[JamBalaya56562]

A single path mise prints on Windows can carry both separators at once. Measured on
2026.8.2 windows-x64:

> mise config ls
C:\Users\Jam\.config/mise/config.toml    go, uv

> mise ls --current
go   1.26.5   C:\Users\Jam\.config/mise/config.toml   1.26

> mise generate git-pre-commit --write
Wrote to C:/Users/Jam/...\probeHook\.git/hooks\pre-commit

The last one switches form three times inside one path.

Two causes, and why fixing the construction sites does not finish the job

1. Multi-segment literals. Path::join appends what it is given verbatim, so
   root.join(".git/hooks"), .join(".github/workflows"), .join(".devcontainer/devcontainer.json")
   and the config-filename candidates (".config/mise/config.toml" and friends) resolve correctly
   through components() while Display shows the /.
2. Roots that arrive /-separated. The C:/Users/... above comes from the git library, not
   from anything mise assembled — there is no construction site to fix.

The change

Settled in PathExt::display_user, which #12014 established as the one place mise turns a path
into text for a person. That covers both causes at once, including (2).

/ is a separator on Windows and never part of a name, so both spellings address the same file
and rewriting is safe for display. Nothing changes off Windows, where \ is an ordinary
filename character — a file really can be named weird\name there, and turning that into a
separator would rename it in the message. The existing unix test pins that boundary.

display_rel_path bypassed display_user entirely, hardcoding ./ and printing the remainder
raw, so it produced ./mise-tasks\build. Its prefix now takes MAIN_SEPARATOR and its remainder
goes through display_user. On unix that is byte-identical, since MAIN_SEPARATOR is / and
display_user rewrites nothing. Its only caller is the +path/-path status line in hook_env.

Deliberately unchanged

• The construction sites. Display settles all of them together, and one of the two causes has
  no construction site in mise to begin with.
• Paths that flow into data — mise ls --json values, shim contents. Those go out through
  to_string_lossy, not display_path. The case that mattered there was already fixed at the
  source: see the note on replace_path, where tilde expansion was producing
  C:\Users\me\.local/share/mise and that path reached MISE_DATA_DIR, shims and ls --json.
  This PR is the display half of the same symptom, and says so rather than widening.
• Glob patterns. Checked before writing anything, since \ is an escape in a glob and
  rewriting one would mislead: across all 356 display_path/display_rel_path call sites, none
  takes a pattern. Patterns are carried as String and printed with {}; the one site in
  task_source_checker that looked like a candidate prints a resolved source file.

Verification

Measured before the change (the three commands above) and again afterwards against the exact
composition the code performs, with a small cargo probe rather than by reading:

\\?\C:\a\b                              -> C:\a\b
C:/Users/me\proj\.git/hooks\pre-commit  -> C:\Users\me\proj\.git\hooks\pre-commit
\\server\share/dir                      -> \\server\share\dir
a/b                                     -> a\b
\\?\C:\a/b                              -> \\?\C:\a\b      <- not C:\a\b

That last one corrected an assertion I had written from reasoning: / is not a separator inside
\\?\, so a/b reads as one component there and dunce declines to simplify a name Windows
could not hold. The separators still settle; the prefix stays. canonicalize never emits that
shape, but the test now records the real answer.

Tests:

• src/path.rs: a path that switches form three times settles; already-uniform, relative and UNC
  inputs; composition with the extended-length prefix from fix(trust): stop printing extended-length path prefixes #12014; and on unix, that weird\name
  and /a/b\c are left exactly as they are.
• src/file.rs: display_rel_path uses the host separator on both halves.
• e2e-win/display_path_separators.Tests.ps1: mise generate git-pre-commit --write and
  mise config ls report no /, while still naming the path — so neither can pass by printing
  nothing. Matched as a literal, since -BeLike would read ? and [ as wildcards.

cargo fmt was run locally. The build, clippy and the test suite were not — those are left to
CI, so behaviour after the fix rests on the measurements above and on the tests rather than on a
running binary.

Found while auditing Windows behaviour, the same pass that produced #12007, #12008, #12012, #12013,
#12014, #12016 and #12023. No existing issue or discussion covers it.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes
  • Windows paths now consistently display with backslash separators instead of mixed / and \ formatting.
  • Improved display of relative, extended-length, and network (UNC) paths.
  • Non-Windows behavior remains unchanged, including support for backslashes in Unix filenames.
  • Generated-file output and configuration listings now show expected Windows path formatting.
  • Path-related output and cache explanations now use the correct separators for the host platform.

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Repository YAML (base), Central YAML (inherited), Organization UI (inherited)

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro Plus

Run ID: 442c5a23-e9ed-4daf-9916-f66f41f17499

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 758eb7f and 6b14ce2.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• src/file.rs

🚧 Files skipped from review as they are similar to previous changes (1)

• src/file.rs

---

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Displayed paths now use host-specific separators. Windows output uses backslashes, while Unix output preserves existing behavior. Relative-path formatting, display assertions, and Windows end-to-end output have dedicated coverage.

Changes

Path display normalization

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Define separator normalization src/path.rs	settle_display_separators normalizes Windows display separators. display_user preserves separators for identity matching. Tests cover Windows and Unix behavior.
Apply normalization to displayed paths src/file.rs, src/cli/generate/*.rs, src/task/task_cache.rs, src/toolset/tool_source.rs	display_path and display_rel_path use host-specific separators. Generate commands import the local implementation. Display assertions use platform-specific expectations.
Validate Windows displayed output e2e-win/display_path_separators.Tests.ps1	End-to-end tests isolate configuration state and verify generated-file and configuration-listing output without / separators.

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~15 minutes

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to 6b14c

This localized change standardizes displayed Windows path separators without altering stored paths or non-Windows behavior. No actionable merge-blocking risk remains after normal checks and review.

Possibly related PRs

• jdx/mise#11312: Both changes modify Windows path-separator handling in src/file.rs.
• jdx/mise#11948: Both changes preserve and restore MISE_TRUSTED_CONFIG_PATHS in Windows end-to-end tests.
• jdx/mise#12014: Both changes update Windows path display behavior in src/path.rs and related tests.

Poem

A rabbit checks each path with care,
Windows gets backslashes there.
Unix keeps its familiar view,
Mixed separators settle too.
Tests guard every route.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: consistent separators in displayed Windows paths.

---

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[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

The PR normalizes separators in human-facing Windows path output while preserving path identity where strings are matched.

• Adds host-specific separator normalization to display_path.
• Updates relative-path rendering and generator output to use the normalized display helper.
• Adds unit and Windows end-to-end coverage for mixed separators, UNC paths, and extended-length paths.

Confidence Score: 5/5

The PR appears safe to merge.

No blocking failure remains.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
src/path.rs	Adds a Windows-only display normalization helper while deliberately preserving display_user semantics for identity-sensitive strings.
src/file.rs	Applies separator normalization to human-facing paths and renders relative paths consistently with the host separator.
e2e-win/display_path_separators.Tests.ps1	Verifies generated-hook and config-list output contains a meaningful path without forward slashes on Windows.
src/cli/generate/git_pre_commit.rs	Routes the generated-hook status path through the repository display helper without changing generated hook contents.
src/task/task_cache.rs	Makes the existing escaped-path assertion platform-aware after display separator normalization.
src/toolset/tool_source.rs	Updates display expectations to use the host path separator.

_{Reviews (4): Last reviewed commit: "fix(path): show one separator in a displ..." | Re-trigger Greptile}