mise Configuration as Single Source of Truth

Use mise [env] as centralized configuration with backward-compatible defaults.

Core Principle

Define all configurable values in .mise.toml [env] section. Scripts read via environment variables with fallback defaults. Same code path works WITH or WITHOUT mise installed.

Key insight: mise auto-loads [env] values when shell has mise activate configured. Scripts using os.environ.get("VAR", "default") pattern work identically whether mise is present or not.

Quick Reference

Language Patterns

Language	Pattern	Notes
Python	os.environ.get("VAR", "default")	Returns string, cast if int
Bash	${VAR:-default}	Standard POSIX expansion
JavaScript	process.env.VAR || "default"	Falsy check, watch for "0"
Go	os.Getenv("VAR") with default	Empty string if unset
Rust	std::env::var("VAR").unwrap_or()	Returns Result<String>

Special Directives

Directive	Purpose	Example
_.file	Load from .env files	_.file = ".env"
_.path	Extend PATH	_.path = ["bin", "node_modules/.bin"]
_.source	Execute bash scripts	_.source = "./scripts/env.sh"
_.python.venv	Auto-create Python venv	_.python.venv = { path = ".venv", create = true }

Python Venv Auto-Creation (Critical)

Auto-create and activate Python virtual environments:

[env]
_.python.venv = { path = ".venv", create = true }

This pattern is used in ALL projects. When entering the directory with mise activated:

1. Creates .venv if it doesn't exist
2. Activates the venv automatically
3. Works with uv for fast venv creation

Alternative via [settings]:

[settings]
python.uv_venv_auto = true

Special Directives

Load from .env Files (_.file)

[env]
# Single file
_.file = ".env"

# Multiple files with options
_.file = [
    ".env",
    { path = ".env.secrets", redact = true }
]

Extend PATH (_.path)

[env]
_.path = [
    "{{config_root}}/bin",
    "{{config_root}}/node_modules/.bin",
    "scripts"
]

Source Bash Scripts (_.source)

[env]
_.source = "./scripts/env.sh"
_.source = { path = ".secrets.sh", redact = true }

Lazy Evaluation (tools = true)

By default, env vars resolve BEFORE tools install. Use tools = true to access tool-generated paths:

[env]
# Access PATH after tools are set up
GEM_BIN = { value = "{{env.GEM_HOME}}/bin", tools = true }

# Load .env files after tool setup
_.file = { path = ".env", tools = true }

Template Syntax (Tera)

mise uses Tera templating. Delimiters: {{ }} expressions, {% %} statements, {# #} comments.

Built-in Variables

Variable	Description
{{config_root}}	Directory containing .mise.toml
{{cwd}}	Current working directory
{{env.VAR}}	Environment variable
{{mise_bin}}	Path to mise binary
{{mise_pid}}	mise process ID
{{xdg_cache_home}}	XDG cache directory
{{xdg_config_home}}	XDG config directory
{{xdg_data_home}}	XDG data directory

Functions

[env]
# Get env var with fallback
NODE_VER = "{{ get_env(name='NODE_VERSION', default='20') }}"

# Execute shell command
TIMESTAMP = "{{ exec(command='date +%Y-%m-%d') }}"

# System info
ARCH = "{{ arch() }}"      # x64, arm64
OS = "{{ os() }}"          # linux, macos, windows
CPUS = "{{ num_cpus() }}"

# File operations
VERSION = "{{ read_file(path='VERSION') | trim }}"
HASH = "{{ hash_file(path='config.json', len=8) }}"

Filters

[env]
# Case conversion
SNAKE = "{{ name | snakecase }}"
KEBAB = "{{ name | kebabcase }}"
CAMEL = "{{ name | lowercamelcase }}"

# String manipulation
TRIMMED = "{{ text | trim }}"
UPPER = "{{ text | upper }}"
REPLACED = "{{ text | replace(from='old', to='new') }}"

# Path operations
ABSOLUTE = "{{ path | absolute }}"
BASENAME = "{{ path | basename }}"
DIRNAME = "{{ path | dirname }}"

Conditionals

[env]
{% if env.DEBUG %}
LOG_LEVEL = "debug"
{% else %}
LOG_LEVEL = "info"
{% endif %}

Required & Redacted Variables

Required Variables

Enforce variable definition with helpful messages:

[env]
DATABASE_URL = { required = true }
API_KEY = { required = "Get from https://example.com/api-keys" }

Redacted Variables

Hide sensitive values from output:

[env]
SECRET = { value = "my_secret", redact = true }
_.file = { path = ".env.secrets", redact = true }

# Pattern-based redactions
redactions = ["*_TOKEN", "*_KEY", "PASSWORD"]

[settings] Section

[settings]
experimental = true              # Enable experimental features
python.uv_venv_auto = true       # Auto-create venv with uv

[tools] Version Pinning

Pin tool versions for reproducibility:

