Daemons

Experimental

Daemon management requires experimental = true. It requires pitchfork 2.25.0 or later for external configuration support.

Declare custom background processes and managed databases in one section:

[daemons]
postgres = "18"
redis = "8"

[daemons.api]
run = "npm run dev"
ready_port = 3000
auto = ["start", "stop"]

[daemons.analytics]
preset = "postgres"
version = "18"
port = 5433

A string selects a preset matching the entry name. A table with run defines a custom process. A table with preset and version selects a preset for any instance name, and remaining fields override its pitchfork daemon definition. For presets, port is an integer. Custom daemons accept the same integer shorthand or pitchfork's structured port configuration. User-provided strings retain pitchfork template syntax; mise renders only the embedded preset templates.

mise daemons start
mise daemons ls --json
mise daemons logs api
mise daemons status api
mise daemons restart api
mise daemons stop
mise daemons tui

Start and restart install missing tools. Without names, start, stop, and restart target mise-managed daemons. Listing and status do not register configuration or start a supervisor. The TUI opens pitchfork's dashboard. Lifecycle commands accept project daemon names; --group is rejected because pitchfork groups can include daemons outside the project. Use pitchfork directly for group operations.

Database presets

Preset	Tool	Default port	Environment defaults
postgres	postgres	5432	PGHOST, PGPORT, PGUSER, PGDATABASE, DATABASE_URL
redis	redis	6379	REDIS_URL

Both bind to loopback and require their configured ports to be free; ports do not bump automatically. PostgreSQL uses the postgres user with local trust authentication. Any process that can reach its loopback port can connect without a password. These presets are for development on a trusted local machine; use a custom daemon with authentication for shared or untrusted environments. Redis enables append-only persistence. These presets are currently Unix-only.

Use options.database to create a different PostgreSQL database during first initialization. Names may contain letters, numbers, and underscores. Changing this option later does not create another database in an existing cluster.

Explicit [env] values override exported defaults. When multiple instances export the same variable, the last declaration wins; use explicit [env] values to choose the instance your application uses. Explicit [tools] declarations must match the version requested by the preset (for example, an installed 18.1 can satisfy 18). Multiple instances sharing a tool must use the same version request.

Data and configuration

Mise generates configuration under $MISE_STATE_DIR/daemons/<project-hash>/ and registers it with pitchfork. Nothing is written into the project tree. Registered files override ordinary pitchfork definitions with the same daemon ID. Edit the source [daemons] declaration, not the generated file.

Data lives in data/<daemon-name>/ beside the generated configuration. It survives version-request changes and daemon removal. Initialization is serialized and published only after success. Existing data is never automatically deleted. Major-version changes require an explicit migration or reset; incompatible data fails before startup.

To reset a database, stop its daemon, locate its data directory, and explicitly remove that instance's data. Back up anything you want to retain first. Use the database's own migration tools to preserve data across incompatible upgrades.

Higher-precedence declarations replace a same-name daemon completely. Inherited daemons retain their declaring project scope. One environment profile can be active per project: stop its daemons and leave its shell sessions before switching MISE_ENV. Changed definitions take effect on the next start or explicit restart.

A preset run override still runs after database initialization. It follows pitchfork shell-command semantics: use exec for the final long-running process (for example, setup-command && exec server) so it receives stop signals directly.

Automatic start and stop

Set auto = ["start", "stop"] on a custom or preset table and activate mise in Bash, Zsh, or Fish. Automatic lifecycle is opt-in; shorthand database declarations do not automatically start. Pitchfork must already be installed—hooks never install tools.

Shell hooks register changed configuration and emit background pitchfork session commands, so readiness waits do not block the prompt. Pitchfork owns session liveness and automatic stopping; mise keeps no per-PID session files or workers. Leaving for an unrelated directory releases the old project session even when no daemons exist in the new directory. Shared processes stay alive while another shell session remains in the project.

Failures report a diagnostic without disabling the prompt fast path. Directory or configuration changes retry session updates; you can also run mise hook-env --force through your shell's eval. A forced hook or mise daemons start restores a generated configuration that was detached through pitchfork. Disabled hooks and safe mode prevent lifecycle commands. Re-run mise activate after upgrading to get shell PID tracking; old activation scripts display a hint.

Project sessions also apply to native pitchfork daemons configured for automatic lifecycle management. See pitchfork's shell sessions.