Mise: Modern Dev Tool Management

Mise is a polyglot version manager that replaces nvm, pyenv, rbenv, and most Homebrew CLI tools with a single, fast, declarative system.

Related skills:

• just-pro - Build system setup (includes mise integration patterns)
• cli-tools - Power CLI tools (many installable via mise)

Why Mise?

Benefits:

• 1000+ tools available (mise registry | wc -l)
• Parallel installs, prebuilt binaries
• Works on macOS and Linux
• Declarative config in repo = reproducible environments

Quick Start

Install Mise

curl https://mise.run | sh

Shell Setup

Add to your shell rc file. If using both mise and direnv (recommended), load mise first:

# ~/.zshrc - recommended order
eval "$(mise activate zsh)"
eval "$(direnv hook zsh)"

# fish: ~/.config/fish/config.fish
mise activate fish | source
direnv hook fish | source

For faster startup, use shims instead of (or with) activation:

# zsh: add to ~/.zshrc
export PATH="$HOME/.local/share/mise/shims:$PATH"
eval "$(mise activate zsh)"
eval "$(direnv hook zsh)"

# fish: add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish
fish_add_path -p ~/.local/share/mise/shims
mise activate fish | source
direnv hook fish | source

Install Tools

mise use node@22 python@3.12 go@latest  # Current directory
mise use -g jq ripgrep bat              # Global (all directories)

Project Setup

New Repo

# Pin language versions
mise use node@22 go@1.25

# Creates .mise.toml - commit it
git add .mise.toml

Existing Repo (first clone)

mise trust      # Allow repo's .mise.toml
mise install    # Install pinned tools

Example .mise.toml

[tools]
node = "22"
go = "1.25"
python = "3.12"

# Project-specific tools
just = "latest"
sqlc = "latest"

Configuration Hierarchy

Mise merges configs from multiple levels:

~/.config/mise/config.toml     # Global defaults
  └── ~/projects/.mise.toml    # Workspace defaults
        └── ~/projects/foo/.mise.toml  # Project-specific

More specific configs override less specific ones.

Global Config (~/.config/mise/config.toml)

Your daily-driver tools:

[tools]
# Languages
node = "lts"
python = "3.12"
go = "latest"

# CLI tools (replaces Homebrew)
jq = "latest"
yq = "latest"
ripgrep = "latest"
fd = "latest"
bat = "latest"
eza = "latest"
delta = "latest"
fzf = "latest"
gh = "latest"
lazygit = "latest"
just = "latest"
direnv = "latest"
starship = "latest"

[settings]
auto_install = true

Direnv Integration

Direnv handles per-directory environment variables. Combined with mise:

• Mise → tool versions (node, go, python)
• Direnv → environment variables (DATABASE_URL, API keys)

Best Practice: Keep a single source of truth:

• .mise.toml → tool versions only (node, go, python)
• .envrc → environment variables (DATABASE_URL, API_KEY, etc.)

Don't use [env] section in .mise.toml - it creates confusion about where vars come from.

Setup

1. Install direnv via mise:

   mise use -g direnv
   

2. Add direnv hook to shell rc:

   # zsh
   eval "$(direnv hook zsh)"
   
   # fish
   direnv hook fish | source
   

3. Create .envrc in your project:

   # Load mise tools for this directory
   if command -v mise &> /dev/null; then
     eval "$(mise hook-env -s bash)"
   fi
   
   # Project-specific environment
   export DATABASE_URL="postgres://localhost/myapp"
   export LOG_LEVEL="debug"
   

4. Allow the envrc:

   direnv allow
   

Tip: Use .envrc.example (committed) + .envrc (gitignored with secrets).

Just Integration

just and mise complement each other:

• mise → pins tool versions
• just → runs commands using those tools

See the just-pro skill for full patterns. Quick summary:

Shell Override (recommended for teams)

# Every recipe runs through mise automatically
set shell := ["mise", "exec", "--", "bash", "-c"]

build:
    npm run build

test:
    go test ./...

Graceful Degradation (for open source)

_exec cmd:
    #!/usr/bin/env bash
    if command -v mise &>/dev/null; then
        mise exec -- {{cmd}}
    else
        {{cmd}}
    fi

build: (_exec "npm run build")

Setup Recipe

setup:
    #!/usr/bin/env bash
    mise trust && mise install

    # Create .envrc from example if missing
    if [[ ! -f .envrc ]] && [[ -f .envrc.example ]]; then
        cp .envrc.example .envrc
        echo "Created .envrc from example - edit with your values"
        direnv allow
    fi

    echo "Toolchain ready"

Mise vs Devcontainer

Recommendation: Use mise for fast local dev. Add devcontainer for hermetic reproducibility if needed. They're not mutually exclusive.

Common Tools Available

mise registry | grep <tool>  # Search for a tool

Migration from Homebrew

Keep in Homebrew:

• git (system integration)
• Your shell (fish, zsh)
• GUI apps (casks)
• System utilities (coreutils if needed)

Move to mise:

• Language runtimes (node, python, go, rust)
• CLI dev tools (jq, ripgrep, bat, etc.)
• Cloud CLIs (awscli, kubectl, terraform)

# Check what mise can replace
brew leaves | while read pkg; do
  mise registry | grep -q "^$pkg " && echo "✓ $pkg"
done

Troubleshooting

Tools not in PATH

mise doctor  # Check activation status

Ensure mise activates after other PATH modifications in shell rc.

Shims vs Activate

• Shims (~/.local/share/mise/shims): Wrapper scripts, always work
• Activate: Dynamic PATH modification, faster for frequent version switching

Use both for reliability:

# Shims first (fallback), then activate (dynamic)
export PATH="$HOME/.local/share/mise/shims:$PATH"
eval "$(mise activate zsh)"

Direnv + Mise

Use mise hook-env -s bash in .envrc, not mise activate:

eval "$(mise hook-env -s bash)"  # Correct
eval "$(mise activate bash)"     # Wrong - generates shell hooks

Quick Reference

# Install tools
mise use node@22              # Current directory
mise use -g ripgrep           # Global

# Manage versions
mise ls                       # List installed
mise ls-remote node           # Available versions
mise outdated                 # Check for updates

# Project setup
mise install                  # Install from .mise.toml
mise trust                    # Trust current directory's config

# Maintenance
mise prune                    # Remove unused versions
mise reshim                   # Rebuild shims
mise self-update              # Update mise itself

Further Reading

• Mise Documentation
• Mise Registry - All available tools
• Direnv Documentation