System details:

Positron and OS details:

Positron Version: 2026.04.0 (user setup) build 269
Code - OSS Version: 1.109.2
Commit: ae29de6747f9f15cc38783410ec9a46a5b428393
Date: 2026-04-06T19:19:09.921Z
Electron: 39.3.0
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.21.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

Session details:

• N/A (Positron failed to launch after update)

Describe the issue:

When triggering an in-app update via the Settings gear icon on Windows, and Positron is installed in a non-default location (e.g. C:\Tools\Positron instead of the default C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Positron), the updater hardcodes the default install path and fails to launch Positron after the update completes.

After the update process finished and the "Restart Positron to Update" prompt appeared, Positron failed to start. A dialog appeared indicating that something went wrong — possibly due to antivirus or running processes — and pointed to a log file at:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\positron-inno-updater-1775627797.log

The relevant log entries were:

Apr 08 05:56:37.797 INFO Starting: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Positron\Positron.exe, false, Updating Positron...
Apr 08 05:56:37.797 ERRO Bad arguments: Code path doesn't seem to exist: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Positron\Positron.exe

The updater attempted to relaunch Positron from the default install path rather than the actual install path (C:\Tools\Positron).

Steps to reproduce the issue:

1. Install Positron on Windows 11 to a custom (non-default) directory, e.g. C:\Tools\Positron.
2. Launch Positron normally.
3. Trigger an in-app update via the Settings gear icon.
4. Wait for the download and installation to complete.
5. Click "Restart Positron to Update" when prompted.

Expected or desired behavior:

Positron should restart from the actual installation path after the update, regardless of whether it was installed in the default location or a custom directory. The updater should detect and use the real install path dynamically rather than assuming the default path.

Were there any error messages in the UI, Output panel, or Developer Tools console?

Yes — after the failed restart, a system dialog appeared suggesting the issue might be related to antivirus software or running processes, and referred to the updater log file at:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\positron-inno-updater-1775627797.log

Relevant log excerpt:

Apr 08 05:56:37.797 INFO Starting: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Positron\Positron.exe, false, Updating Positron...
Apr 08 05:56:37.797 ERRO Bad arguments: Code path doesn't seem to exist: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Positron\Positron.exe

Workaround applied: Uninstalled all Positron entries via Windows Settings (two entries were listed), then performed a fresh install to C:\Tools\Positron. Positron launched correctly afterward.