Mise-Task-Managing Skill

Comprehensive assistance with mise-task-managing development, generated from official documentation.

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be triggered when:

• Managing tool versions and installations across projects (Node.js, Python, Ruby, etc.)
• Setting up development environments with specific runtime versions
• Creating and managing automated tasks for build/deployment/DevOps workflows
• Working with mise configuration files (mise.toml, .tool-versions)
• Managing plugins for different programming languages and tools
• Implementing CI/CD pipelines using mise tasks
• Debugging mise configuration or environment issues
• Migrating from other version managers (asdf, rbenv, nvm, pyenv, etc.)
• Installing tools via various backends (core, aqua, ubi, cargo, pipx, gem)

Key Concepts

Tasks: Reusable commands defined in mise.toml that can have dependencies, file-based triggers, and parallel execution for automating workflows.

Backends: Different methods mise uses to install tools - built-in backends like aqua (HTTP downloads), ubi (GitHub releases), cargo (Rust tools), pipx (Python), gem (Ruby), and external asdf plugins.

Environments: Environment-specific configurations using .mise..toml files for different deployment contexts (staging, production, etc.).

Fuzzy Matching: Mise accepts partial versions everywhere (e.g., "20" for Node.js 20.x versions) for user convenience.

Activation: mise activate modifies PATH to point to correct tool versions, much faster than asdf's shims.

Quick Reference

My Standards

ALWAYS FOLLOW MY STANDARDS WHEN USING THIS SKILL. THEY SHALL OVERRIDE ANY CONFLICTING INSTRUCTIONS.

1. Task Modularity and Dependencies

Always strive to build a logical dependency hierarchy for tasks to ensure efficient execution.

• You can use depends, wait_for and depends_post to control the order of execution.
• Avoid flat task structures where all tasks are independent. This leads to tasks looking like a random list.
  • build
  • build:legacy
  • build:hybrid
  • test
  • test:unit
  • package:linux

If 'test' is independent of build, I would have to update an unknown number of tasks whenever I change build logic. This is UNACCEPTABLE. Mise provides a robust dependency system to avoid this.

2. Optimize Task Execution

Be smart about task execution to minimize redundant work and speed up workflows.

• Use file-based triggers (sources/outputs) to minimize unnecessary task executions.
• Leverage parallel execution for independent tasks to optimize performance.

3. Utilize Default Task Registry when Possible

Mise will automatically register tasks for any scripts found in path like this .mise/ tasks/:task_name

• To add a description, simply add a comment at the top of the script file like #MISE description="Build the CLI"

4. Use mise to manage all tools!

Including but not limited to: node, pnpm, bun, cargo, python, uv

Basic Tool Management

Install and use Node.js 20.x:

mise use node@latest

Installs the latest Node.js 20.x version and sets it as active in the current directory.

Install tools globally:

mise use -g node@latest python@3.11

Installs and configures tools globally in ~/.config/mise/config.toml.

List current tool versions:

mise ls --current

Shows active tool versions specified in config files.

Mise as Task Runner

Simple build task:

[tasks.build]
run = "npm run build"

Defines a basic task that runs the npm build command.

Task with dependencies and caching:

[tasks.build]
run = "npm run build"
sources = ["src/**/*.ts"]
outputs = ["dist/**/*.js"]
depends = ["test"]

Builds only when sources change, depends on test task completing first.

Run tasks:

mise run build

Executes the build task with dependency checking and parallel execution.

Backends & Plugins

Install via aqua backend (no plugins needed):

mise use aqua:BurntSushi/ripgrep

Uses aqua to download and install ripgrep directly from GitHub releases.

Install Ruby gem tools:

mise use gem:rubocop

Installs Rubocop via RubyGems backend without separate plugins.

Sync existing Homebrew installations:

mise sync node --brew

Imports Homebrew Node.js installations into mise management.

Configuration

Configure parallel jobs:

mise settings set jobs 4

Sets number of parallel jobs for better performance on multi-core systems.

Environment variable management:

mise unset NODE_ENV

Removes NODE_ENV from the current directory's config file.

Format config files:

mise fmt

Sorts keys and cleans up whitespace in mise.toml files.

Reference Files

This skill includes comprehensive documentation in references/:

• cli_reference.md - Complete command-line reference for all 50+ mise commands with flags, arguments, and examples. Use for detailed syntax of any command.
• configuration.md - Environment variables, settings management, and config file handling. Essential for understanding mise.toml structure and global/local configs.
• dev_tools.md - Backend systems (aqua, ubi, cargo, pipx, gem), plugin management, and comparison with asdf. Critical for choosing the right installation method.
• environments.md - Environment-specific configurations (.mise.staging.toml, etc.) and activation patterns for different deployment contexts.
• getting_started.md - Installation guide, basic concepts, and initial setup. Start here if new to mise.
• tasks.md - Task definitions, dependencies, caching, and workflow automation. Core documentation for DevOps use cases.

Use view to read specific reference files when detailed information is needed.

Working with This Skill

For Beginners

Start with getting_started.md for installation and basic concepts. Focus on simple commands:

• Use mise use node@latest to install tools
• Check mise ls to see what's installed
• Define tasks in .mise.toml for common commands

For Intermediate Users

• Explore tasks.md for workflow automation.
• Learn different backends in dev_tools.md (aqua for CLI tools, pipx for Python packages).
• Use environments.md for project-specific configurations.

For Advanced Users

• Dive into configuration.md for performance tuning (jobs, caching).
• Create complex task dependencies.
• Use mise settings for global configurations.
• Implement CI/CD with task caching and parallel execution.

Navigation Tips

• Automation: tasks.md for all workflow and dependency features
• Troubleshooting: cli_reference.md for detailed command options
• Multi-environment: environments.md for .mise..toml patterns

Resources

Links to more documentation contained in this skill

references/

Organized documentation extracted from official sources.

scripts/

Add helper scripts here for common automation tasks.

assets/

Add templates, boilerplate, or example project configurations here.

Notes

• This skill was automatically generated from official documentation
• Reference files preserve the structure and examples from source docs