Mise Task Management

Expert skill for mise task runners with TOML-based and file-based task definitions.

Task Definition Methods

Mise supports two primary approaches for defining tasks:

1. TOML Tasks (Recommended for Simple Tasks)

Define tasks directly in mise.toml under the [tasks.*] section:

[tasks.build]
description = "Build the project"
run = "cargo build"

[tasks.test]
description = "Run tests"
run = "cargo test"
depends = ["build"]

Execute: mise run build or mise build

2. File Tasks (Recommended for Complex Scripts)

Create executable scripts in mise-tasks/ directory:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
#MISE description="Build the project"
#MISE depends=["lint"]
cargo build

Place in mise-tasks/build (no extension), make executable, and run identically: mise run build

Configuration File Structure

project-root/
├── mise.toml              # Primary config with [tasks.*] section
├── mise-tasks/            # Directory for file-based tasks
│   ├── build             # Executable task script
│   ├── test              # Executable task script
│   └── deploy            # Executable task script
└── .mise/
    └── config.toml        # Alternative location for mise.toml

Core Task Configuration

TOML Task Structure

[tasks.task-name]
description = "Task description shown in mise tasks"
run = "command to execute"
depends = ["other-task"]
env = { VAR = "value" }
dir = "{{ config_root }}"
sources = ["src/**/*.rs"]
outputs = ["target/release/binary"]

File Task Metadata

Use #MISE comments for task configuration:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
#MISE description="Deploy application"
#MISE depends=["build", "test"]
#MISE sources=["dist/**/*"]
#MISE env={ENVIRONMENT="production"}

# Task implementation
./deploy.sh

Task Configuration Options

Essential Fields

run (TOML tasks only, required)

• •String: run = "cargo build"
• •Array: run = ["cargo build", "cargo test"]
• •Mixed with task refs: run = [{ task = "lint" }, "cargo build"]

description

• •Used in help output, completions, and mise tasks listing
• •Visible to users as documentation

depends

• •Tasks that run before this task
• •depends = ["lint", "test"]

depends_post

• •Tasks that run after this task completes
• •depends_post = ["cleanup"]

Environment & Execution

env

• •Task-specific environment variables
• •Not propagated to dependent tasks
• •env = { NODE_ENV = "production", API_KEY = "secret" }

tools

• •Tools to install/activate before task
• •Only for this task, not dependencies
• •tools = ["node@20", "python@3.12"]

dir

• •Working directory for execution
• •Default: "{{ config_root }}" (where mise.toml lives)
• •dir = "{{ cwd }}/subdir"

shell

• •Override default shell for inline execution
• •TOML tasks only
• •shell = "bash -c"

Caching with Sources & Outputs

sources

• •Input files/globs that this task uses
• •Mise skips execution if sources unchanged and outputs are newer
• •sources = ["src/**/*.rs", "Cargo.toml"]

outputs

• •Output files/directories produced by task
• •Enable automatic change detection with outputs = [{ auto = true }]
• •outputs = ["target/release/binary"]

Caching behavior:

• •Mise compares modification times of oldest output vs newest source
• •If outputs are newer, task is skipped
• •Use mise run --force to bypass cache

Control & Visibility

hide

• •Hide from mise tasks output, help, and completions
• •Useful for internal/deprecated tasks
• •hide = true

quiet

• •Suppress mise's own output (like command being run)
• •quiet = true

silent

• •Suppress all task output
• •Options: true (both), "stdout", "stderr"
• •silent = "stdout"

raw

• •Connect task directly to shell stdin/stdout/stderr
• •Disables parallel execution
• •Required for interactive tasks
• •raw = true

confirm

• •Prompt user before running
• •confirm = "Are you sure you want to deploy?"

Advanced: Task Arguments

Define formal arguments and flags in usage field:

[tasks.deploy]
run = "deploy.sh"
usage = """
{usage} [OPTIONS] <environment>

Arguments:
  <environment>  Target environment [env: ENVIRONMENT]

Options:
  --force       Skip confirmation
"""

Running Tasks

Basic Execution

mise run task-name          # Full command
mise r task-name            # Short alias
mise task-name              # Shorthand (avoid in scripts)

Passing Arguments

Extra arguments pass through to the task:

mise run build --release
mise run test -- --nocapture

Multiple Tasks

Run sequentially:

mise run lint build test

Run separate sequences with ::: delimiter:

mise run build arg1 ::: test arg2

Parallel Execution

Default: 4 parallel jobs. Control via:

• •--jobs N flag
• •MISE_JOBS environment variable
• •jobs setting in mise.toml

mise run -j 8 task1 task2 task3

Output is line-prefixed to prevent interleaving. Use --interleave for direct stdout/stderr.

Listing Tasks

mise tasks                    # List all tasks
mise tasks --hidden           # Include hidden tasks
mise tasks deps [tasks]...    # Show task dependencies

Watching for Changes

mise watch task-name          # Re-run on file changes

Uses watchexec internally to monitor source files.

