Is it true that rustup does not use the Windows registry?

stackinspector · May 20, 2023, 12:42pm

I want my rustup installation to work on any Windows device with VS buildtools and Clang support by simply adding environment variables, and can use rustup normally for upgrades, adding targets, etc. A previous post said that rustup does not use the Windows registry, but I found that it adds an item to the installed program list. Is this optional and does rustup have any other side effects on the system other than environment variables?

stackinspector · May 20, 2023, 12:46pm

the installed program list item

hax10 · May 20, 2023, 1:14pm

The post you linked to is nearly 6 years old. Perhaps it was true back then, but rustup definitely uses the Windows registry now:

github.com

rust-lang/rustup/blob/86ed53c6e3c77234d8c4c5ea410ab3624036c4ee/src/cli/self_update/windows.rs#L531


      
          
          
    let reg_value = RegValue {
                  bytes: to_winreg_bytes(uninstall_cmd.encode_wide().collect()),
                  vtype: RegType::REG_SZ,
              };
          
          
    let current_version: &str = env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION");
          
          
    key.set_raw_value("UninstallString", &reg_value)
                  .context("Failed to set uninstall string")?;
              key.set_value("DisplayName", &"Rustup: the Rust toolchain installer")
                  .context("Failed to set display name")?;
              key.set_value("DisplayVersion", &current_version)
                  .context("Failed to set display version")?;
          
          
    Ok(())
          }
          
          
pub(crate) fn do_remove_from_programs() -> Result<()> {
              match RegKey::predef(HKEY_CURRENT_USER).delete_subkey_all(RUSTUP_UNINSTALL_ENTRY) {
                  Ok(()) => Ok(()),

stackinspector · May 20, 2023, 1:26pm

Any options are considered to disable these behaviors?

stackinspector · May 20, 2023, 1:31pm

Seems that there are none for now, after searching in issues.

bjorn3 · May 20, 2023, 2:28pm

Looks like it isn't done if during installation you answer no to "Modify PATH variable?".

github.com

rust-lang/rustup/blob/86ed53c6e3c77234d8c4c5ea410ab3624036c4ee/src/cli/self_update.rs#L444-L445


      
          if !opts.no_modify_path {
              do_add_to_programs()?;