Fix the cargo-binstall self-update that can never succeed on Windows

[Gabriel Dufresne (GabrielDuf)]

This pull request introduces improved handling for the installation and update of the cargo-binstall package in the Cargo package manager integration. The main change ensures that when cargo-binstall is updating or installing itself, the system will automatically retry the operation using the standard cargo install command if the initial attempt with cargo-binstall fails. Additionally, new tests have been added to verify this logic and other related behaviors.

Cargo package manager improvements:

• Added logic in CargoPkgOperationHelper to detect when cargo-binstall is installing or updating itself and, on failure, automatically retry the operation using the standard cargo install command instead of cargo-binstall. This prevents issues with self-updates that can fail due to file locks or permission errors. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

• Introduced a new option Cargo_DoNotUseBinstall in the OverridenInstallationOptions struct to control whether cargo-binstall should be used for a particular package operation, and updated the ToString() method to include this option. [1] [2]

Testing enhancements:

• Added a comprehensive test suite in CargoOperationHelperTests to verify the new retry logic, parameter construction, and to ensure that retrying is not performed in brokered operations or for other packages.

[Copilot]

🟡 Changes recommended

The fallback silently discards custom installation locations, potentially updating the wrong executable.

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Pull request overview

Improves Cargo’s cargo-binstall self-update recovery by retrying locally through cargo install.

Changes:

• Adds self-install/update detection and fallback behavior.
• Adds an override flag and regression tests.

File summaries

File	Description
CargoOperationHelperTests.cs	Tests fallback and broker behavior.
CargoPkgOperationHelper.cs	Implements self-update retry logic.
OverridenInstallationOptions.cs	Adds the binstall bypass flag.

Review details

Suppressed comments (1)

src/UniGetUI.PackageEngine.Managers.Cargo/Helpers/CargoPkgOperationHelper.cs:62

• The update fallback also loses options.CustomInstallLocation. Since Cargo_DoNotUseBinstall makes hasBinstall false, lines 87-88 no longer append the selected location and cargo install targets the default Cargo home; the retry may report success while leaving the custom-location executable unchanged. Preserve that destination with an appropriate Cargo mapping/staging step, or do not auto-retry this case.

                else if (targetsBinstallItself)
                    parameters = ["install", package.Id, "--locked", "--force"];

• Files reviewed: 3/3 changed files
• Comments generated: 1
• Review effort level: Balanced (auto)

Note

Copilot is running an experiment and ran this review at Balanced.

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[Copilot]

🟢 Approval recommended

The fallback is bounded, preserves existing custom-path behavior, and has comprehensive tests.

Review details

• Files reviewed: 3/3 changed files
• Comments generated: 0 new
• Review effort level: Balanced (auto)

Note

Copilot is running an experiment and ran this review at Balanced.

[randy-but-a-ro]

🤖 Pull request was approved automatically: the AI review is complete and all its review threads are resolved. 🎉

Integration Details

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