Add toggle to settings modal to un-/install CLI

bin/studio-cli.bat

@@ -8,8 +8,18 @@ set ORIGINAL_CP=%ORIGINAL_CP: =%
 rem Set code page to UTF-8
 chcp 65001 >nul
 
-set ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1
-call "%~dp0..\..\Studio.exe" "%~dp0..\cli\main.js" %*
+set ELECTRON_EXECUTABLE=%~dp0..\..\Studio.exe
+set CLI_SCRIPT=%~dp0..\cli\main.js
+
+if exist "%ELECTRON_EXECUTABLE%" (
+    set ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1
+    call "%ELECTRON_EXECUTABLE%" "%CLI_SCRIPT%" %*
+) else (
+    if not exist "%CLI_SCRIPT%" (
+        set CLI_SCRIPT=%~dp0..\dist\cli\main.js
+    )
+    call node "%CLI_SCRIPT%" %*
+)
 
 rem Restore original code page
 chcp %ORIGINAL_CP% >nul

bin/studio-cli.sh

@@ -1,13 +1,19 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-# This script is assumed to live in `/Applications/Studio.app/Contents/Resources/bin/studio-cli.sh`
+# The default assumption is that this script lives in `/Applications/Studio.app/Contents/Resources/bin/studio-cli.sh`
 CONTENTS_DIR=$(dirname "$(dirname "$(dirname "$(realpath "$0")")")")
 ELECTRON_EXECUTABLE="$CONTENTS_DIR/MacOS/Studio"
 CLI_SCRIPT="$CONTENTS_DIR/Resources/cli/main.js"
 
-if ! [ -x "$ELECTRON_EXECUTABLE" ]; then
-	echo >&2 "'Studio' executable not found"
-	exit 1
-fi
+if [ -x "$ELECTRON_EXECUTABLE" ]; then
+	ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1 exec "$ELECTRON_EXECUTABLE" "$CLI_SCRIPT" "$@"
+else
+	# If the default script path is not found, assume that this script lives in the development directory
+	# and look for the CLI JS bundle in the `./dist` directory
+	if ! [ -f "$CLI_SCRIPT" ]; then
+		SCRIPT_DIR=$(dirname $(dirname "$(realpath "$0")"))
+		CLI_SCRIPT="$SCRIPT_DIR/dist/cli/main.js"
+	fi
 
-ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1 exec "$ELECTRON_EXECUTABLE" "$CLI_SCRIPT" "$@"
+	exec node "$CLI_SCRIPT" "$@"
+fi

bin/uninstall-studio-cli.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# This script is used to uninstall the Studio CLI on macOS. It removes the symlink at
+# CLI_SYMLINK_PATH (e.g. /usr/local/bin/studio)
+
+# Exit if any command fails
+set -e
+
+if [ -z "$CLI_SYMLINK_PATH" ]; then
+	echo >&2 "Error: CLI_SYMLINK_PATH environment variable must be set"
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+rm "$CLI_SYMLINK_PATH"

docs/ai-instructions.md

@@ -258,6 +258,11 @@ window.ipcApi.openSiteURL(id)     // Send (one-way)
 // Main (src/ipc-handlers.ts) handles:
 ipcMain.handle('startServer', async (event, siteId) => { ... })
 ipcMain.on('openSiteURL', (event, id) => { ... })
+
+// CLI Installation API (delegated to src/modules/cli/lib/installation):
+window.ipcApi.isStudioCliInstalled() // Check CLI installation status
+window.ipcApi.installStudioCli()     // Install the CLI
+window.ipcApi.uninstallStudioCli()   // Uninstall the CLI
 ```
 
 ### 3. WordPress Provider Pattern (Strategy Pattern)
@@ -281,8 +286,17 @@ Both implement the `WordPressProvider` interface with methods:
 - provider constants: WordPress/PHP versions
 - RTK Query APIs for data fetching:
   - wpcomApi: WordPress.com API calls
-  - installedAppsApi: System apps detection
+  - installedAppsApi: System apps detection, CLI installation status
   - wordpressVersionsApi: Available WP versions
+
+// installedAppsApi endpoints (src/stores/installed-apps-api.ts):
+- getStudioCliIsInstalled: Query CLI installation status
+- getInstalledApps: Query installed editors and terminals
+- getUserEditor: Get user's preferred editor
+- getUserTerminal: Get user's preferred terminal
+- saveStudioCliIsInstalled: Mutation to install/uninstall CLI
+- saveUserEditor: Mutation to save preferred editor
+- saveUserTerminal: Mutation to save preferred terminal
 ```
 
