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Prefer /bin/bash and validate SHELL points to bash before using it #81

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Prefer /bin/bash and validate SHELL points to bash before using it #81

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adf5653
Initial plan
Copilot Feb 1, 2026
2071c56
Use SHELL environment variable as fallback before /bin/bash
Copilot Feb 1, 2026
325dbde
Update features/shell.feature
swissspidy Feb 3, 2026
d424ea8
Prefer /bin/bash and only use SHELL for bash shells
Copilot Feb 4, 2026
8eae8ef
Improve bash detection and test reliability
Copilot Feb 4, 2026
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32 changes: 32 additions & 0 deletions features/shell.feature
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -61,6 +61,38 @@ Feature: WordPress REPL
"""
And STDERR should be empty

Scenario: Use SHELL environment variable as fallback for bash
Given a WP install

And a session file:
"""
return true;
"""

# SHELL pointing to bash should work (when bash is available).
When I try `SHELL=/bin/bash wp shell --basic < session`
Then STDOUT should contain:
"""
bool(true)
"""
And STDERR should be empty

# SHELL pointing to non-bash binary should be ignored and fall back to /bin/bash.
When I try `SHELL=/bin/sh wp shell --basic < session`
Then STDOUT should contain:
"""
bool(true)
"""
And STDERR should be empty

# SHELL pointing to invalid path should be ignored and fall back to /bin/bash.
When I try `SHELL=/nonsense/path wp shell --basic < session`
Then STDOUT should contain:
"""
bool(true)
"""
And STDERR should be empty

Scenario: Input starting with dash
Given a WP install
And a session file:
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24 changes: 23 additions & 1 deletion src/WP_CLI/Shell/REPL.php
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Expand Up @@ -122,8 +122,15 @@ private static function create_prompt_cmd( $prompt, $history_path ) {
$history_path = escapeshellarg( $history_path );
if ( getenv( 'WP_CLI_CUSTOM_SHELL' ) ) {
$shell_binary = getenv( 'WP_CLI_CUSTOM_SHELL' );
} else {
} elseif ( is_file( '/bin/bash' ) && is_readable( '/bin/bash' ) ) {
// Prefer /bin/bash when available since we use bash-specific commands.
$shell_binary = '/bin/bash';
} elseif ( getenv( 'SHELL' ) && self::is_bash_shell( getenv( 'SHELL' ) ) ) {
// Only use SHELL as fallback if it's bash (we use bash-specific commands).
$shell_binary = getenv( 'SHELL' );
} else {
// Final fallback for systems without /bin/bash.
$shell_binary = 'bash';
}

if ( ! is_file( $shell_binary ) || ! is_readable( $shell_binary ) ) {
Expand All @@ -144,6 +151,21 @@ private static function create_prompt_cmd( $prompt, $history_path ) {
return "{$shell_binary} -c " . escapeshellarg( $cmd );
}

/**
* Check if a shell binary is bash or bash-compatible.
*
* @param string $shell_path Path to the shell binary.
* @return bool True if the shell is bash, false otherwise.
*/
private static function is_bash_shell( $shell_path ) {
if ( ! is_file( $shell_path ) || ! is_readable( $shell_path ) ) {
return false;
}
// Check if the basename is exactly 'bash' or starts with 'bash' followed by a version/variant.
$basename = basename( $shell_path );
return 'bash' === $basename || 0 === strpos( $basename, 'bash-' );
}

private function set_history_file() {
$data = getcwd() . get_current_user();

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