`path split` returns incorrect first component for drive-relative paths

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#18,607 opened on Jul 14, 2026 8 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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status:needs-triage

Dominant language: Rust
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Description

Bug report form

I have done a basic search of the issue tracker to find any existing issues that are similar.
I have checked that my version is at least the latest stable release available via my installation method.

Describe the bug

When using path split on a Windows drive-relative path (e.g., C:Desktop), the first component in the returned array incorrectly includes a trailing backslash (C:\).
In Windows, C:\ (root directory) and C: (current directory of drive C) have distinct meanings. While a standard absolute path requires retaining the separator, the command should not automatically append characters that were not originally present in the input.

How to reproduce

~> 'C:\Users\UserName' | path split
╭───┬──────────╮
│ 0 │ C:\      │
│ 1 │ Users    │
│ 2 │ UserName │
╰───┴──────────╯
~> 'C:Desktop' | path split
╭───┬─────────╮
│ 0 │ C:\     │ # Bug: Backslash is incorrectly appended
│ 1 │ Desktop │
╰───┴─────────╯

Expected behavior

path split should preserve the drive letter exactly as inputted without auto-completing it into a root path.

~> 'C:\Users\UserName' | path split
╭───┬──────────╮
│ 0 │ C:\      │
│ 1 │ Users    │
│ 2 │ UserName │
╰───┴──────────╯
~> 'C:Desktop' | path split
╭───┬─────────╮
│ 0 │ C:      │ # Expected: Stays 'C:' without the '\'
│ 1 │ Desktop │
╰───┴─────────╯

Configuration

~> version | transpose key value | to md --pretty

key	value
version	0.114.1
major	0
minor	114
patch	1
branch
commit_hash	0df4ca222cc713e79b6b1684ad8ccaec584ce4ac
build_os	windows-x86_64
build_target	x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
rust_version	rustc 1.95.0 (59807616e 2026-04-14)
rust_channel	1.95.0-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
cargo_version	cargo 1.95.0 (f2d3ce0bd 2026-03-21)
build_time	2026-07-11 16:22:26 +00:00
build_rust_channel	release
allocator	standard
features	default, lsp, mcp, network, plugin, rustls-tls, sqlite, trash-support
installed_plugins
experimental_options	example=false, dc-glob=false, reorder-cell-paths=true, pipefail=true, enforce-runtime-annotations=true, native-clip=false, cell-path-types=false

Contributor guide

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First steps

Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start at the path split command entry point and reproduce the Windows drive-relative case with C:Desktop, comparing it with C:\Users\UserName. Trace how the first component is formed and add or update coverage for both inputs. Done means drive-relative paths preserve C: while absolute paths retain C:\.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack: rust
Domain: cli, operating-systems
Issue type: Bug
Difficulty: 3/5
Estimated time: 1-2 days
Activity status: Quiet
Clarity: Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness: 62/100