path_utils

Cross-platform path resolution and subprocess environment utilities.

GUI-launched apps on macOS and Linux often inherit a minimal PATH. This package merges the process environment with the user's interactive shell (and common fallback directories), then uses that environment to find executables and run commands.

Install

dependencies:
  path_utils: ^0.0.1

Usage

import 'package:path_utils/path_utils.dart';

Future<void> main() async {
  final home = PlatformPaths.expandUser('~/projects');
  final shell = ShellEnvironment();
  final pathDirs = await shell.getComprehensivePathDirs();

  final finder = ExecutableFinder(onDebugLog: (msg, {context}) {});
  final git = await finder.find('git');

  final executor = CommandExecutor(
    onExecutionLog: (msg, {context}) {},
    onDebugLog: (msg, {context}) {},
    showMessage: (msg, severity) {},
    executableFinder: finder,
    shellEnvironment: shell,
  );

  final result = await executor.runGenericCommand(
    'echo',
    ['hello'],
    workingDirectory: home,
  );
  print(result.output); // hello
  print(pathDirs.take(3).toList());
  print(git);
}

What it provides

Paths (PlatformPaths, ShellEnvironment)

ShellEnvironment merges:

• the inherited process environment
• values from the user's interactive shell (when not running under FLUTTER_TEST)
• common fallback directories (/usr/local/bin, /opt/homebrew/bin, etc.)

PlatformPaths provides cross-platform helpers for home-directory expansion (~/), PATH list parsing, normalization, and POSIX shell quoting.

Command execution (CommandExecutor, ExecutableFinder)

Finds executables on the comprehensive PATH and runs subprocesses with the resolved environment (including optional JAVA_HOME on Unix).

Example app

A Flutter demo lives in example/:

cd example
flutter pub get
flutter run -d linux   # or macos / windows

Testing

dart pub get
dart test

License

MIT — see LICENSE.