git/list[1] front-page[2] threads[3] people[4] search[5] about
 

Re: [PATCH 4/4] drop git_exec_path() from non-Git commands' PATH

From
D. Ben Knoble <ben.knoble+github@gmail.com>
Date
May 21, 2025, 13:44 UTC
Message-ID
<CALnO6CD=qX17v8Hyt06haR+ZjG3xFVC0-622QyXR5eryaRrb8w@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To
<xmqqy0urggzf.fsf@gitster.g>
Adding Patrick to CC
On Tue, May 20, 2025 at 4:33 PM Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
Show 19 quoted lines
>
> "D. Ben Knoble" <ben.knoble+github@gmail.com> writes:
>
> > We setup_path() with git_exec_path() unconditionally (8e3462837b (Modify
> > setup_path() to only add git_exec_path() to PATH, 2009-01-18)) when Git
> > starts; as a result, all child processes see Git's exec-path when run,
> > including editors and other programs that don't need it [1]. This can
> > cause confusion for such programs or shells, especially when they rely
> > on finding "git" in PATH to locate other nearby directories, in a
> > similar vein as a0b4507ef7 (stop putting argv[0] dirname at front of
> > PATH, 2015-04-22) solved.
>
> I can understand why we want to do this for things like editors, but
> doing this in start_command() would affect running of things like
> hook scripts (which may in turn invoke "git" commands) and command
> running on the other side of the pipe that does a local transport
> (e.g., "git fetch --upload-pack cmd"), and other commands specified
> via the configuration (e.g., "trailer.<key>.cmd") that may in turn
> invoke "git" commands, wouldn't it?

It would affect those things, yes, but I'm not sure what /effect/ that has: doesn't adding GIT_EXEC_PATH to PATH only matter if we use the dashed forms ("git-*" in my original message), which is long deprecated?

Patrick pointed out in a parallel thread that it probably matters for ". git-sh-setup", but that manual explicitly describes using

    . "$(git --exec-path)/git-sh-setup"
So I would say the callers that don't do that are wrong ;)
Show 30 quoted lines
>
> > @@ -746,7 +789,7 @@ int start_command(struct child_process *cmd)
> >       if (cmd->close_object_store)
> >               close_object_store(the_repository->objects);
> >
> > -     childenv = prep_childenv(cmd->env.v);
> > +     childenv = prep_childenv(cmd->env.v, cmd->git_cmd);
>
> Regardless of the answer to the above question, I wonder if the API
> change for this helper function should go the other direction, by
> passing the entire "child_process" structure to the function.  That
> would give prep_childenv() more information to work with to decide
> when futzing with PATH is appropriate.
>
> Yes, I am assuming that the answer to the above question is "true,
> unconditionally futzing with PATH is a bad idea" and we need this
> fix to be more focused, e.g., limit to "launch_specified_editor()".
> If that is the case, we can
>
>  - add a member "drop_git_exec_path" bit to "struct child_process";
>
>  - update selected callers, e.g., launch_specified_editor(), that
>    prepare child_process to set that bit;
>
>  - update prep_childenv() to accept the entire "struct child_process",
>    instead of cmd->env.v, and base the decision in your logic to
>    look at the cmd->drop_git_exec_path bit;
>
> perhaps.  It would give us a more surgical and focused update,
> hopefully?
Indeed, a more surgical approach is what Dscho originally suggested
(IIUC). Failing CI suggests there may be more that relies on
GIT_EXEC_PATH in PATH than I realized, so I can post an alternative
series that should only affect editors (requiring an extra patch for
contrib/git-jump, since it invokes an editor), but it is likely to be
"incomplete" in some sense:
- no Windows support (see replies to 3/4)
- won't affect all editor invocations, since those launched by a
script after retrieving "git var GIT_EDITOR" won't necessarily know to
rollback PATH.

I need to reroll anyway, so I think what I'll do is post a v2 of this series along with a v3 that refocuses on editors? That way we have both around for interested folks in the future.

