mise-ide-activation

IDE activation — the overview

Every IDE has the same fundamental problem: how does it find the tool versions that mise pins for this project? There are only four ways to solve it, and every IDE uses one or more of them.

The four mechanisms

1. Shims on PATH

~/.local/share/mise/shims is a directory of shim scripts. Each shim is named after a tool (python, node, go, etc.) and resolves to the project-appropriate version by reading mise.toml at invocation time.

Put this directory on PATH and 90% of IDE-mise problems disappear. Anywhere the IDE types python or spawns node, it hits a shim and gets the right version.

This is universal: works in every IDE that respects PATH, which is all of them.

2. mise activate in the login shell

If you run eval "$(mise activate zsh)" in ~/.zshrc (or ~/.bash_profile), then any IDE launched from a terminal inherits the activation. This also handles env vars from [env], not just tools.

The catch: IDEs launched from GUI launchers (Alfred, Spotlight, Dock, taskbar) don't always run the login shell. So this alone isn't enough.

3. Native mise support (via plugin/extension)

A few IDEs have first-party mise plugins:

• VSCode: hverlin.mise-vscode
• JetBrains: 134130/intellij-mise
• (Neovim, Zed, Sublime, Helix: no native plugin yet — they rely on PATH.)

These plugins read mise.toml directly and integrate mise tasks + tools into the IDE UI.

4. asdf compatibility

mise's install layout is asdf-compatible. Any IDE with asdf support (older JetBrains, some language plugins) can be pointed at mise's installs by symlinking:

ln -sfn ~/.local/share/mise/installs ~/.asdf/installs

This is the fallback when an IDE's language plugin predates mise support but does know about asdf.

Decision tree — which mechanism do I need?

Which IDE?
├── VSCode
│   └── Install hverlin.mise-vscode + add shims to PATH in settings.json
│       Plus: automationProfile.osx login shell (see mise-vscode-integration)
│
├── JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, GoLand, etc.)
│   └── Install 134130/intellij-mise plugin
│       Fallback: asdf symlink (see mise-jetbrains-integration)
│
├── Neovim
│   └── Add vim.env.PATH prepend in init.lua
│       (see mise-neovim-integration)
│
├── Xcode
│   └── Add shims to PATH in .xcode.env.local or build phase
│       (see Xcode section below)
│
├── Zed / Sublime / Helix / other
│   └── Add shims to PATH at the OS / login-shell level, that's enough
│
└── Emacs
    └── Use exec-path-from-shell, or hard-code mise shims in exec-path

The universal fallback: shims-on-PATH at the OS level

If you don't want to wire every IDE individually, set mise shims on PATH at the shell level and launch every IDE from that shell:

# ~/.zshrc (or ~/.bash_profile)
export PATH="$HOME/.local/share/mise/shims:$PATH"

Now:

• Any terminal session: has shims on PATH.
• Any IDE launched from that terminal: inherits PATH.
• Any tool the IDE spawns: hits a shim, gets the right version.

The downside: GUI launchers (Spotlight, Alfred) don't inherit shell env. Workarounds:

• macOS: use launchctl setenv PATH "$HOME/.local/share/mise/shims:$PATH" in a LaunchAgent. Persists across reboots.
• Linux with systemd: set Environment=PATH=... in ~/.config/environment.d/mise.conf.
• Windows: edit user-level PATH in System Properties → Environment Variables.

Xcode specifically

Xcode is the most annoying case because it doesn't read shell rc files AND its build phases run in a sandbox. Pattern:

1. Create .xcode.env.local in the project root:

   export PATH="$HOME/.local/share/mise/shims:$PATH"
   

2. Reference it from .xcode.env:

   source .xcode.env.local
   

3. For CocoaPods / Fastlane / Tuist build phases, add a shell phase that sources the mise shims at the top.

There's no native Xcode plugin for mise. You're in PATH-manipulation territory.

Why so many mechanisms?

Each IDE has its own philosophy about how to find tools:

• VSCode follows PATH for most things but has the automation profile quirk.
• JetBrains has its own SDK abstraction that predates mise.
• Neovim is the simplest because it just inherits the parent process env.
• Xcode is the worst because Apple.

The good news: shims-on-PATH works everywhere as a baseline. Native plugins are nice-to-haves on top.

Quick-start recipe — "I just want it to work"

1. Put export PATH="$HOME/.local/share/mise/shims:$PATH" in ~/.zshrc.
2. Put eval "$(mise activate zsh)" in ~/.zshrc.
3. For macOS GUI launches: launchctl setenv PATH "$HOME/.local/share/mise/shims:$PATH" or log out and back in after editing PATH.
4. Install the native extension/plugin for your IDE if one exists.
5. Done.

If something still doesn't see the right version, read the per-IDE skill for that IDE.

See also

• mise-vscode-integration — VSCode depth, including the automation profile quirk.
• mise-jetbrains-integration — JetBrains depth, including the asdf symlink.
• mise-neovim-integration — Neovim depth, including the vim.env.PATH pattern.
• mise-pathing-and-shims — what shims actually are under the hood.
• mise-shell-activation — shell-level activation details.
• /mise-vscode-setup and /mise-jetbrains-setup — guided wiring commands.