Common Patterns

Task Orchestration

[tasks.ci]
description = "Run CI checks"
depends = ["lint", "test", "build"]

[tasks.deploy]
description = "Deploy application"
depends = ["ci"]
depends_post = ["notify"]
run = "./deploy.sh"

Environment-Specific Tasks

[tasks.build]
description = "Build for development"
run = "npm run build"
env = { NODE_ENV = "development" }

[tasks."build:prod"]
description = "Build for production"
run = "npm run build"
env = { NODE_ENV = "production" }

Conditional Execution with Sources

[tasks.compile]
description = "Compile only if sources changed"
run = "gcc src/*.c -o bin/app"
sources = ["src/*.c", "src/*.h"]
outputs = ["bin/app"]

File Task with Dependencies

#!/usr/bin/env bash
#MISE description="Full CI pipeline"
#MISE depends=["lint", "test"]
#MISE sources=["src/**/*"]

set -euo pipefail

echo "Running build..."
cargo build --release

echo "Running integration tests..."
cargo test --release

Cross-Language Task Runner

[tasks.backend]
description = "Start backend server"
dir = "{{ config_root }}/backend"
run = "cargo run"

[tasks.frontend]
description = "Start frontend dev server"
dir = "{{ config_root }}/frontend"
run = "npm run dev"

[tasks.dev]
description = "Start full development environment"
depends = ["backend", "frontend"]

Environment Variables Provided to Tasks

Mise automatically injects these variables:

• •MISE_ORIGINAL_CWD - Initial working directory
• •MISE_CONFIG_ROOT - Directory containing mise.toml
• •MISE_PROJECT_ROOT - Project root directory
• •MISE_TASK_NAME - Current task identifier
• •MISE_TASK_DIR - Task script location (file tasks)
• •MISE_TASK_FILE - Full task script path (file tasks)

Workflow Commands

Initialize Mise in Project

# 1. Create mise.toml
cat > mise.toml <<'EOF'
[tools]
# Optional: Define tool versions
# node = "20"
# python = "3.12"

[env]
PROJECT_ROOT = "{{ cwd }}"

[tasks.build]
description = "Build the project"
run = "make build"

[tasks.test]
description = "Run tests"
depends = ["build"]
run = "make test"

[tasks.clean]
description = "Clean build artifacts"
run = "make clean"
EOF

# 2. Trust the config
mise trust

# 3. Verify tasks
mise tasks

Convert Makefile to Mise Tasks

For projects with Makefiles, migrate to mise for better dependency management:

# Instead of Makefile targets
[tasks.install]
description = "Install dependencies"
run = "npm install"

[tasks.build]
description = "Build project"
depends = ["install"]
sources = ["src/**/*"]
outputs = ["dist/"]
run = "npm run build"

[tasks.test]
description = "Run tests"
depends = ["build"]
run = "npm test"

Benefits over Make:

• •Automatic parallel execution
• •Built-in file watching
• •Cross-platform compatibility
• •Better dependency management

Create File Task Script

# 1. Create task directory
mkdir -p mise-tasks

# 2. Create executable script
cat > mise-tasks/deploy <<'BASH'
#!/usr/bin/env bash
#MISE description="Deploy application to production"
#MISE depends=["test"]
#MISE confirm="Deploy to production?"
#MISE env={ENVIRONMENT="production"}

set -euo pipefail

echo "Deploying to production..."
./scripts/deploy.sh "$@"
BASH

# 3. Make executable
chmod +x mise-tasks/deploy

# 4. Run it
mise run deploy

Best Practices

Task Naming

• •Use semantic names: build, test, deploy
• •Group with colons: test:unit, test:integration, test:e2e
• •Wildcard support: mise run test:* runs all test tasks

Dependency Management

• •Use depends for prerequisites: depends = ["lint", "test"]
• •Use depends_post for cleanup: depends_post = ["notify"]
• •Keep dependency chains shallow (2-3 levels max)
• •Tasks run in parallel when possible

Caching Strategy

• •Define sources for input files
• •Define outputs for generated artifacts
• •Use globs for flexibility: sources = ["src/**/*.rs"]
• •Use { auto = true } for automatic output detection

File Tasks vs TOML Tasks

Use File Tasks when:

• •Script is >10 lines
• •Complex bash logic required
• •Multiple commands with error handling
• •Script needs version control

Use TOML Tasks when:

• •Simple one-liners
• •Task orchestration (depends on other tasks)
• •Environment variable setup
• •Quick prototyping

Error Handling

In TOML tasks:

[tasks.robust]
run = ["set -euo pipefail", "./script.sh"]

In File tasks:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail  # Exit on error, undefined vars, pipe failures

# Task implementation

Troubleshooting

Tasks Not Appearing

Check:

1. •Syntax errors in mise.toml: mise tasks --verbose
2. •Missing description field
3. •Task marked hide = true
4. •Config not trusted: mise trust

Task Not Caching

Verify:

1. •sources and outputs are defined
2. •Globs match files: ls src/**/*.rs
3. •Output files exist after task runs
4. •Use mise run --force task-name to bypass cache once

File Task Not Executable

chmod +x mise-tasks/task-name

Tasks Running in Wrong Directory

Set explicit working directory:

[tasks.task-name]
dir = "{{ config_root }}/subdir"
run = "make build"

Parallel Execution Issues

For interactive tasks or tasks requiring stdin:

[tasks.interactive]
raw = true
run = "npm run dev"

Additional Resources

• •Official docs: https://mise.jdx.dev/tasks/
• •Task configuration: https://mise.jdx.dev/tasks/task-configuration.html
• •Running tasks: https://mise.jdx.dev/tasks/running-tasks.html