Add package manager detection feature to show binary source information by Copilot · Pull Request #32 · nmb4/needs

Copilot · 2025-08-30T12:26:27Z

This PR implements a new feature that detects and displays which package manager is responsible for managing each binary found by the needs tool. The package manager information is shown in parentheses after the version number.

What's Changed

Core Functionality

Package Manager Detection: Analyzes binary paths returned by which() to determine the managing package manager
Automatic Display: Shows package manager info by default when available, e.g., cargo 1.89.0 (rustup)
Clean Fallback: Only displays package manager info when detected - no output for unmanaged binaries

Supported Package Managers

The detection logic supports common package managers and installation methods:

rustup/cargo: ~/.cargo/bin/, ~/.rustup/toolchains/*/bin/
system packages: /usr/bin/, /bin/, /usr/local/bin/ (apt, yum, pacman, etc.)
homebrew: /opt/homebrew/, /usr/local/cellar/
npm: Node.js global packages and node_modules/.bin/
go: ~/go/bin/, $GOPATH/bin/
pip/pipx: Python packages in ~/.local/bin/
snap: Snap packages
flatpak: Flatpak applications
appimage: Portable applications

Example Output

Before:

cargo 1.89.0
rustc 1.89.0
grep 3.11.0

After:

cargo 1.89.0 (rustup)
rustc 1.89.0 (rustup)
 grep 3.11.0 (system)

Compatibility

Enabled by default: No new CLI flags needed
Works with existing flags: Package manager info shown with --no-versions flag
Backward compatible: All existing functionality preserved
Zero breaking changes: Existing output format enhanced, not changed

Implementation Details

Added package_manager: Option<String> field to Binary struct
Enhanced partition_binaries() to capture binary paths from which()
Created robust path-based detection logic with comprehensive test coverage
Updated display logic in both binary.rs and output.rs to show package manager info
Preserved package manager information through version retrieval process

Testing

Added comprehensive unit tests for package manager detection logic
Verified compatibility with all existing functionality
Tested edge cases including unmanaged binaries and various installation paths
All existing tests continue to pass

This feature addresses the common need to understand where system binaries come from, making it easier to manage dependencies and troubleshoot installation issues.

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

Co-authored-by: NQMVD <99403507+NQMVD@users.noreply.github.com>

nmb4 · 2025-08-30T13:00:54Z

src/binary.rs

    if self.version.is_none() {
-      write!(f, "{} ?", self.name)
+      if let Some(ref pm) = self.package_manager {
+        write!(f, "{} ? ({})", self.name, pm)


dont use () but just prefix the name with "via"

nmb4 · 2025-08-30T13:01:00Z

src/binary.rs

-      )
+      let version_str = format_version(self.version.as_ref().unwrap(), false);
+      if let Some(ref pm) = self.package_manager {
+        write!(f, "{} {} ({})", self.name, version_str, pm)


dont use () but just prefix the name with "via"

nmb4 · 2025-08-30T13:01:26Z

src/discovery.rs

+  let path_str_lower = path_str.to_lowercase();
+
+  // Check for rustup/cargo
+  if path_str_lower.contains("/.cargo/bin/") || path_str_lower.contains("/.rustup/") {


these are NOT the same manager! separate cargo and rustup

nmb4 · 2025-08-30T13:01:58Z

src/discovery.rs

+     path_str_lower.starts_with("/usr/sbin/") {
+    return Some("system".to_string());
+  }
+


add more managers, like uv, bun, yarn and pnpm

nmb4 · 2025-08-30T13:02:18Z

src/discovery.rs

+  fn test_detect_package_manager() {
+    // Test rustup/cargo detection
+    assert_eq!(
+      detect_package_manager(Path::new("/home/user/.cargo/bin/cargo")),


same here...

