Tasks

A task is a named command or script that runs with your project's tools and environment variables. Use tasks for builds, tests, linters, development servers, and other commands that teammates and CI should run the same way.

Run your first task

Add a task to mise.toml in a project directory:

mise.toml

[tasks.hello]
description = "Check that task execution works"
run = "echo hello from mise"

Run it with mise run:

mise run hello

[hello] $ echo hello from mise
hello from mise

mise prints the command it runs, then the command's output. Shell activation is not required: mise run loads the project's configuration and, unless task.run_auto_install is off, installs missing tools before the task starts. Run mise tasks ls to list tasks and mise tasks info hello to see where a task is defined.

Choose a task format

Format	Use it when	Where it lives
TOML tasks	The command fits on a line or two, or the task mostly runs other tasks.	[tasks.<name>] in mise.toml
File tasks	The script is long enough to benefit from your editor's highlighting and linting.	An executable script in mise-tasks/ or another task directory

Both formats use the same runner and accept most of the same properties. Start with TOML and move a script into a file when it grows. Either format can inherit shared settings from a task template.

Write a task as a script

Save a script as mise-tasks/hello:

mise-tasks/hello

#!/usr/bin/env bash
#MISE description="Check that task execution works"
echo "hello from a file task"

On Linux and macOS, make it executable with chmod +x mise-tasks/hello, then run mise run hello. Define the name hello either in this file or in the TOML task above, not both. File tasks explains how Windows decides which files are tasks.

Group tasks with dependencies

A task with only depends runs other tasks. The prerequisites can run in parallel; their order in depends does not set a sequence:

mise.toml

[tasks.check]
depends = ["format", "test"]

[tasks.format]
run = "echo checking formatting"

[tasks.test]
run = "echo running tests"

mise run check runs format and test. Replace the echo commands with your project's checks. When one step must finish before the next starts, use run steps instead.

Build a task workflow

• Running tasks: select tasks by name or pattern, pass arguments, and control parallelism and output. Tasks also receive variables that describe the task.
• Task arguments: give a task a command-line interface with validation, --help, and completions.
• Dependencies and execution order: choose between depends, wait_for, depends_post, and run steps.
• Task discovery and precedence: where mise finds tasks and which definition wins.
• Task templates: share tools, environment variables, and arguments across tasks.
• Task caching: skip or restore work whose inputs have not changed.
• Monorepo tasks: run tasks across several project roots.
• Task configuration reference: every task property and task.* setting.