[MarcoDotIO]

Problem

vp run dev --home-dir=~/t3-dev puts dev state in a folder literally named ~ inside the checkout (<repo>/~/t3-dev/userdata/...), not in $HOME/t3-dev. Shells do not expand ~ after = in an argument. A T3CODE_HOME=~/t3-dev line in .env has the same problem, because the dev runner loads .env itself and parseEnv leaves ~ as is.

The --home-dir help text says it is "equivalent to T3CODE_HOME", and the server already expands ~ for T3CODE_HOME (expandHomePath in apps/server/src/os-jank.ts). The dev runner resolves the value with path.resolve first, so the server only ever sees <cwd>/~/t3-dev.

Change

Before it resolves the value, the dev runner's resolveBaseDir now expands ~, ~/… and ~\… against HostProcess.HomeDirectory, the same rules the server uses. Every other value resolves as before.

Scope and approval

This is a 7-line fix for an obvious bug, so it has no prior issue. The flag already promises to behave like T3CODE_HOME, and the server and the npm launcher both expand ~ for that variable. The change touches only the dev runner's home resolution, and the worktree-vs-ambient precedence stays the same.

Verification

Added expands a home-relative T3 home the way the server does to scripts/dev-runner.test.ts. It calls createDevRunnerEnv with t3Home set to ~/t3-dev and to ~, with HomeDirectory set to /home/dev.

Without the source fix (git show upstream/main:scripts/dev-runner.ts > scripts/dev-runner.ts):

node_modules/.bin/vp test run scripts/dev-runner.test.ts
× expands a home-relative T3 home the way the server does
AssertionError: expected '/Users/…/t3code-dev-runner-home-tilde/~/t3-dev' to equal '/home/dev/t3-dev'
Tests  1 failed | 35 passed (36)

With the fix:

node_modules/.bin/vp test run scripts/dev-runner.test.ts
Tests  36 passed (36)

• node_modules/.bin/vp lint --report-unused-disable-directives scripts printed no findings.
• node_modules/.bin/vp fmt --check scripts reported that every file is formatted.
• cd scripts && ../node_modules/.bin/tsc --noEmit exited 0.

Not checked: I did not start a real dev server (to avoid touching live state). The test covers the env the runner passes to vp.

Claude Opus 5.5 (Claude Code desktop app)

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[macroscopeapp]

Approvability

Verdict: Approved at 9bf385a

Macroscope's review found this PR approvable — This is a narrowly scoped dev-runner bug fix that expands home-relative T3CODE_HOME values consistently with the server, while preserving existing path and precedence behavior. The new behavior is directly covered by focused tests and introduces no schema, infrastructure, security, billing, or default changes.

^{You can add or adjust custom eligibility rules. Learn more.}

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review.

Recent review info

Run configuration

• Source mode: Auto
• Repository: pingdotgg/t3code
• Branch: main
• File: .coderabbit.config.ts
• Commit: 9bc0c33
• Layers: Repository TS config
• Review profile: CHILL
• Plan: Advanced
• Run ID: e784424a-9607-4048-8506-7167fc94f4c7

Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 9bf385a and f229aec.

Files selected for processing: 2

• scripts/dev-runner.test.ts
• scripts/dev-runner.ts

Included review availability: This review used your included allowance. Your plan provides up to 10 included reviews per hour; 9 remain after this review.

Walkthrough

The dev runner now expands ~, ~/…, and ~\… against the home directory. Tests cover home-relative, named-user tilde, ordinary relative, and absolute paths.

Changes: Dev Runner Home Paths

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Base path resolution and tests scripts/dev-runner.ts, scripts/dev-runner.test.ts	resolveBaseDir expands ~ and home-relative paths. Tests cover bare ~, slash and backslash suffixes, whitespace-padded input, named-user tilde paths, ordinary relative paths, and absolute paths.

Priority: Low

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~8 minutes

Change: Bug fix

Possibly related PRs

• pingdotgg/t3code#24100: Expands ~ when the SSH server resolves its home directory.

Suggested reviewers: yash-singh1

Merge Risk: Minimal · up to f229a

The reviewed path expansion behavior and its boundary tests are reported as passing, with no unresolved merge-blocking issue identified.