nmb4 · 2025-08-30T13:02:57Z

src/output.rs

    let version_display = if always_found {
-      "found".to_string()
+      if let Some(ref pm) = bin.package_manager {
+        format!("found ({})", pm)


same with the ()

nmb4 · 2025-08-30T13:03:04Z

src/output.rs

+        Some(ref version) => {
+          let version_str = format!("{}", format_version(version, full_versions));
+          if let Some(ref pm) = bin.package_manager {
+            format!("{} ({})", version_str, pm)


nmb4 · 2025-08-30T13:03:11Z

src/output.rs

+        }
+        None => {
+          if let Some(ref pm) = bin.package_manager {
+            format!("? ({})", pm)


nmb4 · 2025-08-30T13:03:23Z

src/output.rs

    let padding = " ".repeat(padding_needed);
-    println!("{}{} found", padding, bin.name.green());
+    let display_text = if let Some(ref pm) = bin.package_manager {
+      format!("found ({})", pm)


nmb4

refactor to implement what ive commented

Copilot

Pull Request Overview

This PR implements a new feature that detects and displays package manager information for system binaries. It analyzes binary paths to identify the package manager responsible for managing each binary and shows this information in parentheses after the version number.

Key changes:

Added package manager detection logic based on binary path analysis
Enhanced display output to show package manager information when available
Updated Binary struct to include package manager field

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

File	Description
src/binary.rs	Added package_manager field to Binary struct and updated display formatting
src/discovery.rs	Implemented package manager detection logic and updated binary partitioning
src/versions.rs	Preserved package_manager field through version retrieval process
src/output.rs	Updated output formatting to display package manager information

_{Tip: Customize your code reviews with copilot-instructions.md. Create the file or learn how to get started.}

Copilot · 2025-08-30T14:43:38Z

src/discovery.rs

+  if path_str_lower.contains("/.local/bin/") ||
+     path_str_lower.contains("/python") ||
+     path_str_lower.contains("/pip/") ||
+     path_str_lower.contains("/pipx/") {
+    return Some("pip".to_string());
+  }


The detection logic for pip is too broad. Checking for '/python' in the path will incorrectly classify many system binaries as pip-managed. For example, '/usr/bin/python3' would be detected as pip when it's actually a system package. Consider making this check more specific.

Copilot · 2025-08-30T14:43:39Z

src/discovery.rs

+  if path_str_lower.starts_with("/opt/homebrew/") || 
+     path_str_lower.starts_with("/usr/local/cellar/") ||
+     (path_str_lower.contains("/usr/local/") && path_str_lower.contains("homebrew")) {


The homebrew detection is too broad. The condition path_str_lower.contains("/usr/local/") && path_str_lower.contains("homebrew") could match paths like '/usr/local/bin/somebinary' if the binary name happens to contain 'homebrew'. Consider making this check more specific to actual homebrew installation paths.

Suggested change

if path_str_lower.starts_with("/opt/homebrew/") ||

path_str_lower.starts_with("/usr/local/cellar/") ||

(path_str_lower.contains("/usr/local/") && path_str_lower.contains("homebrew")) {

path_str_lower.starts_with("/usr/local/homebrew/") {

Initial plan

76a2896

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and nmb4 Aug 30, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of nmb4 August 30, 2025 12:26 View session

Add package manager detection feature based on binary paths

e2d945f

Co-authored-by: NQMVD <99403507+NQMVD@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI requested a review from nmb4 August 30, 2025 12:35

Copilot finished work on behalf of nmb4 August 30, 2025 12:35

nmb4 marked this pull request as ready for review August 30, 2025 12:43

nmb4 reviewed Aug 30, 2025

View reviewed changes

src/output.rs Outdated

}

None => {

if let Some(ref pm) = bin.package_manager {

format!("? ({})", pm)

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nmb4 Aug 30, 2025

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and again.

nmb4 reviewed Aug 30, 2025

View reviewed changes

nmb4 requested changes Aug 30, 2025

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nmb4 requested review from Copilot and nmb4 August 30, 2025 14:42

Copilot AI reviewed Aug 30, 2025

View reviewed changes

better pm detection

507ffac

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Copilot AI commented Aug 30, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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What's Changed

Core Functionality

Supported Package Managers

Example Output

Compatibility

Implementation Details

Testing

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Pull Request Overview

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Copilot AI commented Aug 30, 2025 •

edited

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