From 85c3e954e957343a2a3d6dd449a51083caaa6387 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Gourav Kumar Dhiman <gkrdhiman@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2026 10:31:32 +0530
Subject: [PATCH] fix(server): the suggested t3 command names this install, not
 another t3 on PATH

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 apps/server/src/cli/invocation.test.ts |  8 ++++++++
 apps/server/src/cli/invocation.ts      | 25 ++++++++++++++++++++++---
 2 files changed, 30 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/apps/server/src/cli/invocation.test.ts b/apps/server/src/cli/invocation.test.ts
index 1461d1d64b353..672d0226711cd 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/cli/invocation.test.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/cli/invocation.test.ts
@@ -73,7 +73,15 @@ it.layer(NodeServices.layer)("root CLI commands", (it) => {
 
       expect(yield* rootCommand(desktop)).toBe(`sudo '${shim}' browser setup`);
 
+      // An unrelated `t3` on PATH, such as an older npm global, is another install's CLI.
       expect(yield* rootCommand({ ...desktop, path: yield* pathWithT3 })).toBe(
+        `sudo '${shim}' browser setup`,
+      );
+
+      // The link the app installs onto PATH leads to its own launcher, so plain `t3` is right.
+      const linked = yield* fs.makeTempDirectoryScoped();
+      yield* fs.symlink(shim, path.join(linked, "t3"));
+      expect(yield* rootCommand({ ...desktop, path: linked })).toBe(
         'sudo env "PATH=$PATH" t3 browser setup',
       );
 
diff --git a/apps/server/src/cli/invocation.ts b/apps/server/src/cli/invocation.ts
index 64a2b099e1394..829ffadf883d2 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/cli/invocation.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/cli/invocation.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import * as Schema from "effect/Schema";
 
 import type { ServerInstallation } from "@t3tools/contracts";
 import * as HostProcess from "@t3tools/shared/HostProcess";
-import { isCommandAvailable } from "@t3tools/shared/shell";
+import { resolveCommandPath } from "@t3tools/shared/shell";
 
 import packageJson from "../../package.json" with { type: "json" };
 
@@ -163,9 +163,25 @@ const resolveInstallLauncher = Effect.gen(function* () {
     : Option.none<string>();
 });
 
+/**
+ * A `t3` on PATH runs whichever install put it there, which may be an older npm global rather
+ * than the desktop app that owns this server. It is this install's own only when it resolves to
+ * the app's launcher; without a launcher to compare to, it is assumed to be.
+ */
+const pathCommandIsOtherInstall = Effect.fn("invocation.pathCommandIsOtherInstall")(function* (
+  pathCommand: string,
+) {
+  const shim = (yield* HostProcess.Environment).T3CODE_CLI_PATH?.trim();
+  if (!shim) return false;
+  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem;
+  const real = (file: string) => fs.realPath(file).pipe(Effect.orElseSucceed(() => null));
+  const shimReal = yield* real(shim);
+  return shimReal !== null && shimReal !== (yield* real(pathCommand));
+});
+
 /**
  * `t3 <subcommand> <args>` for a person to run on this host: `t3` when it is
- * on PATH, the package runner this process came from, or else the absolute
+ * on PATH and is this install, the package runner this process came from, or else the absolute
  * path of the launcher for this install, such as the one the desktop app
  * installs. `args` are quoted for the host's shell: POSIX, or PowerShell on
  * Windows.
@@ -179,7 +195,10 @@ export const resolveHostCliCommand = Effect.fn("invocation.resolveHostCliCommand
     [prefix, ...args.map((arg) => hostShellWord(platform, arg))].join(" ");
   const command = yield* resolveCliCommand(subcommand);
   if (command !== `t3 ${subcommand}`) return { command: withArgs(command), launcher: false };
-  if (yield* isCommandAvailable("t3")) return { command: withArgs(command), launcher: false };
+  const onPath = yield* resolveCommandPath("t3");
+  if (onPath !== null && !(yield* pathCommandIsOtherInstall(onPath))) {
+    return { command: withArgs(command), launcher: false };
+  }
   const launcher = yield* resolveInstallLauncher;
   if (Option.isNone(launcher)) return { command: withArgs(command), launcher: false };
   // PowerShell runs a quoted path only through the call operator.