## Problem
#11707 prints `Packages are already up to date` whenever no package
changed. In two cases that claim is false.
**1. npm left the old version installed.** Extension updates install
`@latest` or the configured range. If npm resolves stale registry
metadata, it reinstalls the old version and exits 0. The existing check
warns, then the summary contradicts it:
```
Updating npm:foo...
npm:foo is still 1.2.0 (registry reports 1.3.0); npm registry metadata may be stale, try again in a few minutes
Packages are already up to date
```
**2. Offline mode.** With `--offline` or `PI_OFFLINE=1`,
`updateConfiguredSources()` returns before checking anything, and the
CLI still prints `Packages are already up to date`.
## Change
The CLI only prints "already up to date" when the update ran and printed
no warning:
| Situation | Output |
|---|---|
| Packages changed | `Updated N packages:` and the list (unchanged) |
| Nothing changed, no warnings | `Packages are already up to date`
(unchanged) |
| Nothing changed, a warning was printed | `No packages were updated,
see the warnings above` (or `<source> was not updated, ...`) |
| Offline mode | `Skipped package updates (offline mode)` |
The CLI counts `progress` update events, which are always warnings, and
does not try to map them to packages. That is deliberate: the git
warning about untracked files that could not be cleaned is printed even
though the commit did change, so a warning does not mean "this package
was not updated".
In offline mode, `update()` still runs, so `pi update <unknown source>`
still fails with "No matching package". `isOfflineModeEnabled()` is now
exported from `core/package-manager.ts` (not from the package index) so
the CLI uses the same check.
The changelog entry from #11707 is adjusted, since it is unreleased.
## Tests
`test/package-command-paths.test.ts`, both through `main()`:
- npm `view` reports 1.3.0 but `install` leaves 1.2.0: the
stale-metadata warning is printed, then `No packages were updated, see
the warnings above`, and no "up to date".
- `PI_OFFLINE=1`: `Skipped package updates (offline mode)`, no "up to
date".
Both fail without the fix. `cycles project package overrides in config
local mode`, `prints a pnpm metadata hint when self-update fails` and
`should expand ~ in exclusion and exact patterns` fail locally on
Windows, on `origin/main` as well.
Refs #7756, #5607.
Problem: when a wrapper or another package manager provides Pi (mise, a
`PNPM_HOME` wrapper such as nub, Nix), `pi update` cannot update it and
prints "pi cannot self-update this installation." Users with several
machines have to remember which tool updates Pi on which machine.
Example:
```sh
export PI_SELF_UPDATE_COMMAND="mise use -g npm:{packageName}@{version}"
pi update
# Updating pi with mise use -g npm:@earendil-works/pi-coding-agent@1.4.0...
# Updated pi from 1.3.0 to 1.4.0
```
or in `~/.pi/agent/settings.json`:
```json
{ "selfUpdateCommand": ["nix", "profile", "upgrade", "pi"] }
```
Behavior:
- `pi update` still checks pi.dev first. The command runs only when a
newer release exists, or with `--force`, and the release note prints
first.
- Placeholders come from that release: `{packageName}`, `{version}`,
`{installSpec}` (`<packageName>@<version>`). A package rename announced
by pi.dev flows into them.
- `PI_SELF_UPDATE_COMMAND` takes precedence and is split on whitespace
(no quoting). The setting is argv, for arguments with spaces, and is
read only from global settings, so a project's `.pi/settings.json`
cannot inject a command.
- The configured command replaces Pi's own update logic for every
install method, including installer-managed installs: it is explicit
user intent.
- Exit code 0 does not prove an update. Pi reports "Updated pi from X to
Y" when its own `package.json` now shows Y (in-place updates) or when
`pi --version` from PATH reports Y (wrappers such as mise or Nix that
install each version into a new directory). Otherwise it warns: ``Ran
<cmd>, but `pi --version` reports X, not Y.``
- "cannot self-update this installation" now mentions the env var and
setting.
Docs: `docs/cli.md` (new "Custom update command" section),
`docs/settings.md`, `docs/environment-variables.md`, `--help` env list,
regenerated `schemas/settings.schema.json`.
Tests: unit tests for argv resolution and placeholders in
`test/config.test.ts`; CLI tests in `test/package-command-paths.test.ts`
for env precedence over the setting and the managed install, global-only
setting gated by the version check, and command failure. `npm run check`
passes.
Manual end-to-end check with real mise 2026.10.23 in a sandboxed HOME,
running this branch as the mise-installed 1.3.0 (`PI_PACKAGE_DIR`
pointing at mise's install):
| Scenario | Result |
|---|---|
| `mise use -g npm:{packageName}@{version}` | mise installs 1.4.0;
`Updated pi from 1.3.0 to 1.4.0` |
| Already 1.4.0 | `pi is already up to date (v1.4.0)`, mise not run |
| In-place `npm install -g --prefix <dir> {installSpec}` via the setting
| `Updated pi from 1.3.0 to 1.4.0` |
| Command `true` (exit 0, installs nothing) | ``Ran true, but `pi
--version` reports 1.3.0, not 1.4.0.`` |
This PR is AI-generated.
Windows PowerShell 5.1 adds a BOM when it rewrites managed-install.json, which made pi update fail with "Managed install marker is missing or invalid".
Built-in extensions (mcp, llama.cpp, codemode, tool-search) are now extension resources like files: the package manager resolves them as builtin:<name>, the extensions setting disables them with -builtin:<name> (per project too), pi config lists them, and --no-extensions turns them off unless loaded with -e builtin:<name>. They load after project trust is resolved and after file and package extensions.
Built-in extensions and tools are named builtin:<name> in errors, diagnostics, RPC source info, and bug reports.
Retry idempotent coding-agent management requests for transient transport and HTTP failures while keeping one overall timeout budget across attempts.
Keep install telemetry single-shot because retrying it has no user-facing impact and could duplicate a side-effecting report.