Registry
The registry maps short tool names to one or more installation backends. Search the tool list below, or inspect the registry bundled with your installed mise:
mise registry
mise registry aws-cli
mise use aws-cliA shorthand can carry backend-specific options as well as a backend name. For example, aws-cli currently selects Aqua with registry-provided executable-link options. Choosing aqua:aws/aws-cli explicitly selects that backend, but does not mean every shorthand option is identical.
If a tool has no shorthand, use its full backend identifier, such as github:owner/repo. The backend must support that project's release layout or package format; a repository existing on GitHub is not sufficient by itself.
Floating registries
By default, mise uses the mise and aqua registry snapshots that were tested and bundled with that mise release. Users whose system package manager ships mise updates slowly can opt in to current registry data without replacing the mise executable:
mise settings set registry_floating trueWith this enabled, mise fetches the shorthand registry published with the latest mise release and the current official aqua registry. The bundled snapshots remain available as fallbacks when the remote registries cannot be loaded. Fast and offline commands never refresh the mise registry; they use an existing cached copy or the bundled snapshot. The mise registry is cached for registry_cache_ttl, which defaults to one hour; aqua continues to use aqua.registry_cache_ttl, which defaults to one week. mise cache clear forces both to be downloaded again on their next online use.
This behavior is opt-in because a floating registry may contain changes that were made after the installed mise version was tested. Updating mise remains preferable when an updated package is available.
Backends
In addition to built-in core tools, mise supports a variety of backends to install tools.
These tiers apply to new registry submissions, not to backends you may use in your own configuration. New entries must already be widely used, normally with thousands of GitHub stars, and must list installable versions. See Contributing before submitting a shorthand. Backend availability alone does not qualify a tool.
Backends fall into the following acceptance tiers for new registry entries:
Tier 1 — preferred, routinely accepted:
- packslip - preferred when the project publishes signed release manifests; verifies the signer and artifact digests without a plugin or separate package manager
Tier 2 — routinely accepted:
- aqua - curated registry metadata, SLSA verification, and per-version logic for tools without packslips
- github - for tools that are not available in the aqua registry, but are available on GitHub
- gitlab - for tools that are not available in the aqua registry, but are available on GitLab
Tier 3 — high bar, but lower than tier 4:
- conda - potentially accepted for tools that can't reasonably be supported via packslip/aqua/github/gitlab. The bar is lower than tier 4 because mise's conda backend does not require a separately-installed package manager — packages are fetched and extracted directly from anaconda.org with no
conda/mamba/micromambaneeded on PATH.
Tier 4 — very high bar, rarely accepted:
- pipx - Python applications; uses uv by default, which can provision Python
- npm - only for node tools, requires
nodeon PATH - gem - only for ruby tools, requires
rubyon PATH - go - only for go tools, requires
goto be installed to compile. Because go tools can be distributed as a single binary, packslip/aqua/github/gitlab are preferred. - cargo - only for rust tools, requires
cargoto be installed to compile. Because rust tools can be distributed as a single binary, packslip/aqua/github/gitlab are preferred. - dotnet - only for dotnet tools, requires
dotnetto be installed to compile. Because dotnet tools can be distributed as a single binary, packslip/aqua/github/gitlab are preferred.
These integrations depend on a language runtime or toolchain and can require extra setup. For example, npm tools need Node at runtime, and Ruby gems depend on the Ruby installation used to install them. Prefer release binaries for registry entries when available; consult each backend page for its actual runtime, installer, and binary-download behavior.
Not accepted:
- New
vfoxandasdftools are not accepted for supply-chain security reasons — usepackslip(preferred),aqua,github, orgitlabinstead. - The
ubibackend is deprecated and is not accepted for new registry entries.
Users can still install via any backend themselves with explicit syntax (mise use vfox:owner/repo, mise use cargo:name, etc.) — they just don't get a registry shorthand for it.
Backends Priority
An explicitly installed plugin can override its matching shorthand. Otherwise, a shorthand lists backends in preference order. Platform support, disabled backends, and version boundaries affect which eligible backend is selected. If you would like to disable a backend, you can do so with the following command:
mise settings set disable_backends asdfThis replaces the configured disabled-backend list with asdf; include any other backends you want disabled in the same comma-separated value. It disables the asdf backend. See Aliases for a way to set a default backend for a tool. Note that the asdf backend is disabled by default on Windows.
You can also specify the full name for a tool using mise use aqua:1password/cli if you want to use a specific backend.
Version-specific backends
A registry backend can declare the first tool version it supports. mise skips it for older version requests and uses the next eligible backend. For example, mise use hk@1.58.0 uses Aqua, while mise use hk@1.58.1 uses Packslip. Older prefixes such as hk@1.57 also use Aqua; latest and prefixes spanning the boundary keep the normal backend priority.
These boundaries apply to registry shorthands. You can still choose a backend explicitly, and matching lockfile entries preserve their recorded backend. See minimum backend versions for the registry format.
Environment Variable Overrides
You can override the backend for any tool using environment variables with the pattern MISE_BACKENDS_<TOOL>. This takes the highest priority and overrides any registry or alias configuration:
# Use vfox backend for php
export MISE_BACKENDS_PHP='vfox:mise-plugins/vfox-php'
mise install php@latestThe tool name in the environment variable should be in SHOUTY_SNAKE_CASE (uppercase with underscores). For example, my-tool becomes MISE_BACKENDS_MY_TOOL.
Source: https://github.com/jdx/mise/blob/main/registry/
Tools
Note that mise registry can be used to list all tools in the registry. mise use without any arguments will show a tui to select a tool to install.
Badges next to a backend show the signature or provenance checks mise performs when installing through it, in addition to checksums:
- packslip — a signed release manifest verified against the project's pinned signer
- attestations, SLSA, cosign, minisign — aqua verification configured in the bundled aqua registry for at least one version of the package
Aqua badges come from registry metadata, so a check may apply only to some versions or platforms. Other backends, such as github:, detect what a release publishes at install time and are not badged here. Each tool's details link opens its page on mise-versions.jdx.dev, which lists its versions and the security information mise reports for it. From the command line, mise tool <name> reports the checks for the backend mise would use, while mise registry --json --security merges the checks of every backend registered for a tool.