Pre-merge checks: 4

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description check		The description includes the required Problem, Change, Scope and approval, and Verification sections. It explains the bug, implementation, approval rationale, focused tests, observed results, and the …
Title check		The title clearly and concisely identifies the main change: expanding home-relative paths in the dev runner for --home-dir and T3CODE_HOME.
Linked Issues check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

Full details: Description check

Explanation

The description includes the required Problem, Change, Scope and approval, and Verification sections. It explains the bug, implementation, approval rationale, focused tests, observed results, and the unperformed real-server check.

Finishing Touches

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• Create a new PR

• Autofix · Keep fixing CodeRabbit findings and required CI, and resolving merge conflicts

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands.}

[maria-rcks]

Note

Written by gpt-6.1-sol on behalf of Maria

thanks @MarcoDotIO. your fix correctly matches the server's tilde expansion and preserves dev-home precedence. i kept your commit, merged current main, removed the explanatory comment, and extended the existing test for backslash separators, whitespace, named-user tilde paths, and ordinary relative/absolute paths. the production diff is six added lines.

verification at f229aec528724afdd346a97a3e12d3d560630a42:

• reproduced the bug on main with the regression test and vp run dev '--home-dir=~/t3-dev-25560' --dry-run.
• all 36 dev-runner tests passed through blacksmith. vp run check:changed passed format, lint, both knip checks, scripts typecheck, and the focused tests.
• real cli dry runs confirmed flag and ambient T3CODE_HOME expansion, bare ~, and unchanged ordinary relative paths.
• all 28 ci checks are green. cafe reports mergeable. two independent code reviews and the latest coderabbit review found no issues.

unverified: full dev-server startup and native windows execution. no ui changed, so no visual evidence applies.

[maria-rcks]

Note

Written by gpt-6.1-sol on behalf of Maria

Verified in a real dev environment

verified unchanged head f229aec528724afdd346a97a3e12d3d560630a42 on this linux boat vm using real dev servers, repo playwright, /usr/bin/google-chrome, and codex gpt-6.1-sol through the web composer. no mocks, seeded data, or replay provider.

• reproduced on github/main at 49a9e80e0b30e3012412bcc564bb5e52e09d1c1d in a separate worktree after vp i: vp run dev '--home-dir=~/t3-verify-25560' --no-seed started successfully but wrote userdata/statev2.sqlite under /home/user/main/~/t3-verify-25560. the intended home directory was absent.
• checked out the exact pr head, ran vp i, and started the same command. the running server resolved baseDir=/home/user/t3-verify-25560 and wrote its database there.
• created tilde-home-verification through the app as a real local git project. codex created and read back verification.txt containing home-dir-25560-ok. the client rendered its checkpoint diff, and opening that diff showed the added line.
• neighboring behavior: restarted with the absolute --home-dir=/home/user/t3-verify-25560. the project, thread, history, and file survived. restarted again with no home flag and a literal T3CODE_HOME=~/t3-verify-25560 in .env. it resolved to the same home, and a second codex turn in the existing thread read the file successfully. read-only database inspection confirmed two completed codex turns and model gpt-6.1-sol.
• the existing scripts/dev-runner.test.ts suite passed all 36 tests through blacksmith-check. the pr has 28 successful ci checks. no source changes or pushes were needed.

runtime transcript excerpt:

main: --home-dir=~/t3-verify-25560
  baseDir=/home/user/main/~/t3-verify-25560
pr: --home-dir=~/t3-verify-25560
  baseDir=/home/user/t3-verify-25560
pr: --home-dir=/home/user/t3-verify-25560
  baseDir=/home/user/t3-verify-25560
pr: .env T3CODE_HOME=~/t3-verify-25560, no home flag
  baseDir=/home/user/t3-verify-25560
provider=codex model=gpt-6.1-sol status=completed turns=2
cwd=/home/user/t3-verify-25560/projects/tilde-home-verification
verification.txt: home-dir-25560-ok

full command transcript

Not verified

native windows/macOS execution, electron, native ios/android clients, and remote relay/tunnel access were not exercised on this linux vm. bare ~, backslash tilde paths, whitespace, named-user tilde paths, ordinary relative paths, and worktree precedence were covered by the existing tests rather than separate running-app sessions. no visual styling changed, so matching before/after screenshots do not apply; the before/after filesystem behavior is in the transcript.