 ### 5. Site Management
@@ -465,6 +479,6 @@ Local component state used for temporary UI interactions.
 
 ---
 
-Last Updated: 2025-11-05
+Last Updated: 2025-11-10
 Repository: https://github.com/Automattic/studio
 License: GPLv2 or later

src/index.ts

@@ -43,7 +43,6 @@ import {
 } from 'src/migrations/migrate-from-wp-now-folder';
 import { removeSitesWithEmptyDirectories } from 'src/migrations/remove-sites-with-empty-dirs';
 import { renameLaunchUniquesStat } from 'src/migrations/rename-launch-uniques-stat';
-import { installCLIOnWindows } from 'src/modules/cli/lib/install-windows';
 import { setupWPServerFiles, updateWPServerFiles } from 'src/setup-wp-server-files';
 import { stopAllServersOnQuit } from 'src/site-server';
 import { loadUserData, lockAppdata, saveUserData, unlockAppdata } from 'src/storage/user-data';
@@ -333,7 +332,6 @@ async function appBoot() {
 			'monthly'
 		);
 
-		await installCLIOnWindows();
 		getWordPressProvider();
 
 		finishedInitialization = true;

src/ipc-handlers.ts

@@ -102,6 +102,11 @@ import type { SyncSite } from 'src/hooks/use-fetch-wpcom-sites/types';
 import type { WpCliResult } from 'src/lib/wp-cli-process';
 import type { RawDirectoryEntry } from 'src/modules/sync/types';
 import type { SyncOption } from 'src/types';
+export {
+	isStudioCliInstalled,
+	installStudioCli,
+	uninstallStudioCli,
+} from 'src/modules/cli/lib/installation';
 
 /**
  * Registry to store AbortControllers for ongoing sync operations (push/pull).

src/menu.ts

@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ import { getUserLocaleWithFallback } from 'src/lib/locale-node';
 import { shellOpenExternalWrapper } from 'src/lib/shell-open-external-wrapper';
 import { promptWindowsSpeedUpSites } from 'src/lib/windows-helpers';
 import { getMainWindow } from 'src/main-window';
-import { installCLIOnMacOSWithConfirmation } from 'src/modules/cli/lib/install-macos';
 import { isUpdateReadyToInstall, manualCheckForUpdates } from 'src/updates';
 
 export async function setupMenu( config: { needsOnboarding: boolean } ) {
@@ -147,14 +146,6 @@ async function getAppMenu(
 						void sendIpcEventToRenderer( 'user-settings', { tabName: 'preferences' } );
 					},
 				},
-				...( process.platform === 'darwin'
-					? [
-							{
-								label: __( 'Install CLI…' ),
-								click: installCLIOnMacOSWithConfirmation,
-							},
-					  ]
-					: [] ),
 				{
 					label: __( 'Beta Features' ),
 					submenu: betaFeaturesMenu,

src/modules/cli/lib/installation/index.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+import { dialog } from 'electron';
+import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
+import { getMainWindow } from 'src/main-window';
+import {
+	installCliWithConfirmation as installCliMacOS,
+	isCliInstalled as isCliInstalledMacOS,
+	uninstallCliWithConfirmation as uninstallCliOnMacOS,
+} from 'src/modules/cli/lib/installation/macos';
+import {
+	installCli as installCliOnWindows,
+	isCliInstalled as isCliInstalledWindows,
+	uninstallCli as uninstallCliOnWindows,
+} from 'src/modules/cli/lib/installation/windows';
+
+export async function isStudioCliInstalled(): Promise< boolean > {
+	switch ( process.platform ) {
+		case 'darwin':
+			return await isCliInstalledMacOS();
+		case 'win32':
+			return await isCliInstalledWindows();
+		default:
+			return false;
+	}
+}
+
+export async function installStudioCli(): Promise< void > {
+	if ( process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production' ) {
+		const mainWindow = await getMainWindow();
+		const { response } = await dialog.showMessageBox( mainWindow, {
+			type: 'warning',
+			buttons: [ __( 'Proceed' ), __( 'Cancel' ) ],
+			title: 'You are running a development version of Studio',
+			message:
+				'If you proceed with the CLI installation, the CLI will use the system-level `node` runtime to execute commands instead of the Electron node runtime (which is what is used in production).',
+		} );
+
+		if ( response === 1 ) {
+			return;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if ( process.platform === 'darwin' ) {
+		await installCliMacOS();
+	} else if ( process.platform === 'win32' ) {
+		await installCliOnWindows();
+	}
+}
+
+export async function uninstallStudioCli(): Promise< void > {
+	if ( process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production' ) {
+		const mainWindow = await getMainWindow();
+		const { response } = await dialog.showMessageBox( mainWindow, {
+			type: 'warning',
+			buttons: [ __( 'Proceed' ), __( 'Cancel' ) ],
+			title: 'You are running a development version of Studio',
+			message:
+				'By uninstalling the CLI, you may be removing a version that uses the Electron runtime to execute commands. If you install the CLI again using this version of the app, a different node runtime will be used to execute commands.',
+		} );
+
+		if ( response === 1 ) {
+			return;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if ( process.platform === 'darwin' ) {
+		await uninstallCliOnMacOS();
+	} else if ( process.platform === 'win32' ) {
+		await uninstallCliOnWindows();
+	}
+}

