Fix #231076: Restore NODE_OPTIONS in Windows terminal

[diogocruzzz]

VS Code on Windows did not propagate NODE_OPTIONS to integrated

terminals when launched from an external shell.

Electron strips most NODE_OPTIONS from the app process. This fix

preserves the value as VSCODE_NODE_OPTIONS before Electron startup

in launcher scripts and restores it when creating terminal env.

Changes included:

• preserve NODE_OPTIONS and NODE_REPL_EXTERNAL_MODULE in launchers

• restore variables for Windows in terminal environment logic

• add test coverage for NODE_OPTIONS restoration behavior

Root cause:
Electron strips most NODE_OPTIONS in the app process, so Windows integrated terminals were not inheriting the expected value.
Fix:
Preserve NODE_OPTIONS and NODE_REPL_EXTERNAL_MODULE as VSCODE-prefixed values before startup and restore them in terminal environment creation.
Validation:
Manual validation in integrated terminal with heap limit check.
Focused terminal environment tests passing.

[vs-code-engineering]

📬 CODENOTIFY

The following users are being notified based on files changed in this PR:

@deepak1556

Matched files:

• src/vs/code/electron-main/main.ts

[diogocruzzz]

@microsoft-github-policy-service agree

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Restores NODE_OPTIONS (and NODE_REPL_EXTERNAL_MODULE) propagation into integrated terminals on Windows (and macOS) when VS Code is launched from an external shell/CLI, working around Electron’s sanitization of NODE_OPTIONS in the app process.

Changes:

• Preserve NODE_OPTIONS/NODE_REPL_EXTERNAL_MODULE as VSCODE_* variables in dev launcher scripts.
• Restore these variables during terminal environment creation on Windows (in addition to existing macOS behavior).
• Add a regression test covering the restore behavior.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/vs/workbench/contrib/terminal/common/terminalEnvironment.ts	Restores NODE_OPTIONS/NODE_REPL_EXTERNAL_MODULE from VSCODE_* on Windows/macOS before env sanitization.
src/vs/workbench/contrib/terminal/test/common/terminalEnvironment.test.ts	Adds a test for VSCODE_* → NODE_* restoration behavior.
src/vs/code/electron-main/main.ts	Attempts to preserve NODE_OPTIONS/NODE_REPL_EXTERNAL_MODULE into instanceEnvironment for later terminal restore.
scripts/code.sh	Copies NODE_* into VSCODE_* when launching the dev build.
scripts/code.bat	Copies NODE_* into VSCODE_* when launching the dev build on Windows.

[diogocruzzz]

Hello, @deepak1556,
Just following up on this PR. Let me know if you have any feedback or if anything is needed from my side.
Thanks!

[diogocruzzz]

I've addressed the review feedback in commit 275b5b2:

Launchers now prefer existing VSCODE_* values instead of overwriting them
Added regression test to verify the restore behavior works correctly with conflicting NODE_* and VSCODE_* inputs
Ready for re-review.

Thanks for your time!

[diogocruzzz]

@bpasero @deepak1556 Hello again! Just a gentle ping on this PR. I've addressed the previous review feedback and merged the latest main.

Could a maintainer please approve the workflows so the CI checks can run? Let me know if you need any further changes from my side. Thanks!