fix(windows): PowerShell completion install and time-format detection by lijinlar · Pull Request #39644 · openclaw/openclaw

lijinlar · 2026-03-08T08:49:59Z

Summary

Problem: On Windows, openclaw completion --install --shell powershell silently printed "not supported" and exited without writing anything. Additionally, the time-format detection always invoked PS 5.1 (powershell.exe) even when PS7 (pwsh.exe) was installed.
Why it matters: PowerShell is the default shell on Windows — completion install was completely broken for the platform, and PS5.1 lacks features and is deprecated on modern Windows.
What changed: Added the missing powershell branch in installCompletion(), corrected the source-line syntax from bash source to PS dot-source (. ), and switched detectSystemTimeFormat() to use resolvePowerShellPath() (which already prefers PS7).
What did NOT change: No changes to completion script generation, shell detection logic, or any non-Windows code paths.

Change Type

Bug fix

Scope

UI / DX

Linked Issue/PR

Closes # (no existing issue — discovered while using OpenClaw on Windows)

User-visible / Behavior Changes

openclaw completion --install --shell powershell now works on Windows: creates/updates Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 with . "${cachePath}" dot-source syntax.
On Windows with PS7 installed, time-format detection now correctly invokes pwsh.exe instead of powershell.exe.

Security Impact

New permissions/capabilities? No
Secrets/tokens handling changed? No
New/changed network calls? No
Command/tool execution surface changed? No — resolvePowerShellPath() was already used throughout shell-utils.ts; this aligns date-time.ts with the existing pattern.
Data access scope changed? No

Repro + Verification

Environment

OS: Windows 11 (x64), Node v24.7.0
Runtime/container: Native Windows (no WSL)
Model/provider: N/A
Integration/channel: N/A
Relevant config: N/A

Steps

Install OpenClaw on Windows with PowerShell 5.1 as default shell
Run openclaw completion --write-state
Run openclaw completion --install --shell powershell

Expected

Profile at %USERPROFILE%\Documents\PowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 is created/updated with . "${cachePath}"

Actual (before fix)

Prints Automated installation not supported for powershell yet. and exits with no file written

Evidence

Failing test/log before + passing after

# Before fix: installCompletion("powershell") hit the else-branch silently
# After fix: 7/7 tests pass

✓ detects pwsh from SHELL env
✓ detects powershell from SHELL env basename
✓ returns zsh as default when SHELL is unset
✓ cache path for powershell uses .ps1 extension
✓ installs PowerShell completion with dot-source syntax
✓ detects completion as installed after writing profile
✓ does not use bash source keyword in PowerShell profile

Test Files  1 passed (1)
Tests       7 passed (7)

Human Verification

Verified scenarios: TypeScript typecheck (tsc --noEmit) clean, oxlint 0 errors, oxfmt clean, all 7 new tests pass on Windows.
Edge cases checked: Profile already exists (idempotent update), profile directory doesn't exist (auto-created), isCompletionInstalled() correctly detects after install.
What I did not verify: Actual runtime execution on macOS/Linux (no code path changes for those platforms); PS7 time-format path requires a Windows machine with pwsh.exe installed.

Compatibility / Migration

Backward compatible? Yes
Config/env changes? No
Migration needed? No

Failure Recovery

How to revert: git revert the single commit; no config changes were made.
Known bad symptoms: None expected — the PS branch was entirely missing before, so any regression would be a no-op (same "not supported" behaviour as before).

Risks and Mitigations

Risk: Profile path for PowerShell on macOS/Linux (.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1) — untested on those platforms with pwsh installed.
- Mitigation: Path logic was already present in getShellProfilePath() and is unchanged; this PR only wires up the call that was missing.

- completion-cli: installCompletion() now handles the 'powershell' shell case instead of falling through to the 'not supported' error branch. - completion-cli: formatCompletionSourceLine() now emits PS dot-source syntax (`. "${path}"`) for PowerShell instead of the bash-only `source` keyword, which is not a valid PowerShell cmdlet. - date-time: detectSystemTimeFormat() now calls resolvePowerShellPath() instead of the hardcoded `powershell` binary, so PS7 (pwsh.exe) is preferred over PS5.1 when available, consistent with shell-utils.ts. Adds src/cli/completion-cli.powershell.test.ts with 7 tests covering shell detection, dot-source line format, and end-to-end profile install.

greptile-apps · 2026-03-08T08:52:22Z

Greptile Summary

This PR fixes two real Windows-only bugs: PowerShell completion installation was entirely broken (the powershell branch was missing from installCompletion(), causing a silent "not supported" exit), and time-format detection always invoked powershell.exe (PS5.1) even when pwsh.exe (PS7) was available. The fixes are minimal and well-targeted — installCompletion now correctly writes a dot-sourced profile, formatCompletionSourceLine returns . "path" for PowerShell, and detectSystemTimeFormat is brought in line with the rest of the codebase by using the existing resolvePowerShellPath() helper.

