[2.2.2+] $this->composer->getConfig()->get('bin-dir') returns incorrect path on Windows

[jrfnl]

Context

I'm currently in the process of writing End-to-End tests for the DealerDirect PHPCS Composer Installer plugin and discovered the following due to tests failing.

Problem description

In the plugin we call PHPCS using the following code, which should be executed either in the Composer global or the project local directory, depending on the context in which a Composer install/update is being run:

$this->processExecutor->execute(
    'phpcs --config-show',
    $output,
    $this->composer->getConfig()->get('bin-dir')
);

This used to work correctly in all cases, but since Composer 2.2.2, it appears to be broken on Windows (server).

Based on my debugging:

• Ubuntu is not affected.
• The issue exists independently of the PHP version used to run Composer (tested with PHP 5.4, 7.2 and 8.1).

Output of $this->composer->getConfig()->get('bin-dir') for Composer < 2.2.2 on Windows (via GitHub actions)

This output is correct and as expected:

• Global install:
  • Ubuntu: /tmp/PHPCSPluginTest/PreexistingPHPCSInstalledPathsConfigTest_61fa7843f015f2.37374271/global/vendor/bin
  • Windows: C:\\Users\\RUNNER~1\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\PHPCSPluginTest\\PreexistingPHPCSInstalledPathsConfigTest_61fa786d7645e1.82846304\\global/vendor/bin
• Project local install:
  • Ubuntu: /tmp/PHPCSPluginTest/PreexistingPHPCSInstalledPathsConfigTest_61fa784784d707.70495208/local/vendor/bin
  • Windows: C:\\Users\\RUNNER~1\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\PHPCSPluginTest\\PreexistingPHPCSInstalledPathsConfigTest_61fa787cb36404.36256677\\local/vendor/bin

Output of $this->composer->getConfig()->get('bin-dir') for Composer 2.2.2 up to snapshot on Windows (via GitHub actions)

This output is wrong for Windows, correct for Ubuntu:

• Global install:
  • Ubuntu: /tmp/PHPCSPluginTest/PreexistingPHPCSInstalledPathsConfigTest_61fa783fcdb903.30230172/global/vendor/bin
  • Windows: D:\\a\\phpcodesniffer-composer-installer\\phpcodesniffer-composer-installer\\vendor\\bin
• Project local install:
  • Ubuntu: /tmp/PHPCSPluginTest/PreexistingPHPCSInstalledPathsConfigTest_61fa7842c99229.60312001/local/vendor/bin
  • Windows: D:\\a\\phpcodesniffer-composer-installer\\phpcodesniffer-composer-installer\\vendor\\bin

[jrfnl]

Just in case anyone is wondering how I got the output I'm showing:

• In the tests setup two temporary directories are made for testing (global and local), including setting putenv('COMPOSER_HOME=' . $tempGlobalPath);.
• Then for global, Composer is triggered via an exec() call doing composer global install.
• Similarly for local, Composer is triggered via an exec() call doing composer install -v --working-dir=$tempLocalPath.
• Those calls should (and do) trigger the plugin I'm testing and in the plugin code I added a var_dump($this->composer->getConfig()->get('bin-dir')); just above the code snippet I posted above to see what was happening.

[jrfnl]

Based on the changelog I suspect this is related to #10402

[Seldaek]

Oh I guess COMPOSER_BIN_DIR as defined in the .bat file is then read by Composer inside your process somehow? Depends how you run the test suite but if you start the test suite via a Composer script probably this might happen.

So I guess that name was poorly chosen as it clashes with the existing COMPOSER_BIN_DIR env var that Composer reads.

Probably should rename that to something else (but what?).. But I am unsure why this would only break on Windows.. Kinda would like to understand this more before messing with things.

Do you have a way to access the build system, to perhaps change the .bat file so COMPOSER_BIN_DIR is called something else see if that fixes?

[jrfnl]

@Seldaek I'm not actually calling Composer via the bat file, but calling it via php.exe composer.phar (both on Ubuntu as well as Windows)

[Seldaek]

No I don't mean composer I mean phpunit or whatever test runner.

[Seldaek]

The only way I see this could corrupt things is if you have a workflow like:

• run composer test
• composer runs the test script, which is defined as "vendor/bin/foo"
• on linux, vendor/bin/foo would be a php binary proxy with #!/bin/env php to run with PHP (that sets _composer_bin_dir global but NO env var), but on windows it'd perhaps execute vendor/bin/foo.bat which does set the COMPOSER_BIN_DIR env.
• then within the test suite, you run composer again, and at that point you have a polluted env with COMPOSER_BIN_DIR set on windows, and that messes up with Composer's Config class which assumes it should override the default bin-dir with the env var

[jrfnl]

Ah, I see. Yes, calling PHPUnit via vendor/bin/phpunit.

You can see the basic principle of the setup I'm using here: PHPCSStandards/composer-installer#153

This doesn't include the specific test through which I found this issue yet, but I can put that online in a follow-up branch (can't pull it yet until the above mentioned PR has been merged).

[Seldaek]

OK so if you run vendor/bin/phpunit directly.. I guess this is also the same mechanism as above, the first two steps are actually not needed I don't know what I was thinking :) All that's needed is that you run a .bat file first, then run Composer within your tests.

To confirm this suspicion you could try to change your CI run to use php vendor/bin/phpunit instead of simply vendor/bin/phpunit, that should make windows use php and the bin proxy directly instead of using vendor/bin/phpunit.bat. If that fixes it then at least we know it's that and the only challenge left is finding a better new name for this env var ;)

[jrfnl]

@Seldaek I'll get a test running when I finish what I'm currently working on and will report back.

FYI: for this particular plugin I have actually lined up a work-around in the plugin already, but yes, that doesn't negate the underlying issue.

[jrfnl]

Test run showing the problem using vendor/bin/phpunit: https://github.com/Dealerdirect/phpcodesniffer-composer-installer/runs/5054319281?check_suite_focus=true

Test run using php vendor/bin/phpunit confirming that that makes the problem go away: https://github.com/Dealerdirect/phpcodesniffer-composer-installer/actions/runs/1790431136

Both runs are selective, only running the specific test via which I discovered the issue, and both contain debug logging output in the test run output (for both for the successful as well as the failed test runs) which shows the bin-dir (and more).

[Seldaek]

OK great, thanks!