Windows: PowerShell Store detection throws ENOENT when scanning %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WindowsApps

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@anthonykim1 is already working on this.

Since Jun 2, 2026.

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Description

Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: Yes

  • VS Code Version: 1.122.1
  • Commit: 8761a5560cfd65fdd19ce7e2bd18dab5c0a4d84e
  • Date: 2026-05-29T09:25:37+02:00
  • OS Version: Windows 10 Pro 21H1, build 19043.1052

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Start VS Code on Windows.
  2. Open the integrated terminal, or trigger terminal profile detection.
  3. Check the VS Code logs.

Actual result:

VS Code logs the following error:

ERR ENOENT: no such file or directory, scandir 'C:\Users\weisen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps': Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, scandir 'C:\Users\weisen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps'
    at async readdir (node:internal/fs/promises:953:18)
    at async P1 (file:///C:/Program%20Files/Microsoft%20VS%20Code/8761a5560c/resources/app/out/main.js:406:97618)
    at async Object.ff (file:///C:/Program%20Files/Microsoft%20VS%20Code/8761a5560c/resources/app/out/main.js:406:97484)
    at async j0 (file:///C:/Program%20Files/Microsoft%20VS%20Code/8761a5560c/resources/app/out/main.js:446:27483)
    at async UL (file:///C:/Program%20Files/Microsoft%20VS%20Code/8761a5560c/resources/app/out/main.js:446:28079)
    at async Rw (file:///C:/Program%20Files/Microsoft%20VS%20Code/8761a5560c/resources/app/out/main.js:446:28352)

Expected result:

If %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WindowsApps cannot be read during Microsoft Store PowerShell detection, VS Code should ignore that Store PowerShell candidate and continue detecting other available shells, such as Windows PowerShell at:

C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
Additional notes:

The failing code path appears to be Windows PowerShell profile detection. In the minified main.js, j0() checks:

let r = B(process.env.LOCALAPPDATA, "Microsoft", "WindowsApps");
if (!await nr.existsDirectory(r)) return null;
for (let n of await J.readdir(r)) ...
The existsDirectory check is guarded, but the later J.readdir(r) is not. If readdir throws ENOENT, shell detection aborts before falling back to Windows PowerShell.

A local workaround was to wrap the Store PowerShell readdir call in try/catch and return null on failure, allowing the detector to continue to the normal Windows PowerShell fallback.
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