DevOps — Tool Version Management (mise)

What is mise?

mise (formerly asdf-plugin-manager) is a fast, cross-platform tool version manager. It replaces asdf, nvm, rbenv, pyenv, and similar per-language version managers with a single unified tool. Configure tools per-project via mise.toml.

Core Commands

Command	Description
`mise use <tool>@<version>`	Most used. Installs tool and adds to local `mise.toml` (e.g. `mise use node@20`)
`mise use -g <tool>@<version>`	Installs tool globally (`~/.config/mise/config.toml`)
`mise install [tool@version]`	Installs tools defined in `mise.toml` or a specific version
`mise ls`	Lists all currently installed/active tools
`mise ls-remote <tool>`	Lists available versions of a tool
`mise exec <tool>@ver -- <cmd>`	Runs command using specific tool version without modifying config
`mise run <task>`	Runs a defined task from `mise.toml`
`mise outdated`	Checks for newer versions of installed tools
`mise link <path>`	Symlinks a tool installed elsewhere into mise
`mise --version`	Checks installed version of mise

Common Options

Flag	Meaning
`-f`, `--force`	Force reinstall
`-y`, `--yes`	Answer yes to all prompts
`-p`, `--path`	Specify a config file path

Key Concepts

mise.toml — per-project config file; checked into the repo; defines which tool versions are active in this directory
~/.config/mise/config.toml — global config; applies everywhere unless overridden by a local mise.toml
Activation — mise hooks into your shell to auto-switch tool versions when you cd into a project
Tasks — mise supports task runners (mise run <task>) as a lightweight alternative to Makefiles

Common Workflow

  
# Initial project setup
mise use node@20          # installs node@20 and writes to mise.toml
mise use python@3.12      # adds python to the same project config
git add mise.toml         # commit the config so team members get same versions

# Team member onboarding
mise install              # reads mise.toml and installs all declared tools

# Check what's installed
mise ls

# Update a tool
mise use node@22          # updates mise.toml to node@22