fix(extension): resolve path resolution issues in Windows/WSL environments by katriendg · Pull Request #407 · microsoft/hve-core

katriendg · 2026-02-04T07:57:30Z

Description

This PR fixes critical installation issues where GitHub Copilot cannot access instruction files and scripts in Windows/WSL environments. The changes introduce dual-mode extension configuration with bundled resources to ensure reliable file access across all VS Code execution contexts.

Backgrounder to provide resolution context

According to VS Code Remote Extensions documentation, UI Extensions cannot directly access files in the remote workspace, which causes instruction files and scripts to become unavailable.

This dual-mode configuration with bundled resources solves critical installation issues:

Instruction files not found: In Windows/WSL environments, when Copilot runs as a UI extension, it cannot access workspace files through the remote workspace path. The documented behavior states UI extensions "cannot directly access files in the remote workspace"—bundled instruction files provide the required fallback.
Cross-platform path resolution failures: Windows paths (e.g., /Users/username/.vscode-insiders/extensions/...) fail when referenced from WSL Linux environments. VS Code Server runs standard Node.js (not Electron) in remote contexts, requiring platform-independent access patterns.
Remote workspace limitations: In Codespaces, devcontainers, and SSH hosts, workspace file access depends on extension kind. Bundling ensures consistent access regardless of where the extension host executes.

The extension prioritizes local workspace files when running in workspace mode but seamlessly falls back to bundled copies when running in UI mode or when path resolution fails across OS boundaries.

Summary of Changes

fix(extension): Added extensionKind configuration to support both workspace and UI execution modes
- Configured extension to run in workspace mode (direct file access) or UI mode (local machine execution)
- Enables fallback patterns when workspace file access is restricted
docs(extension): Added documentation explaining extension configuration and path resolution
style(extension): Standardized list formatting from hyphens to asterisks throughout PACKAGING.md for consistency

Related Issue(s)

Fixes #390

Type of Change

Select all that apply:

Code & Documentation:

Bug fix (non-breaking change fixing an issue)
New feature (non-breaking change adding functionality)
Breaking change (fix or feature causing existing functionality to change)
Documentation update

Infrastructure & Configuration:

AI Artifacts:

Reviewed contribution with prompt-builder agent and addressed all feedback
Copilot instructions (.github/instructions/*.instructions.md)
Copilot prompt (.github/prompts/*.prompt.md)
Copilot agent (.github/agents/*.agent.md)

Other:

Script/automation (.ps1, .sh, .py)
Other (please describe): extension

Testing

Tested by reviewing the changes against VS Code's official Remote Extensions documentation and verifying that the configuration matches documented patterns for dual-mode extensions.

Checklist

Required Checks

Documentation is updated (if applicable)
Files follow existing naming conventions
Changes are backwards compatible (if applicable)
Tests added for new functionality (if applicable)

AI Artifact Contributions

Used /prompt-analyze to review contribution
Addressed all feedback from prompt-builder review
Verified contribution follows common standards and type-specific requirements

Required Automated Checks

The following validation commands must pass before merging:

Markdown linting: npm run lint:md
Spell checking: npm run spell-check
Frontmatter validation: npm run lint:frontmatter
Link validation: npm run lint:md-links
PowerShell analysis: npm run lint:ps

Security Considerations

This PR does not contain any sensitive or NDA information
Any new dependencies have been reviewed for security issues
Security-related scripts follow the principle of least privilege

Additional Notes

The extension configuration change (extensionKind: ["workspace", "ui"]) should ensure that the extension works correctly in both direct workspace access scenarios and restricted UI-only scenarios. This is particularly important for resolving issue #390 where users reported instruction files not found errors in WSL environments.

…ify extension configuration and execution contexts - add details on dual-mode configuration for workspace and UI - explain script fallback patterns for different execution scenarios 🔧 - Generated by Copilot

github-actions · 2026-02-04T07:57:49Z

Dependency Review

✅ No vulnerabilities or license issues or OpenSSF Scorecard issues found.

