx	Renames mode-related resources to match the new model.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Shell/ZshEnvShellProvider.cs	Updates profile/activation generation signatures/behavior.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Shell/ShellProviderHelpers.cs	Updates helpers for new flag model and activation commands.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Shell/ShellProfileManager.cs	Adds “find profiles with managed block” helper + new entry flags.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Shell/PowerShellEnvShellProvider.cs	Updates profile/activation generation signatures/behavior.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Shell/IEnvShellProvider.cs	Updates provider API to reflect new selection-flag model.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Shell/BashEnvShellProvider.cs	Updates profile/activation generation signatures/behavior.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Parser.cs	Wires up new `env` commands and keeps hidden legacy alias.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/ObservedEnvironmentState.cs	Adds a model for observed “real machine” env wiring state.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/IEnvironmentStateInspector.cs	Adds abstraction for inspecting live environment state.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/IDotnetEnvironmentManager.cs	Extends environment manager API for composed settings.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/EnvTerminalState.cs	Adds model for terminal activation/removal needs.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/EnvSettingsApplier.cs	Adds composed apply/remove logic driven by observed state.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/EnvironmentStateInspector.cs	Implements live environment inspection into observed state.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/EnvActivationStatus.cs	Adds logic to evaluate “active in current process PATH”.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/EnvActivationCommandBuilder.cs	Builds paste-able activation commands based on shell/config.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/DotnetupConfig.cs	Replaces `PathPreference` with `DotnetAccessMode` + compatibility shims.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/DotnetEnvironmentManager.cs	Updates profile/env-var wiring and adds dotnetup user-PATH support.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/DotnetAccessModeJsonConverter.cs	Adds custom serialization/legacy read compat for access mode.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Shared/InstallWorkflow.cs	Updates onboarding gating to the new config field.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/PrintEnvScript/PrintEnvScriptCommandParser.cs	Removes the old `print-env-script` parser (now under `env script`).
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Init/InitWorkflows.cs	Updates init flow prompts/config/apply to the new env model.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvShowCommandParser.cs	Adds parser for `env show`.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvShowCommand.cs	Adds `env show` implementation (config display + drift/activation).
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvSettingsWriter.cs	Shared apply/persist path for `env set` + `env clear`.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvSetCommandParser.cs	Adds parser for `env set` (mode + dotnetup-on-path).
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvSetCommand.cs	Adds `env set` implementation (re-sync semantics).
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvScriptSelectionResolver.cs	Adds pure selection resolution for `env script`.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvScriptCommandParser.cs	Adds parser for `env script` (shell/install-path/selection flags).
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvScriptCommand.cs	Updates script command to use config-driven selection by default.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvDriftAnalyzer.cs	Adds pure drift analyzer for configured vs observed state.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvCommandParser.cs	Adds the `env` command root and subcommands.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvClearCommandParser.cs	Adds parser for `env clear`.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Env/EnvClearCommand.cs	Adds `env clear` implementation.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/DefaultInstall/DefaultInstallCommandParser.cs	Removes the old `defaultinstall` parser.
src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/DefaultInstall/DefaultInstallCommand.cs	Removes the old `defaultinstall` command implementation.

nagilson

A quick pass through today, but I'll have more feedback soon. Let me know if you'd prefer to wait for a full review pass for me to submit any feedbacl.

…tup-path-mode # Conflicts: # src/Installer/Microsoft.Dotnet.Installation/DotnetInstallException.cs # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Commands/Init/InitWorkflows.cs # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Strings.resx # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.cs.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.de.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.es.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.fr.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.it.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.ja.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.ko.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.pl.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.pt-BR.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.ru.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.tr.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.zh-Hans.xlf # src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/xlf/Strings.zh-Hant.xlf # test/dotnetup.Tests/DefaultInstallCommandTests.cs # test/dotnetup.Tests/DotnetupConfigTests.cs # test/dotnetup.Tests/EnvShellProviderTests.cs # test/dotnetup.Tests/InitWorkflowTests.cs # test/dotnetup.Tests/ParserTests.cs # test/dotnetup.Tests/ShellProfileManagerTests.cs

nagilson

Thanks for applying those changes; still looking at the PR but wanted to send what I have for now.

nagilson · 2026-07-07T22:52:13Z

+            }
+        }
+
+        if (OperatingSystem.IsWindows())


I worry that this adds another maintenance point about only supporting 'full' path on windows - which I think will change shortly since we need to support mac gui apps and linux gui apps not launched from the shell. I would suggest changing this pattern.

This code could be made more future-proof, but I'm pretty sure it works as is and changing it would add some risk of breaking it. Plus, I don't know what "everywhere" mode on non-Windows will look like, and we might still end up with OS-specific code in the end. So I'd prefer to leave it as is for now.

Totally understandable, let's keep this as is.

nagilson

Thanks for your patience in review. I've completed a full pass of everything now.

The feedback is varied; many nitpicks but a few actual concerns of potential bugs I found. Let me know if there's anything I can clarify better. I tried to evaluate the feature e2e which also meant looking at the install root manager & env provider even though they aren't changed as much in this PR but happy to move any of that to an issue if you think that's best.

I'm excited to get this feature out the door as I think it will provide a lot of value! Looking forward to your replies.

…tup-path-mode

Was looking at registry for Windows regardless of whether the current PATH pointed to the system install, leading to inconsistencies

nagilson

Thank you for diligently responding, then waiting for my final review!