[tools]
python = "3.11"  # minimum baseline; use 3.12, 3.13 as needed
node = "latest"
uv = "latest"

# With options
rust = { version = "1.75", profile = "minimal" }

min_version: Enforce mise version compatibility:

min_version = "2024.9.5"

Implementation Steps

1. Identify hardcoded values - timeouts, paths, thresholds, feature flags
2. Create .mise.toml - add [env] section with documented variables
3. Add venv auto-creation - _.python.venv = { path = ".venv", create = true }
4. Update scripts - use env vars with original values as defaults
5. Add ADR reference - comment: # ADR: 2025-12-08-mise-env-centralized-config
6. Test without mise - verify script works using defaults
7. Test with mise - verify activated shell uses .mise.toml values

GitHub Token Multi-Account Patterns (MANDATORY for Multi-Account Setups) {#github-token-multi-account-patterns}

For multi-account GitHub setups, mise [env] provides per-directory token configuration that overrides gh CLI's global authentication.

Token Storage

Store tokens in a centralized, secure location:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/.secrets
chmod 700 ~/.claude/.secrets

# Create token files (one per account)
gh auth login  # authenticate as account
gh auth token > ~/.claude/.secrets/gh-token-accountname
chmod 600 ~/.claude/.secrets/gh-token-*

Per-Directory Configuration

# ~/.claude/.mise.toml (terrylica account)
[env]
GH_TOKEN = "{{ read_file(path=config_root ~ '/.secrets/gh-token-terrylica') | trim }}"
GITHUB_TOKEN = "{{ read_file(path=config_root ~ '/.secrets/gh-token-terrylica') | trim }}"
GH_ACCOUNT = "terrylica"  # For human reference only

# ~/eon/.mise.toml (terrylica account - different directory)
[env]
GH_TOKEN = "{{ read_file(path=env.HOME ~ '/.claude/.secrets/gh-token-terrylica') | trim }}"
GITHUB_TOKEN = "{{ read_file(path=env.HOME ~ '/.claude/.secrets/gh-token-terrylica') | trim }}"
GH_ACCOUNT = "terrylica"

Variable Naming Convention

Variable	Usage Context	Example
GH_TOKEN	mise [env], Doppler, verification tasks	.mise.toml, shell scripts
GITHUB_TOKEN	npm scripts, GitHub Actions, semantic-release	package.json, workflows

Rule: Always set BOTH variables in mise [env] pointing to the same token file. Different tools check different variable names.

Alternative: 1Password Integration

For enhanced security with automatic token rotation:

[env]
GH_TOKEN = "{{ op_read('op://Engineering/GitHub Token/credential') }}"

With caching for performance:

[env]
GH_TOKEN = "{{ cache(key='gh_token', duration='1h', run='op read op://Engineering/GitHub Token/credential') }}"

Verification

/usr/bin/env bash << 'MISE_EOF'
for dir in ~/.claude ~/eon ~/own ~/scripts ~/459ecs; do
  cd "$dir" && eval "$(mise hook-env -s bash)" && echo "$dir → $GH_ACCOUNT"
done
MISE_EOF

ADR Reference: GitHub Multi-Account Authentication

SSH ControlMaster Warning: If using multi-account SSH, ensure ControlMaster no is set for GitHub hosts in ~/.ssh/config. Cached connections can authenticate with the wrong account. See semantic-release authentication for troubleshooting.

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Why	Instead
mise exec -- script.py	Forces mise dependency	Use env vars with defaults
Secrets in .mise.toml	Visible in repo	Use Doppler or redact = true
No defaults in scripts	Breaks without mise	Always provide fallback
Mixing env/tools resolution	Order matters	Use tools = true for tool-dependent vars

Task Orchestration Integration

When you detect workflow opportunities during mise configuration, prescriptively invoke the mise-tasks skill.

Detection Triggers

• Multi-step workflows (test + build + deploy)
• Repeatable project commands (lint, format, release)
• Dependency chains (db-migrate depends on db-init)
• File-tracked builds (sources/outputs caching)

Prescriptive AI Reminder

PRESCRIPTIVE: When detecting multi-step project workflows, invoke mise-tasks skill to generate appropriate [tasks] definitions with dependency management.

Example: From Environment to Tasks

Step 1: Configure environment (this skill):

[env]
DATABASE_URL = "postgresql://localhost/mydb"
_.python.venv = { path = ".venv", create = true }

Step 2: Define tasks (mise-tasks skill):

[tasks.test]
depends = ["lint"]
run = "pytest tests/"

[tasks.deploy]
depends = ["test", "build"]
run = "deploy.sh"

Tasks automatically inherit [env] values.

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Additional Resources

For complete code patterns and examples, see: references/patterns.md

For task orchestration, see: mise-tasks skill - Dependencies, arguments, file tracking, watch mode

ADR Reference: When implementing mise configuration, create an ADR at docs/adr/YYYY-MM-DD-mise-env-centralized-config.md in your project.