src/modules/cli/lib/install-macos.ts → src/modules/cli/lib/installation/macos.ts

@@ -7,22 +7,23 @@ import { isErrnoException } from 'common/lib/is-errno-exception';
 import { sudoExec } from 'src/lib/sudo-exec';
 import { getMainWindow } from 'src/main-window';
 import { getResourcesPath } from 'src/storage/paths';
-import packageJson from '../../../../package.json';
+import packageJson from '../../../../../package.json';
 
 const cliSymlinkPath = '/usr/local/bin/studio';
 
 const binPath = path.join( getResourcesPath(), 'bin' );
 const cliPackagedPath = path.join( binPath, 'studio-cli.sh' );
 const installScriptPath = path.join( binPath, 'install-studio-cli.sh' );
+const uninstallScriptPath = path.join( binPath, 'uninstall-studio-cli.sh' );
 
 const ERROR_WRONG_PLATFORM = 'Studio CLI is only available on macOS';
 const ERROR_FILE_ALREADY_EXISTS = 'Studio CLI symlink path already occupied by non-symlink';
 // Defined in @vscode/sudo-prompt
 const ERROR_PERMISSION = 'User did not grant permission.';
 
-export async function installCLIOnMacOSWithConfirmation() {
+export async function installCliWithConfirmation() {
 	try {
-		await installCLI();
+		await installCli();
 		const mainWindow = await getMainWindow();
 		await dialog.showMessageBox( mainWindow, {
 			type: 'info',
@@ -65,9 +66,14 @@ export async function installCLIOnMacOSWithConfirmation() {
 	}
 }
 
+export async function isCliInstalled() {
+	const currentSymlinkDestination = await getCurrentSymlinkDestination();
+	return currentSymlinkDestination === cliPackagedPath;
+}
+
 // This function installs the Studio CLI on macOS. It creates a symlink at `cliSymlinkPath` pointing
 // to the packaged Studio CLI JS file at `cliPackagedPath`.
-async function installCLI(): Promise< void > {
+async function installCli(): Promise< void > {
 	if ( process.platform !== 'darwin' ) {
 		throw new Error( ERROR_WRONG_PLATFORM );
 	}
@@ -86,10 +92,7 @@ async function installCLI(): Promise< void > {
 		}
 	}
 
-	const currentSymlinkDestination = await getCurrentSymlinkDestination();
-
-	// The CLI is already installed.
-	if ( currentSymlinkDestination === cliPackagedPath ) {
+	if ( await isCliInstalled() ) {
 		return;
 	}
 
@@ -112,6 +115,69 @@ async function installCLI(): Promise< void > {
 	}
 }
 
+export async function uninstallCliWithConfirmation() {
+	try {
+		await uninstallCli();
+		const mainWindow = await getMainWindow();
+		await dialog.showMessageBox( mainWindow, {
+			type: 'info',
+			title: __( 'CLI Uninstalled' ),
+			message: __( 'The CLI has been uninstalled successfully.' ),
+		} );
+	} catch ( error ) {
+		Sentry.captureException( error );
+		console.error( 'Failed to uninstall CLI', error );
+
+		let message: string = __(
+			'There was an unknown error. Please check the logs for more information.'
+		);
+
+		if ( error instanceof Error ) {
+			message = error.message;
+		}
+
+		const mainWindow = await getMainWindow();
+		await dialog.showMessageBox( mainWindow, {
+			type: 'error',
+			title: __( 'Failed to uninstall CLI' ),
+			message,
+		} );
+	}
+}
+
+async function uninstallCli() {
+	if ( process.platform !== 'darwin' ) {
+		throw new Error( ERROR_WRONG_PLATFORM );
+	}
+
+	try {
+		const stats = await lstat( cliSymlinkPath );
+
+		if ( ! stats.isSymbolicLink() ) {
+			throw new Error( ERROR_FILE_ALREADY_EXISTS );
+		}
+	} catch ( error ) {
+		if ( isErrnoException( error ) && error.code === 'ENOENT' ) {
+			// File does not exist, which means we can proceed
+		} else {
+			throw error;
+		}
+	}
+
+	try {
+		await unlink( cliSymlinkPath );
+	} catch ( error ) {
+		// `/usr/local/bin` is not typically writable by non-root users, so in most cases, we run
+		// this uninstall script with admin privileges to remove the symlink.
+		await sudoExec( `/bin/sh "${ uninstallScriptPath }"`, {
+			name: packageJson.productName,
+			env: {
+				CLI_SYMLINK_PATH: cliSymlinkPath,
+			},
+		} );
+	}
+}
+
 async function getCurrentSymlinkDestination(): Promise< string | null > {
 	try {
 		return await readlink( cliSymlinkPath );