Directories

mise keeps config, installed tools, cache, and machine-local state in separate directories. The defaults below apply when no MISE_*_DIR or XDG_* variable overrides them.

Purpose	Linux	macOS	Windows	Override
Global config	~/.config/mise	~/.config/mise	%USERPROFILE%\.config\mise	MISE_CONFIG_DIR; otherwise XDG_CONFIG_HOME + /mise
Cache	~/.cache/mise	~/Library/Caches/mise	%TEMP%\mise	MISE_CACHE_DIR; otherwise XDG_CACHE_HOME + /mise
Local state	~/.local/state/mise	~/.local/state/mise	%USERPROFILE%\.local\state\mise	MISE_STATE_DIR; otherwise XDG_STATE_HOME + /mise
Installed tools and plugins	~/.local/share/mise	~/.local/share/mise	%LOCALAPPDATA%\mise	MISE_DATA_DIR; otherwise XDG_DATA_HOME + /mise
System config	/etc/mise	/etc/mise	\etc\mise on the current drive	MISE_SYSTEM_CONFIG_DIR (older name: MISE_SYSTEM_DIR)
Temporary files	$TMPDIR/mise or /tmp/mise	$TMPDIR/mise	%TEMP%\mise-tmp	MISE_TMP_DIR; otherwise mise in the system temporary directory, or mise-tmp when mise there is inside the cache directory

These directories live inside the data directory and can be moved on their own:

Directory	Default	Override
Installed tools	installs/	MISE_INSTALLS_DIR
Install store	installs/ (i\ on Windows)	MISE_INSTALL_STORE_DIR; see installs
Plugins	plugins/	MISE_PLUGINS_DIR
Downloads	downloads/	MISE_DOWNLOADS_DIR
Shims	shims/	shims_dir (MISE_SHIMS_DIR)
Command wrappers	command-wrappers/bin/	None

mise cache path prints the cache directory in use, and mise doctor reports the resolved data, config, cache, state, and shims directories. Set these variables in the environment that starts mise, such as your shell startup file or CI job, and keep them the same for shells, editors, and CI. Do not set them in [env]: mise chooses its directories before it reads mise.toml, so a value there can make one command use a different directory than the next.

Keep the directories separate. In particular, do not point MISE_CACHE_DIR at a directory that holds config or installed tools: clearing the cache removes its contents.

~/.config/mise

Holds global config, normally config.toml, along with conf.d/ fragments and miserc.toml. You can keep portable config in a dotfiles repository, but leave credentials and machine-specific values out of shared files. Project config lives in the project; see mise.toml.

~/.cache/mise

Holds data mise can rebuild, such as the list of available versions of each tool and cached exec() output. mise cache clear removes it; run it while no install is in progress. Clearing the cache does not uninstall tools as long as the cache and data directories are separate. See Caches.

~/.local/state/mise

Holds trust decisions, tracked config paths, the encrypted environment cache, task freshness records, and state for dotfiles and their history, daemons, project dependencies, bootstrap packages, and packslip signer pins. Keep it local to the machine. Deleting it loses that state; use mise cache clear when you only need to refresh cached values.

~/.local/share/mise

Holds tool installations, plugins, shims, and command wrappers. Do not let asdf and mise manage the same data directory: some layouts look alike, but the two do not coordinate changes.

Installed tools depend on the OS, architecture, config, and native libraries of the machine that installed them. Copying this directory between unrelated machines is not a supported way to install tools. For caching it in CI, see Continuous integration.

downloads

Backends may write archives here while they install a tool. mise deletes them afterwards unless always_keep_download is set. This is not a download cache. To avoid reinstalling tools in CI, cache installs/ instead, together with the install store when it is a separate directory.

plugins

mise plugins install installs plugins here. To work on a plugin, link your checkout:

mise plugins link my-tool ~/src/mise-my-tool

installs

Holds installed versions: mise install node@24.0.0 installs into installs/node/24.0.0. mise also creates links for prefixes and aliases, such as installs/node/24. Use mise where node or mise which node instead of building paths from them.

MISE_INSTALLS_DIR moves this directory. Like the other directory variables, set it where mise starts, not in [env], or an install can use one directory while later commands and shims look in another.

The experimental identity install layout installs into installs/<label>-<hash>/, such as installs/age-hlencrst, and makes installs/age/1.2.1 a link to it. Its catalog in installs/.mise/ records which directory holds each installation; it is not a cache, so back it up with the installs. On Windows the installations go into i\ beside installs (%LOCALAPPDATA%\mise\i), a shorter path that leaves more room under the 260-character limit. MISE_INSTALL_STORE_DIR chooses where installations go on any platform; a directory inside installs/ is ignored.

shims

Shims let editors, scripts, and non-interactive shells run mise-managed tools without mise activate. See Shims.

shims_dir moves this directory. It can be set only in global config, expands ~, and must resolve to an absolute path. mise reshim can publish shims into a shared directory such as ~/.local/bin, and replaces or removes only entries it recognizes as mise shims. mise still treats shim directories as whole PATH entries in other places, so use a dedicated directory if you also use mise activate.

command-wrappers/bin

Holds the dispatch shims for [wrappers]. mise manages this directory; run mise reshim after adding or removing a wrapper.

System config

/etc/mise holds config for every user on the machine, such as /etc/mise/config.toml, conf.d/ fragments, and miserc.toml. It has the lowest precedence; see Global and system config.

System installs and shims

mise install --system installs into /usr/local/share/mise/installs and mise reshim --system writes shims to /usr/local/share/mise/shims. MISE_SYSTEM_DATA_DIR moves both at once (default /usr/local/share/mise), and system_installs_dir (MISE_SYSTEM_INSTALLS_DIR) and system_shims_dir (MISE_SYSTEM_SHIMS_DIR) move each one. On Unix, mise runs sudo to write there when the directories are not writable. See System installs.