Previous: Junio C HamanoNext: Patrick Steinhardt
Message 17 of 73 in “Drop git-exec-path from non-Git child programs”
  1. 0/4 Drop git-exec-path from non-Git child programsD. Ben Knoble, May 20, 2025
  2. 1/4 t7005: sanitize test environment for subsequent testsD. Ben Knoble, May 20, 2025
  3. Patrick SteinhardtMay 21, 2025
  4. D. Ben KnobleMay 21, 2025
  5. 2/4 editor: use standard strvec API to receive environment for external editorsD. Ben Knoble, May 20, 2025
  6. Patrick SteinhardtMay 21, 2025
  7. D. Ben KnobleMay 21, 2025
  8. Patrick SteinhardtMay 21, 2025
  9. Junio C HamanoMay 21, 2025
  10. Junio C HamanoMay 21, 2025
  11. 3/4 run-command: prep_childenv on all platformsD. Ben Knoble, May 20, 2025
  12. Patrick SteinhardtMay 21, 2025
  13. Phillip WoodMay 21, 2025
  14. D. Ben KnobleMay 21, 2025
  15. 4/4 drop git_exec_path() from non-Git commands' PATHD. Ben Knoble, May 20, 2025
  16. Junio C HamanoMay 20, 2025
  17. D. Ben KnobleMay 21, 2025
  18. Patrick SteinhardtMay 21, 2025
  19. Phillip WoodMay 21, 2025
  20. Patrick SteinhardtMay 21, 2025
  21. Phillip WoodMay 21, 2025
  22. Patrick SteinhardtMay 26, 2025
  23. Justin ToblerMay 21, 2025
  24. Patrick SteinhardtMay 26, 2025
  25. D. Ben KnobleMay 21, 2025
  26. Junio C HamanoMay 21, 2025
  27. Phillip WoodMay 22, 2025
  28. D. Ben KnobleAug 5, 2025
  29. 0/2 clean up some code around editorsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 5, 2025
  30. Phillip WoodAug 6, 2025
  31. 1/2 t7005: sanitize test environment for subsequent testsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 5, 2025
  32. 2/2 editor: use standard strvec API to receive environment for external editorsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 5, 2025
  33. 0/3 clean up some code around editorsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 10, 2025
  34. D. Ben KnobleAug 10, 2025
  35. Ben KnobleAug 10, 2025
  36. 0/4 clean up some code around editorsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 11, 2025
  37. Ben KnobleAug 11, 2025
  38. Eric SunshineAug 12, 2025
  39. D. Ben KnobleAug 12, 2025
  40. Junio C HamanoAug 12, 2025
  41. Eric SunshineAug 12, 2025
  42. Junio C HamanoAug 12, 2025
  43. Eric SunshineAug 12, 2025
  44. 0/3 clean up some code around editorsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 12, 2025
  45. Phillip WoodAug 13, 2025
  46. Junio C HamanoAug 13, 2025
  47. D. Ben KnobleAug 13, 2025
  48. 0/3 clean up some code around editorsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 13, 2025
  49. Phillip WoodAug 15, 2025
  50. 1/3 t7005: use modern test styleD. Ben Knoble, Aug 13, 2025
  51. 2/3 t7005: stop abusing --exec-pathD. Ben Knoble, Aug 13, 2025
  52. 3/3 t7005: sanitize test environment for subsequent testsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 13, 2025
  53. 1/3 t7005: use modern test styleD. Ben Knoble, Aug 12, 2025
  54. 2/3 t7005: stop abusing --exec-pathD. Ben Knoble, Aug 12, 2025
  55. 3/3 t7005: sanitize test environment for subsequent testsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 12, 2025
  56. 1/4 t7005: use modern test styleD. Ben Knoble, Aug 11, 2025
  57. 2/4 t7005: stop abusing --exec-pathD. Ben Knoble, Aug 11, 2025
  58. 3/4 t7005: sanitize test environment for subsequent testsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 11, 2025
  59. Eric SunshineAug 11, 2025
  60. D. Ben KnobleAug 12, 2025
  61. Eric SunshineAug 12, 2025
  62. 4/4 editor: use standard strvec API to receive environment for external editorsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 11, 2025
  63. Eric SunshineAug 11, 2025
  64. Junio C HamanoAug 11, 2025
  65. 1/3 t7005: use modern test styleD. Ben Knoble, Aug 10, 2025
  66. Phillip WoodAug 10, 2025
  67. Phillip WoodAug 11, 2025
  68. 2/3 t7005: sanitize test environment for subsequent testsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 10, 2025
  69. Phillip WoodAug 10, 2025
  70. Ben KnobleAug 10, 2025
  71. Eric SunshineAug 10, 2025
  72. Phillip WoodAug 11, 2025
  73. 3/3 editor: use standard strvec API to receive environment for external editorsD. Ben Knoble, Aug 10, 2025

Read the whole thread, see it on lore, or plain text.

$ cat FOOTERMessages come from the public archive at lore.kernel.org/git, fetched every hour. The front page is chosen and written each morning by an AI editor and can be wrong; the threads themselves are the record. About and API. For agents: an MCP server at https://gitlist.dev/mcp, and any thread, story or person page as Markdown by adding .md to its URL (or sending Accept: text/markdown). Details in /llms.txt.