Demo

The following demo shows:

• how to use mise exec to run a command with a specific version of a tool
• how to use mise to install many other tools, such as jq, terraform, or go
• how to use mise to manage multiple versions of node on the same system

Guided transcript

This follows the recording's workflow. Commands and release requests below are kept usable for current mise; exact versions, paths, and output in the recording may differ. To follow along, install mise and use a Bash shell. The demo changes global tool defaults; use a scratch environment if you do not want those selections in your normal config.

Run one command

mise exec node@26 -- node --version
mise exec terraform -- terraform version

mise exec installs a missing tool and makes it available to that child command. It does not select the tool for the calling shell or save it in mise.toml. A subsequent plain node --version uses whatever Node.js was already on the shell's PATH, if any.

Activate and choose global defaults

eval "$(mise activate bash)"
mise use --global node@lts
node --version
which node

After the prompt updates, activation puts the selected Node.js installation on PATH. lts is a release request resolved by the Node.js backend, so its exact version changes over time. which node shows the executable chosen by this shell; with PATH activation, that is normally the real installed binary.

Add other global tools and inspect their selection:

mise use --global terraform jq go
terraform version
jq --version
go version
mise ls --current

Override defaults in a project

mkdir myproj
cd myproj
mise use node@26 pnpm@10
node --version
pnpm --version
cat mise.toml

The project config contains:

[tools]
node = "26"
pnpm = "10"

Within this project, Node.js 26 overrides the global lts request. Leave the project and wait for the next shell prompt to restore the global selection:

cd ..
node --version
mise ls --current

For a first project with tools, environment variables, and tasks, continue with getting started. For configuration overrides and upgrades, use the walkthrough.