Key changes:

src/cli/completion-cli.ts: Adds the missing powershell branch to installCompletion() (delegates to getShellProfilePath("powershell"), which already knows the correct Windows vs. POSIX profile path) and to formatCompletionSourceLine() (returns PS dot-source syntax . "${cachePath}" instead of the bash source keyword).
src/agents/date-time.ts: Replaces the hardcoded "powershell" string with resolvePowerShellPath() and adds -NoProfile/-NonInteractive flags, consistent with getShellConfig().
src/cli/completion-cli.powershell.test.ts: New test file with 7 tests covering shell detection, cache-path extension, profile creation with correct dot-source syntax, idempotent install detection, and absence of the bash source keyword.

Minor issue found: The post-install success message in installCompletion() (line 379) unconditionally prints run: source <profilePath>, which is invalid PowerShell syntax. Interactive (non---yes) PowerShell users will receive incorrect reload instructions — the correct PowerShell form is . "<profilePath>". This does not affect the actual installation but is misleading.

Confidence Score: 4/5

Safe to merge; changes are additive and Windows-only, with one minor UX issue in a console message.
The fixes are correct and well-scoped. The PowerShell installation branch delegates to the pre-existing getShellProfilePath("powershell") helper, the dot-source syntax is accurate, and the date-time.ts change aligns with the existing resolvePowerShellPath() pattern. Tests cover the new code paths. The only issue is a non-functional UX bug: the post-install message tells PowerShell users to run source <path> (bash syntax) rather than . "<path>" (PowerShell dot-source), but this does not affect the actual installation.
Pay close attention to src/cli/completion-cli.ts line 379 — the success message uses bash source syntax which is incorrect for PowerShell users.

Comments Outside Diff (1)

src/cli/completion-cli.ts, line 379 (link)

Incorrect reload instruction for PowerShell

The post-install success message unconditionally tells the user to run source <profilePath>, but source is a bash keyword and is not valid in PowerShell. PowerShell users will get a The term 'source' is not recognized error if they follow this instruction.

The correct PowerShell equivalent is dot-source (. <path>), which is exactly the syntax used in the generated source line above.

Consider branching on the shell here, or at minimum quoting the path (paths with spaces are common on Windows):

_{Last reviewed commit: 412bf87}

Post-install success message was unconditionally printing `source <profilePath>` which is bash syntax and not valid in PowerShell. Now branches on the shell type so PowerShell users see the correct dot-source form: `. "<profilePath>"`. Addresses greptile review comment on PR openclaw#39644.

After adding the powershell case, all CompletionShell values (zsh, bash, fish, powershell) are now handled. The else branch is dead code and oxlint --type-aware correctly flags shell as never there. Collapse powershell into the final else to satisfy exhaustiveness while keeping the fallback readable.

openclaw-barnacle · 2026-04-24T04:34:40Z

This pull request has been automatically marked as stale due to inactivity.
Please add updates or it will be closed.

clawsweeper · 2026-04-26T02:02:55Z

Codex review: needs changes before merge.

Summary
The PR adds PowerShell completion installation/profile dot-source handling, switches Windows time-format detection to the PS7-preferring resolver, and adds PowerShell completion tests.

Reproducibility: yes. Source inspection of current main shows powershell is accepted and cached as .ps1, but installCompletion() still falls through to the unsupported branch and Windows time-format detection still invokes literal powershell.

Next step before merge
A narrow repair can port the useful PR changes to the current runtime module, add coverage and changelog, and preserve contributor credit without a product decision.

Security
Cleared: The PR only changes local completion profile writing, local PowerShell executable selection, and tests; it adds no dependency, workflow, permission, network, package metadata, or secret-handling change.

Review findings

[P2] Port the installer fix to completion-runtime — src/cli/completion-cli.ts:341-344
[P3] Add the required changelog entry — src/cli/completion-cli.ts:341-344

Review details

Best possible solution:

Port the intended behavior into src/cli/completion-runtime.ts, align src/agents/date-time.ts with resolvePowerShellPath(), add focused regression coverage and a changelog entry, then review or land the repaired PR.

Do we have a high-confidence way to reproduce the issue?

Yes. Source inspection of current main shows powershell is accepted and cached as .ps1, but installCompletion() still falls through to the unsupported branch and Windows time-format detection still invokes literal powershell.

Is this the best way to solve the issue?

No. The requested behavior is the right narrow fix, but the PR edits the older completion helper layout; the maintainable solution is to port it to completion-runtime.ts and add the missing changelog/test coverage against current main.

