github / github/app

Terminal failed to start with "Access is denied" error

Open
#2,820 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
triage
Dominant language
No language data
Stars
2.1k
Forks
153
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

### Short summary

Terminal initialization fails with access denied error when attempting to spawn PowerShell process.

### Affected version or release

v1.1.8

### Installation context

GitHub Copilot installed on Windows, attempting to spawn terminal with shell integration

### What happened?

When opening a terminal session, the application fails to spawn the PowerShell process with the following error:

```
Failed to spawn PTY command: CreateProcessW `"C:\\Users\\hnaganur\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\WindowsApps\\pwsh.exe -NoLogo -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -NoExit -Command \". '\\\\?\\C:\\Users\\hnaganur\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\GitHub Copilot\\terminal-integration\\shellIntegration.ps1'\"\0"` in cwd `Some("C:\\Users\\hnaganur\\.copilot\\chats\\fd4d9613-e8fd-4251-b269-5486833858ba\0")` failed: Access is denied. (os error 5)
```

### Steps to reproduce

- Launch GitHub Copilot app
- Open or navigate to a chat session
- Attempt to open a terminal

### Expected behavior

Terminal should initialize successfully and display a ready PowerShell prompt.

### Additional context

- **Error Code:** OS error 5 (Access is denied)
- **Shell:** PowerShell (pwsh.exe)
- **Environment:** Windows
- **Attempted Integration:** Shell integration script at `terminal-integration\shellIntegration.ps1`
- **Working Directory:** `.copilot\chats\fd4d9613-e8fd-4251-b269-5486833858ba`

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Reproduce the failure on Windows from the GitHub Copilot app using pwsh.exe and the reported .copilot\chats working directory. Start with the terminal launch path and terminal-integration\shellIntegration.ps1, then verify that opening a terminal completes without OS error 5 and shows a ready PowerShell prompt.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
powershell
Domain
cli, desktop, operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.