Setting PATH for terminal fails

[AndreKR]

My original problem was that the pio command couldn't be found when I clicked the "Platform IO: Serial Monitor" or "Platform IO: New Terminal" buttons.

I investigated a bit, but my findings confuse me.

So I replaced this block with:

    console.log(process.env.PATH);
    console.log(constants.IS_WINDOWS);
    
    if (constants.IS_WINDOWS) {
      commands.push('set PATH=' + process.env.PATH);
    } else if (process.env.SHELL && process.env.SHELL.includes('fish')) {
      commands.push('set -gx PATH ' + process.env.PATH.replace(/\:/g, ' '));
    } else {
      commands.push('export PATH=' + process.env.PATH);
    }
    
    commands.push('blah');
    commands.push('set FOO=BAR');
    commands.push('set PATH=' + process.env.PATH);
    commands.push('echo %FOO%');
    commands.push('set FOO=BAR');
    commands.push('echo %FOO%');
    commands.push('echo %PATH%');
    commands.push('pio --help');

Here's the console output:

[Extension Host]
C:\Users\andre\.platformio\penv\Scripts;C:\Windows\SYSTEM32;C:\Windows\SYSTEM32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\SYSTEM32
extensionHost.ts:285
[Extension Host]
true
extensionHost.ts:285

And here's the terminal output:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

C:\dev-projects\#Arduino\vscodetest>echo %FOO%
%FOO%

C:\dev-projects\#Arduino\vscodetest>set FOO=BAR

C:\dev-projects\#Arduino\vscodetest>echo %FOO%
BAR

C:\dev-projects\#Arduino\vscodetest>echo %PATH%
C:\Windows\SYSTEM32;C:\Windows

C:\dev-projects\#Arduino\vscodetest>pio --help
Der Befehl "pio" ist entweder falsch geschrieben oder
konnte nicht gefunden werden.

C:\dev-projects\#Arduino\vscodetest>
C:\dev-projects\#Arduino\vscodetest>

[ivankravets]

Could you try replace

commands.push('set PATH=' + process.env.PATH);

with

commands.push(`set PATH="${process.env.PATH}"`);

?

[AndreKR]

Same result.

[ivankravets]

Could you try to replace PATH with Path ?

[AndreKR]

Wait a second... I found that I had some spaces in my PATH and it seems to depend on the length of PATH, checking...

[AndreKR]

Argh, I am unable to reproduce it anymore. What I did:
I set my system PATH to different things. At some point I copied my PATH hardcoded to the command.push. I removed some characters, suddenly it worked. Then I added the characters again, it still worked. Then I added more characters, it stopped working again.
I was playing around to find a pattern and now it is always working.
It seems to be possible to break by putting in a very long path (more than 1100 characters). I didn't find an exact limit though, due to the kind of "hysteresis" behavior described above.
I'm sorry I lost the evidence, but for me it works right now.

[ivankravets]

:)

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/830473/command-prompt-cmd.-exe-command-line-string-limitation

[ivankravets]

I'll think of a workaround. Thanks a lot for your research! 👍