Full review comments:

[P2] Port the installer fix to completion-runtime — src/cli/completion-cli.ts:341-344
Current main imports and runs installCompletion() from src/cli/completion-runtime.ts; this PR still changes the older completion-cli.ts helper layout. After rebasing, the PowerShell profile path, dot-source line, and reload hint need to move to the runtime module or --shell powershell --install will still hit the unsupported branch.
Confidence: 0.92
[P3] Add the required changelog entry — src/cli/completion-cli.ts:341-344
This is a user-facing Windows CLI fix, but the PR does not update CHANGELOG.md. OpenClaw policy requires a fix entry; credit the source contributor without inventing bot or maintainer attribution.
Confidence: 0.88

Overall correctness: patch is incorrect
Overall confidence: 0.9

Acceptance criteria:

pnpm test src/cli/completion-runtime.powershell.test.ts src/cli/completion-cli.write-state.test.ts src/cli/completion-cli.test.ts src/agents/date-time.test.ts src/agents/shell-utils.test.ts
pnpm exec oxfmt --check --threads=1 src/cli/completion-runtime.ts src/agents/date-time.ts src/cli/completion-runtime.powershell.test.ts src/agents/date-time.test.ts CHANGELOG.md
pnpm check:changed

What I checked:

Docs promise PowerShell install support: The completion docs list powershell as a supported --shell value and describe --install as writing a source line into the shell profile. Public docs: docs/cli/completion.md. (docs/cli/completion.md:26, e8d0cf75ea0e)
Current CLI delegates install to runtime: completion-cli.ts imports installCompletion from completion-runtime.ts and calls it for --install, so the install behavior is no longer owned by the older helper layout edited by this PR. (src/cli/completion-cli.ts:14, e8d0cf75ea0e)
Current runtime still rejects PowerShell install: COMPLETION_SHELLS includes powershell, but installCompletion() handles only zsh, bash, and fish before printing Automated installation not supported in the final branch. (src/cli/completion-runtime.ts:229, e8d0cf75ea0e)
Current source-line formatter is POSIX-only: formatCompletionSourceLine() returns source "..." for every non-fish shell, which is not valid PowerShell dot-source syntax. (src/cli/completion-runtime.ts:66, e8d0cf75ea0e)
Current time-format detection still hard-codes PowerShell: The Windows branch in detectSystemTimeFormat() invokes literal powershell instead of the existing PS7-preferring resolver. (src/agents/date-time.ts:117, e8d0cf75ea0e)
Existing resolver already prefers PowerShell 7: resolvePowerShellPath() searches standard PS7 locations and PATH before falling back to Windows PowerShell 5.1, and getShellConfig() already uses it with non-interactive flags. (src/agents/shell-utils.ts:4, e8d0cf75ea0e)

Likely related people:

steipete: Introduced date-time handling, added the PS7-preferring PowerShell resolver, and recently touched completion runtime/update behavior. (role: recent maintainer and original related behavior owner; confidence: high; commits: 8b89980a89c9, fa525bf21280, f427ddc220b5; files: src/agents/date-time.ts, src/agents/shell-utils.ts, src/cli/completion-runtime.ts)
vincentkoc: Moved completion install/profile helpers from completion-cli.ts into completion-runtime.ts and has recent completion-cache related work. (role: completion runtime refactor owner; confidence: high; commits: 0e54440ecc39, 636fe1c2dbbc; files: src/cli/completion-cli.ts, src/cli/completion-runtime.ts, src/cli/completion-cli.write-state.test.ts)
yiShanXin: Worked on CLI completion hardening and PowerShell nested command path coverage shortly before the runtime split. (role: adjacent completion maintainer; confidence: medium; commits: bbb0c3e5d7d9; files: src/cli/completion-cli.ts, CHANGELOG.md)

Remaining risk / open question:

The PR is currently unmergeable against main, so the useful changes need conflict resolution or a replacement branch rather than a direct merge.

Codex review notes: model gpt-5.5, reasoning high; reviewed against e8d0cf75ea0e.

openclaw-barnacle Bot added cli CLI command changes agents Agent runtime and tooling size: S labels Mar 8, 2026

lijinlar added 2 commits March 8, 2026 13:05

BradGroux mentioned this pull request Mar 17, 2026

WORKING: All Microsoft Issues and PRs #49126

Closed

openclaw-barnacle Bot added the stale Marked as stale due to inactivity label Apr 24, 2026

openclaw-barnacle Bot removed the stale Marked as stale due to inactivity label Apr 26, 2026

BingqingLyu mentioned this pull request Apr 27, 2026

fix(windows): PowerShell completion install and time-format detection BingqingLyu/openclaw#131

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clawsweeper Bot mentioned this pull request Apr 29, 2026

Show the actual PowerShell profile path during onboarding shell-completion setup #44296

Open

BradGroux mentioned this pull request Apr 29, 2026

WORKING: All Microsoft Issues and PRs (refresh) #74163

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fix(windows): PowerShell completion install and time-format detection#39644

fix(windows): PowerShell completion install and time-format detection#39644
lijinlar wants to merge 3 commits intoopenclaw:mainfrom
lijinlar:fix/windows-powershell-bugs

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lijinlar commented Mar 8, 2026

Summary

Change Type

Scope

Linked Issue/PR

User-visible / Behavior Changes

Security Impact

Repro + Verification

Environment

Steps

Expected

Actual (before fix)

Evidence

Human Verification

Compatibility / Migration

Failure Recovery

Risks and Mitigations

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Greptile Summary

Confidence Score: 4/5

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greptile-apps Bot commented Mar 8, 2026 •

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