uutils / uutils/coreutils

bug(install): --backup=nil and --backup --suffix= silently skip backup creation

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U - install
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

Hi, uutils mainteners

we confirmed install too not just cp, when using --backup and an empty suffix, it do not create the backup

relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ ./install --backup a b --suffix=
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ ls b~
ls: cannot access 'b~': No such file or directory
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ gnuinstall --backup a b --suffix=
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ ls b~
b~
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ 

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First steps

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Research direction

Start at the Rust implementation or entry point for the install command and trace handling of --backup, --backup=nil, and an empty --suffix. Reproduce the shown commands, compare the result with GNU install, and verify that backup creation produces b~ when the suffix is empty.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
cli
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
68/100

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