[Bug]: TypeSpec VS Code Extension ignores VS Code Default Terminal

[sf-marketonce]

Describe the bug

On startup TypeSpec VS Code extension throws an error:

[error] Launching server using command tsp failed. Error: spawn tsp ENOENT
[error] TypeSpec server executable was not found: 'tsp' is not found. Make sure either:
 - TypeSpec is installed locally at the root of this workspace ("workspacePath") or in a parent directory.
 - TypeSpec is installed globally with `npm install -g @typespec/compiler'.
 - TypeSpec server path is configured with https://typespec.io/docs/introduction/editor/vscode/#configure.
[error] Error detail Launching server using command tsp failed. Error: spawn tsp ENOENT

However TypeSpec is installed globally and is accessible in PowerShell and set as VS Code's default terminal.
It is not accessible using the default system cmd

Reproduction

Install/configure node/npm/tsc in a system terminal that isn't cmd, configure Visual Studio Code to use that terminal. The TypeSpec still extension fails to load.

Checklist

• Follow our Code of Conduct
• Check that there isn't already an issue that request the same bug to avoid creating a duplicate.
• Check that this is a concrete bug. For Q&A open a GitHub Discussion.
• The provided reproduction is a minimal reproducible example of the bug.

[github-actions]

🎯 Issue Triage

The VS Code TypeSpec extension fails to find the tsp executable on startup because it resolves PATH using the system cmd shell rather than the user's configured VS Code terminal (e.g., PowerShell), where the global npm install is accessible.

Category: Bug
Area: ide

🔁 Possible duplicate of #3481 — Same root cause: VS Code extension spawns tsp/node using the system PATH (not the user shell's PATH), causing ENOENT when tools are only installed in a non-cmd environment. (closed)

⚠️ No reproduction TypeSpec code provided (not applicable — this is a tooling/environment bug, not a TypeSpec compilation issue).

🔍 Analysis

• The extension attempts to spawn tsp using Node.js spawn, which inherits the process environment — on Windows this is the system cmd PATH, not the PowerShell PATH.
• Issue [Bug]: VSCode extension fails to find node or tsp-server in PATH #3481 (closed as "completed") described the same problem with fish shell + mise on macOS. It may have been fixed for that case but the fix may not cover Windows PowerShell scenarios, or a regression occurred.
• Workaround: set typespec.tsp-server.path explicitly in VS Code settings to the absolute path of the tsp executable.
• Affected component: packages/typespec-vscode (extension server discovery / process spawning logic).

📝 Suggested next steps

• Check if [Bug]: VSCode extension fails to find node or tsp-server in PATH #3481's fix covered Windows + PowerShell PATH scenarios
• If not, extend PATH resolution to also read from the configured VS Code terminal profile's environment
• Update documentation to clarify the workaround (typespec.tsp-server.path) for non-cmd Windows setups

Generated by Agentic Triage