Scanned Files

None

codecov-commenter · 2026-02-04T07:59:46Z

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 74.63%. Comparing base (3587e6a) to head (3cae04b).

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main     #407      +/-   ##
==========================================
- Coverage   74.66%   74.63%   -0.04%     
==========================================
  Files          19       19              
  Lines        3296     3296              
==========================================
- Hits         2461     2460       -1     
- Misses        835      836       +1

Flag	Coverage Δ
pester	`74.63% <ø> (-0.04%)`	⬇️

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see 1 file with indirect coverage changes

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Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR adds the extensionKind configuration to the HVE Core VS Code extension and updates documentation to explain dual-mode execution contexts. The changes aim to address file accessibility issues reported in issue #390 where instruction files and scripts were not accessible in Windows/WSL environments.

Changes:

Added extensionKind: ["workspace", "ui"] to package.json to enable dual-mode extension execution
Added "Extension Configuration" section to PACKAGING.md documenting the extensionKind setting
Standardized unordered list formatting from hyphens to asterisks throughout PACKAGING.md

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

File	Description
extension/package.json	Added extensionKind configuration to support both workspace and UI execution modes
extension/PACKAGING.md	Added documentation explaining extension execution contexts and standardized list formatting

extension/PACKAGING.md

extension/package.json

extension/PACKAGING.md

…GING.md - enhance descriptions for workspace and UI modes - explain access to bundled files and path resolution - detail declarative nature of the extension

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

🤖 I have created a release *beep* *boop* --- ## [2.1.0](hve-core-v2.0.1...hve-core-v2.1.0) (2026-02-04) ### ✨ Features * add PowerShell script to validate copyright headers ([#370](#370)) ([92fce72](92fce72)) * **docs:** Replace deprecated chat.modeFilesLocations with chat.agentFilesLocations ([#413](#413)) ([67fb2ab](67fb2ab)) * **scripts:** add CIHelpers module for CI platform abstraction ([#348](#348)) ([23e7a7e](23e7a7e)) * **scripts:** add SecurityHelpers and CIHelpers modules ([#354](#354)) ([b93d990](b93d990)) * **workflow:** add copilot-setup-steps.yml for Coding Agent environment ([#398](#398)) ([085a38b](085a38b)) ### 🐛 Bug Fixes * **build:** increase release-please search depths to prevent 250-commit window issue ([#342](#342)) ([4bb857d](4bb857d)) * **build:** patch @isaacs/brace-expansion critical vulnerability ([#404](#404)) ([292ef51](292ef51)) * **ci:** disable errexit during spell check exit code capture ([#356](#356)) ([ed6ed46](ed6ed46)) * **ci:** exclude extension/README.md from frontmatter validation ([#362](#362)) ([e0d7378](e0d7378)) * exclude test fixtures from markdown link checker ([#345](#345)) ([58147f9](58147f9)) * **extension:** resolve path resolution issues in Windows/WSL environments ([#407](#407)) ([8529725](8529725)) * **linting:** use Write-Error instead of Write-Host for error output ([#377](#377)) ([2ca766b](2ca766b)) * **scripts:** apply CI output escaping to infrastructure scripts ([#369](#369)) ([251021e](251021e)) * **scripts:** apply CI output escaping to linting scripts ([#367](#367)) ([fdd75ed](fdd75ed)) * **scripts:** apply CI output escaping to security scripts ([#368](#368)) ([1237c9a](1237c9a)) * **scripts:** ensure reliable array count operations in linting and security scripts ([#395](#395)) ([de43e73](de43e73)) * **scripts:** standardize PowerShell requirements header block ([#385](#385)) ([6e26282](6e26282)) ### 📚 Documentation * add doc-ops agent to CUSTOM-AGENTS reference ([#358](#358)) ([15f7185](15f7185)) * add memory agent to CUSTOM-AGENTS.md ([#359](#359)) ([d92c4e1](d92c4e1)) * add missing agents to extension README ([#357](#357)) ([d58541c](d58541c)) * add task-reviewer agent to CUSTOM-AGENTS.md ([#363](#363)) ([0efb722](0efb722)) * **contributing:** add copyright header guidelines ([#382](#382)) ([881a567](881a567)) * **scripts:** update README.md with missing directory sections ([#355](#355)) ([ac2966f](ac2966f)) ### ♻️ Refactoring * **scripts:** align linting and tests with CIHelpers ([#401](#401)) ([3587e6a](3587e6a)) * **scripts:** extract Invoke-PackageExtension for testability ([#343](#343)) ([858a1be](858a1be)) * **scripts:** extract orchestration function for Prepare-Extension testability ([#344](#344)) ([9fd4bd1](9fd4bd1)) * **scripts:** replace raw GITHUB_OUTPUT with Set-CIOutput in Package-Extension ([#391](#391)) ([74a30bb](74a30bb)) * **security:** move DependencyViolation and ComplianceReport to shared module ([#378](#378)) ([1dd31ad](1dd31ad)) ### 🔧 Maintenance * add copyright headers to PowerShell scripts ([#381](#381)) ([d19c9b3](d19c9b3)) * add copyright headers to shell scripts ([#380](#380)) ([284b456](284b456)) * **deps-dev:** bump cspell from 9.6.1 to 9.6.2 in the npm-dependencies group ([#387](#387)) ([23c2b9f](23c2b9f)) * **workflows:** simplify Copilot setup steps workflow triggers ([#414](#414)) ([492a7b1](492a7b1)) --- This PR was generated with [Release Please](https://github.com/googleapis/release-please). See [documentation](https://github.com/googleapis/release-please#release-please). --------- Co-authored-by: hve-core-release-please[bot] <254602402+hve-core-release-please[bot]@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Bill Berry <wberry@microsoft.com>

