Shell Aliases

mise can manage shell aliases that are set dynamically when you enter a directory and unset when you leave, similar to how environment variables work.

Configuration

Shell aliases are defined in mise.toml under the [shell_alias] section:

[shell_alias]
ll = "ls -la"
la = "ls -A"
gs = "git status"
gc = "git commit"

When you enter a directory with this configuration, these aliases will be automatically set in your shell. When you leave the directory (and the new directory doesn't have the same aliases), they will be unset.

Supported Shells

Shell aliases are currently supported in:

• bash - Uses alias/unalias commands
• zsh - Uses alias/unalias commands
• fish - Uses alias/functions -e commands

Other shells (nushell, elvish, xonsh, powershell) do not currently support shell aliases.

Dynamic Behavior

Shell aliases work similarly to environment variables managed by mise:

1. Set on entry: When you cd into a directory with [shell_alias] config, the aliases are set
2. Updated on change: If an alias value changes in your config, it will be updated
3. Unset on exit: When you leave the directory (or the alias is removed from config), it will be unset

$ cd ~/myproject
# mise sets: alias ll='ls -la'

$ ll
# Runs: ls -la

$ cd ~
# mise runs: unalias ll

Hierarchy

Like other mise config, shell aliases from parent directories are available in child directories. A child directory can override a parent's alias:

# ~/projects/mise.toml
[shell_alias]
build = "make build"

# ~/projects/myapp/mise.toml
[shell_alias]
build = "npm run build"  # Overrides parent

Templates

Alias values support templates, allowing dynamic values:

[shell_alias]
proj = "cd {{config_root}}"
node_version = "echo {{exec(command='node --version')}}"

Use Cases

Project-Specific Shortcuts

Define shortcuts that only make sense within a specific project:

[shell_alias]
dev = "npm run dev"
test = "npm test"
build = "npm run build"
deploy = "./scripts/deploy.sh"

Tool Wrappers

Create aliases that wrap tools with project-specific defaults:

[shell_alias]
docker-compose = "docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml"
terraform = "terraform -chdir=./infrastructure"

Quick Navigation

[shell_alias]
src = "cd {{config_root}}/src"
tests = "cd {{config_root}}/tests"
docs = "cd {{config_root}}/docs"

Limitations

• Not available in tasks: Shell aliases are only active in interactive shells where mise activate is running. They are not available inside TOML task run blocks or file tasks, since tasks run in non-interactive subshells. Use the underlying command directly in tasks, or add wrapper scripts to your PATH via env._.path.
• Shell support: Only bash, zsh, fish, and xonsh are supported. See the shell feature compatibility matrix for details.

Comparison to Tool Aliases

mise has two different alias features that serve different purposes:

Feature	Purpose	Config Key
Shell Aliases	Define shell command shortcuts (alias ll='ls -la')	[shell_alias]
Tool Aliases	Define version aliases for tools (node@lts → 20.x)	[tool_alias]

See Tool Aliases for documentation on aliasing tool versions.