I have two more potential bug/behavioral concerns that I think are worth calling out but they can likely be addressed in another PR.

nagilson · 2026-07-16T23:46:05Z

+        // Classify the resolved dotnet by location. InstallPathClassifier.IsAdminInstallPath is the
+        // canonical "is this a system/admin-managed install?" check (Program Files on Windows; the
+        // standard /usr and /opt locations on Unix) used across dotnetup, so both platforms share it.
+        bool isAdminInstall = InstallPathClassifier.IsAdminInstallPath(currentInstallRoot.Path);


I think we'll probably want to split the original method here up into two separate methods - or, at least 2 separate concepts.

GetPathWinningDotnet VS IsAdminInstallPath is not the same.

The problem that got fixed before was that the shell made dotnetup's dotnet win on the PATH so it would be labeled as System.

But now I think we have the opposite potential problem. If the admin path / reg key value is set to something outside of the expected program files location, then it would be classified as a user install path. I believe this makes dotnetup dotnet use the system PATH and also makes uninstall workflow try to uninstall a system PATH.

I didn't want to reset the approval so I created a follow-up PR to address this: #55349

nagilson · 2026-07-16T23:59:39Z


                    var userChanges = installRootManager.GetUserInstallRootChanges();
-                    bool succeeded = InstallRootManager.ApplyUserInstallRoot(
+                    InstallRootManager.ApplyUserInstallRoot(


GetUserInstallRootChanges does not take in the dotnetRoot parameter, which I believe means that everywhere mode will not work and will ignore a custom root.

This led me to a broader design issue around how we handle the install path. I've filed #55346 for how I think it should work.

dsplaisted mentioned this pull request Jun 1, 2026

Dotnetup: Modify PowerShell profile on Windows #54520

Merged

dsplaisted added 7 commits June 3, 2026 12:00

Add env command design

1cbba05

Move print-env-script to env command in design

88140c0

Add dotnetup-on-PATH orthogonal setting to env design

76aceb7

Initial implementation by copilot

443fd6d

Refactor from PrintEnvScriptCommand to EnvScriptCommand

80492b4

Rename strings and throw if trying to unset profile that doesn't exist

28920f2

Add tests

a9523f5

dsplaisted force-pushed the feature/dotnetup-path-mode branch from ba382b0 to 76aceb7 Compare June 11, 2026 18:22

nagilson reviewed Jun 16, 2026

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Comment thread documentation/general/dotnetup/designs/dotnetup-env.md

dsplaisted added 9 commits June 16, 2026 17:42

Separate putting dotnetup on path from dotnet

4028290

Make env modifications based on actual state, not what was stored in …

879393b

…config

Terminology improvement

fd43c72

Update to DotnetAccessMode terminology

f0d95ea

Simplify path export code

2ce0a39

Clean up code

018cb94

Use true/false instead of on/off or yes/no

be903cb

Detect whether env state changes have taken effect, and show message …

b2d1492

…for how to activate them

Use current config when env script is called without parameters

2f4b463

dsplaisted marked this pull request as ready for review June 17, 2026 16:06

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings June 17, 2026 16:06

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of dsplaisted June 17, 2026 16:06 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jun 17, 2026

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Comment thread src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/DotnetAccessModeJsonConverter.cs Outdated

Comment thread src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Shell/ShellProfileManager.cs

Comment thread test/dotnetup.Tests/EnvCommandTests.cs Outdated

dsplaisted added 3 commits June 17, 2026 12:25

Remove unused using

6450069

Fix Linux test issue

34d6b6e

Apply copilot code review feedback

eddece0

nagilson reviewed Jun 19, 2026

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dsplaisted and others added 3 commits June 19, 2026 19:55

Rename env option from all to full

4bed5c3

Apply code review feedback

ff37b1e

Merge branch 'release/dnup' into feature/dotnetup-path-mode

a5c5866

nagilson reviewed Jun 22, 2026

View reviewed changes

dsplaisted added 5 commits July 2, 2026 18:24

Simplify design doc per code review feedback

a0b2b9a

Apply code review feedback

b1d2a47

Post-merge fixup

1ddcecc

Rename access mode full -> everywhere

ac7de84

nagilson reviewed Jul 7, 2026

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nagilson reviewed Jul 8, 2026

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Comment thread src/Installer/dotnetup.Library/Shell/ShellProfileManager.cs

nagilson reviewed Jul 8, 2026

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nagilson reviewed Jul 9, 2026

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dsplaisted added 4 commits July 13, 2026 12:00

Apply code review feedback

12b75c5

Fix style issues

1edabc0

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/release/dnup' into feature/dotne…

aff4911

…tup-path-mode

Fix issue looking up current dotnet install

a2590ad

Was looking at registry for Windows regardless of whether the current PATH pointed to the system install, leading to inconsistencies

nagilson mentioned this pull request Jul 16, 2026

dotnetup: Make tests localization-safe #55330

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3 tasks

nagilson approved these changes Jul 16, 2026

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nagilson reviewed Jul 16, 2026

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nagilson approved these changes Jul 17, 2026

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dsplaisted merged commit 21092ca into dotnet:release/dnup Jul 17, 2026
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dsplaisted mentioned this pull request Jul 17, 2026

dotnetup: classify PATH dotnet by managed hive; fix env config doc #55349

Open

nagilson mentioned this pull request Jul 17, 2026

dotnetup system vs admin install detection may incorrectly classify install roots #55350

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