katriendg added 2 commits February 4, 2026 08:46

fix(extension): update extension kind and update PACKAGING.md to clar…

167a714

…ify extension configuration and execution contexts - add details on dual-mode configuration for workspace and UI - explain script fallback patterns for different execution scenarios 🔧 - Generated by Copilot

docs: simplify extension bundling benefits in PACKAGING.md

36219a5

katriendg requested a review from a team as a code owner February 4, 2026 07:57

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 4, 2026 07:57

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of katriendg February 4, 2026 07:57 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 4, 2026

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docs: clarify extension configuration and execution contexts in PACKA…

6bf17cd

…GING.md - enhance descriptions for workspace and UI modes - explain access to bundled files and path resolution - detail declarative nature of the extension

WilliamBerryiii approved these changes Feb 4, 2026

View reviewed changes

Merge branch 'main' into fix/extension-install-mode

3cae04b

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 4, 2026 17:31

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of WilliamBerryiii February 4, 2026 17:31 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 4, 2026

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WilliamBerryiii merged commit 8529725 into main Feb 4, 2026
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WilliamBerryiii deleted the fix/extension-install-mode branch February 4, 2026 17:34

hve-core-release-please bot mentioned this pull request Feb 4, 2026

chore(main): release hve-core 2.1.0 #347

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This was referenced Feb 4, 2026

chore(main): release hve-core 3.0.0 #417

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chore(main): release hve-core 3.0.0 #441

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fix(extension): resolve path resolution issues in Windows/WSL environments#407

fix(extension): resolve path resolution issues in Windows/WSL environments#407
WilliamBerryiii merged 4 commits intomainfrom
fix/extension-install-mode

katriendg commented Feb 4, 2026

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katriendg commented Feb 4, 2026

Description

Backgrounder to provide resolution context

Summary of Changes

Related Issue(s)

Type of Change

Testing

Checklist

Required Checks

AI Artifact Contributions

Required Automated Checks

Security Considerations

Additional Notes

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