fix(shell-env): strip prompt noise and normalize CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR

[arnestrickmann]

Summary

Harden shell-sourced environment detection: isolate printenv output with explicit markers, strip ANSI/OSC noise (e.g. iTerm prompt sequences), and normalize CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR so only sensible absolute paths are used—including ~/ expansion and dropping relative values.

Changes

• getShellEnvVar: Wraps values with __EMDASH_SHELL_VALUE_START__ / __EMDASH_SHELL_VALUE_END__, runs stripAnsi (OSC/bell/other escapes), then extracts the substring between markers so prompt noise cannot corrupt SSH_AUTH_SOCK, CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, etc.
• normalizeClaudeConfigDir: Trims input, expands ~ and ~/… via os.homedir(), rejects non-absolute paths, normalizes with path.normalize.
• initializeShellEnvironment: Applies normalization to existing and shell-detected CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR; clears invalid/relative values instead of forwarding them.
• ptyManager: When passing CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR through the agent env allowlist for direct spawn and SSH PTYs, uses the same normalization.

Tests

• Mocks updated for the new marker-based shell output format.
• Coverage for OSC escape noise around values, dropping relative CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, and expanding ~/.… from the shell.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes

  • Improved propagation of authentication-related environment variables into terminal sessions.
  • Enhanced handling of the configuration directory: trims, expands ~ to home, rejects relative paths, and omits invalid values.
  • Hardened shell output parsing to ignore terminal escape sequences and reliably extract values.

• Tests

  • Expanded and updated tests for shell environment parsing, auth-socket discovery, and config-dir normalization.

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
docs	Ready	Preview, Comment	Apr 6, 2026 2:26pm

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Review failed

The pull request is closed.

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: f1b8339d-3fb4-4e90-8918-71e5abf599a8

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between d67be83 and a0910ef.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• src/main/utils/__tests__/shellEnv.test.ts

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Updated shell environment handling: marker-wrapped and ANSI-cleaned extraction of shell variables, new normalizeClaudeConfigDir() to expand ~ and reject relative paths, and passthrough of agent auth env plus normalized CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR into spawned PTY environments.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Shell env utilities src/main/utils/shellEnv.ts	getShellEnvVar() now wraps shell output with sentinel markers and strips ANSI/OSC/control sequences before extracting values; added normalizeClaudeConfigDir(value) to expand ~ and validate absolute paths; initializeShellEnvironment() uses normalization and removes invalid CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR.
PTY spawn integration src/main/services/ptyManager.ts	startSshPty() and startDirectPty() now read and forward agent auth environment variables from process.env (preserving falsy-skipping behavior) and apply normalizeClaudeConfigDir() before setting CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR in the PTY env.
Tests — shell env behavior src/main/utils/__tests__/shellEnv.test.ts, src/test/main/shellEnv.test.ts	Replaced raw printenv mocks with shellValue() sentinel-wrapped outputs; added tests for ANSI/OSC noise tolerance; added cases for CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR handling (reject relative, expand ~, drop empty); adjusted mocks for SSH auth socket detection.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~25 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• fix(claude): pass CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR to subprocess and fix initial PTY size #1647: Also modifies CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR handling and PTY environment integration — strongly related to normalization and propagation changes.
• fix(pty): preserve UTF-8 locale for embedded terminals #1626: Related changes around PTY spawn environment handling; overlaps with agent env passthrough adjustments.
• fix: resolve 15-second SSH delay with fish shell prompt detection #1631: Related ANSI/OSC escape-stripping work affecting shell output parsing and prompt-noise tolerance.

Poem

🐰 I nibble markers in the shell’s bright stream,
I hop through tildes, making paths a dream,
I chase away the noisy ANSI light,
I carry auth and settings into the night,
A tiny rabbit, proud—deploying things just right. ✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 2 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 66.67% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

✅ Passed checks (2 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately summarizes the two main objectives of the pull request: stripping prompt noise from shell environment detection and normalizing CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR handling. It is concise, specific, and clearly identifies the primary changes.

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✨ Finishing Touches

📝 Generate docstrings

• Create stacked PR
• Commit on current branch

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch emdash/feat-user-release-prs-13d

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