Add support to CODER_BINARY_DESTINATION environment variable (#597)

Fixes #256

Author: EhabY

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+### Added
+
+- Support for `CODER_BINARY_DESTINATION` environment variable to set CLI download location (overridden by extension setting `coder.binaryDestination` if configured).
+
 ## [v1.11.0](https://github.com/coder/vscode-coder/releases/tag/v1.11.0) 2025-09-24
 
 ### Changed

package.json

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 					"default": ""
 				},
 				"coder.binaryDestination": {
-					"markdownDescription": "The full path of the directory into which the Coder CLI will be downloaded. Defaults to the extension's global storage directory.",
+					"markdownDescription": "The full path of the directory into which the Coder CLI will be downloaded. Defaults to the value of `CODER_BINARY_DESTINATION` if not set, otherwise the extension's global storage directory.",
 					"type": "string",
 					"default": ""
 				},

src/commands.ts

@@ -102,10 +102,13 @@ export class Commands {
 	 * CODER_URL or enter a new one.  Undefined means the user aborted.
 	 */
 	private async askURL(selection?: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
-		const defaultURL =
-			vscode.workspace.getConfiguration().get<string>("coder.defaultUrl") ?? "";
+		const defaultURL = vscode.workspace
+			.getConfiguration()
+			.get<string>("coder.defaultUrl")
+			?.trim();
 		const quickPick = vscode.window.createQuickPick();
-		quickPick.value = selection || defaultURL || process.env.CODER_URL || "";
+		quickPick.value =
+			selection || defaultURL || process.env.CODER_URL?.trim() || "";
 		quickPick.placeholder = "https://example.coder.com";
 		quickPick.title = "Enter the URL of your Coder deployment.";
 

src/core/pathResolver.test.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import * as path from "path";
-import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach } from "vitest";
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, vi } from "vitest";
 import { MockConfigurationProvider } from "../__mocks__/testHelpers";
 import { PathResolver } from "./pathResolver";
 
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ describe("PathResolver", () => {
 	let mockConfig: MockConfigurationProvider;
 
 	beforeEach(() => {
+		vi.unstubAllEnvs();
 		pathResolver = new PathResolver(basePath, codeLogPath);
 		mockConfig = new MockConfigurationProvider();
 	});
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ describe("PathResolver", () => {
 		});
 
 		it("should use default path when custom destination is empty or whitespace", () => {
+			vi.stubEnv("CODER_BINARY_DESTINATION", "   ");
 			mockConfig.set("coder.binaryDestination", "   ");
 			expect(pathResolver.getBinaryCachePath("deployment")).toBe(
 				path.join(basePath, "deployment", "bin"),
@@ -41,7 +43,28 @@ describe("PathResolver", () => {
 		it("should normalize custom paths", () => {
 			mockConfig.set("coder.binaryDestination", "/custom/../binary/./path");
 			expect(pathResolver.getBinaryCachePath("deployment")).toBe(
-				path.normalize("/custom/../binary/./path"),
+				"/binary/path",
+			);
+		});
+
+		it("should use CODER_BINARY_DESTINATION environment variable with proper precedence", () => {
+			// Use the global storage when the environment variable and setting are unset/blank
+			vi.stubEnv("CODER_BINARY_DESTINATION", "");
+			mockConfig.set("coder.binaryDestination", "");
+			expect(pathResolver.getBinaryCachePath("deployment")).toBe(
+				path.join(basePath, "deployment", "bin"),
+			);
+
+			// Test environment variable takes precedence over global storage
+			vi.stubEnv("CODER_BINARY_DESTINATION", "   /env/binary/path   ");
+			expect(pathResolver.getBinaryCachePath("deployment")).toBe(
+				"/env/binary/path",
+			);
+
+			// Test setting takes precedence over environment variable
+			mockConfig.set("coder.binaryDestination", "  /setting/path  ");
+			expect(pathResolver.getBinaryCachePath("deployment")).toBe(
+				"/setting/path",
 			);
 		});
 	});

src/core/pathResolver.ts

@@ -28,11 +28,14 @@ export class PathResolver {
 	 * The caller must ensure this directory exists before use.
 	 */
 	public getBinaryCachePath(label: string): string {
-		const configPath = vscode.workspace
+		const settingPath = vscode.workspace
 			.getConfiguration()
-			.get<string>("coder.binaryDestination");
-		return configPath && configPath.trim().length > 0
-			? path.normalize(configPath)
+			.get<string>("coder.binaryDestination")
+			?.trim();
+		const binaryPath =
+			settingPath || process.env.CODER_BINARY_DESTINATION?.trim();
+		return binaryPath
+			? path.normalize(binaryPath)
 			: path.join(this.getGlobalConfigDir(label), "bin");
 	}
 

src/extension.ts

@@ -423,7 +423,9 @@ export async function activate(ctx: vscode.ExtensionContext): Promise<void> {
 		// Handle autologin, if not already logged in.
 		const cfg = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration();
 		if (cfg.get("coder.autologin") === true) {
-			const defaultUrl = cfg.get("coder.defaultUrl") || process.env.CODER_URL;
+			const defaultUrl =
+				cfg.get<string>("coder.defaultUrl")?.trim() ||
+				process.env.CODER_URL?.trim();
 			if (defaultUrl) {
 				vscode.commands.executeCommand(
 					"coder.login",

src/headers.test.ts

@@ -123,9 +123,9 @@ describe("getHeaderCommand", () => {
 		expect(getHeaderCommand(config)).toBeUndefined();
 	});
 
-	it("should return undefined if coder.headerCommand is not a string", () => {
+	it("should return undefined if coder.headerCommand is a blank string", () => {
 		const config = {
-			get: () => 1234,
+			get: () => "   ",
 		} as unknown as WorkspaceConfiguration;
 
 		expect(getHeaderCommand(config)).toBeUndefined();

src/headers.ts

@@ -19,11 +19,10 @@ export function getHeaderCommand(
 	config: WorkspaceConfiguration,
 ): string | undefined {
 	const cmd =
-		config.get("coder.headerCommand") || process.env.CODER_HEADER_COMMAND;
-	if (!cmd || typeof cmd !== "string") {
-		return undefined;
-	}
-	return cmd;
+		config.get<string>("coder.headerCommand")?.trim() ||
+		process.env.CODER_HEADER_COMMAND?.trim();
+
+	return cmd ? cmd : undefined;
 }
 
 export function getHeaderArgs(config: WorkspaceConfiguration): string[] {