Mac App Store apps (mas)

The mas manager installs Mac App Store apps with the mas command. Each package name is the app's numeric App Store ID, such as 497799835 for Xcode.

[bootstrap.packages]
"mas:497799835" = "latest" # Xcode

mise bootstrap packages apply --manager mas --dry-run
mise bootstrap packages apply --manager mas

Prerequisites

mas is macOS-only. mise uses a mas installed by your mise [tools] configuration, or one on PATH. On other platforms, or when neither is found, mas: entries show as skipped. Install it as a mise tool, or with the brew manager and the Homebrew prefix's bin directory on PATH:

mise use -g mas
# or
mise bootstrap packages use brew:mas

mise bootstrap applies packages before it installs [tools]. On a new Mac where mas comes only from [tools], the first run skips the mas: entries, so run mise bootstrap a second time.

mas needs an Apple Account signed in to the App Store, and its operations can also need macOS authentication and working Spotlight indexing. Paid apps must already be purchased or claimed with that account; mise reports errors from mas and does not buy or claim apps itself. Installing Xcode does not accept its license or complete its first-launch setup.

Find an app ID

mas search xcode lists matching apps with their IDs. You can also copy the app's App Store URL: Xcode's contains id497799835. A bundle identifier such as com.apple.dt.Xcode is not a valid package name, and mise rejects it.

Version pins

The App Store installs only the current version, so mise cannot install a pin. A pinned entry shows as version mismatch while another version is installed, and apply and upgrade skip it with a warning. mise bootstrap packages use rejects mas:<id>@<version>.

What mise runs

Operation	Command
Check installed state	mas list --json, or mas list on older versions
Install	mas install <ids>
Upgrade	mas upgrade <ids>

Status shows the app name that mas list reports next to each installed ID, and --json includes it as name:

Manager  Package            Installed  State
mas      497799835 (Xcode)  16.2       installed

A missing app shows only its ID, because mas list reports only installed apps. apply --update has no effect for mas.

Remove packages

mise does not remove App Store apps. Deleting an entry leaves the app installed; remove it yourself.