mise Tasks Orchestration

Orchestrate multi-step project workflows using mise [tasks] section with dependency management, argument handling, and file tracking.

When to Use This Skill

Explicit triggers:

User mentions mise tasks, mise run, [tasks] section
User needs task dependencies: depends, depends_post
User wants workflow automation in .mise.toml
User mentions task arguments or usage spec

AI Discovery trigger (prescriptive):

When mise-configuration skill detects multi-step workflows (test suites, build pipelines, migrations), prescriptively invoke this skill to generate appropriate [tasks] definitions.

Quick Reference

Task Definition

[tasks.build]
description = "Build the project"
run = "cargo build --release"

Running Tasks

mise run build          # Run single task
mise run test build     # Run multiple tasks
mise run test ::: build # Run in parallel
mise r build            # Short form

Dependency Types

Type	Syntax	When
`depends`	`depends = ["lint", "test"]`	Run BEFORE task
`depends_post`	`depends_post = ["notify"]`	Run AFTER task succeeds
`wait_for`	`wait_for = ["db"]`	Wait only if running

Key Task Properties

Property	Purpose	Example
`description`	AI-agent discoverability (CRITICAL)	`"Run pytest with coverage. Exits non-zero on failure."`
`alias`	Short name	`alias = "t"`
`dir`	Working directory	`dir = "packages/frontend"`
`env`	Task-specific env vars (NOT passed to deps)	`env = { LOG_LEVEL = "debug" }`
`hide`	Hidden from `mise tasks` output	`hide = true`
`sources`	File tracking for caching	`sources = ["src/*/.rs"]`
`outputs`	Skip if newer than sources	`outputs = ["target/release/myapp"]`
`confirm`	Prompt before execution	`confirm = "Delete all data?"`
`quiet`	Suppress mise output	`quiet = true`
`silent`	Suppress ALL output	`silent = true`
`raw`	Direct stdin/stdout (disables parallelism)	`raw = true`
`tools`	Task-specific tool versions	`tools = { python = "3.9" }`
`shell`	Custom shell	`shell = "pwsh -c"`
`usage`	Argument spec (preferred over Tera)	See Task Arguments

Namespacing

mise run 'test:*'      # All tasks starting with test:
mise run 'db:**'       # Nested: db:migrate:up, db:seed:test
mise tasks --hidden    # View hidden tasks (prefixed with _)

For detailed examples and patterns for all levels, see Task Levels Reference.

Level 10: Monorepo (Experimental)

Requires: MISE_EXPERIMENTAL=1 and experimental_monorepo_root = true

mise run //projects/frontend:build    # Absolute from root
mise run :build                       # Current config_root
mise run //...:test                   # All projects
mise run '//projects/...:build'       # Build all under projects/

Tasks in subdirectories are auto-discovered with path prefix (packages/api/.mise.toml tasks become packages/api:taskname).

For complete monorepo documentation, see: advanced.md

Level 11: Polyglot Monorepo with Pants + mise

For Python-heavy polyglot monorepos (10-50 packages), combine mise for runtime management with Pants for build orchestration and native affected detection.

Tool	Responsibility
mise	Runtime versions (Python, Node, Rust) + environment variables
Pants	Build orchestration + native affected detection + dependency inference

# Native affected detection (no manual git scripts)
pants --changed-since=origin/main test
pants --changed-since=origin/main lint
pants --changed-since=origin/main package

Scale	Recommendation
< 10 packages	mise + custom affected (Level 10 patterns)
10-50 packages (Python-heavy)	Pants + mise (this section)
50+ packages	Consider Bazel

See polyglot-affected.md for complete Pants + mise integration guide and tool comparison.

Integration with [env]

Tasks automatically inherit [env] values. Use _.file for external env files and redact = true for secrets.

[env]
DATABASE_URL = "postgresql://localhost/mydb"
_.file = { path = ".env.secrets", redact = true }

[tasks._check-env]
hide = true
run = '[ -n "$API_KEY" ] || { echo "Missing API_KEY"; exit 1; }'

[tasks.deploy]
depends = ["_check-env"]
run = "deploy.sh"  # $DATABASE_URL and $API_KEY available

For full env integration patterns, see Environment Integration.

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Why Bad	Instead
Replace /itp:go with mise tasks	No TodoWrite, no ADR tracking, no checkpoints	Use mise tasks for project workflows, /itp:go for ADR-driven development
Hardcode secrets in tasks	Security risk	Use `_.file = ".env.secrets"` with `redact = true`
Giant monolithic tasks	Hard to debug, no reuse	Break into small tasks with dependencies
Skip or minimal `description`	AI agents cannot infer task purpose from name alone	Write rich descriptions: what it does, requires, produces, when to run
Publish without build `depends`	Runtime failure instead of DAG prevention	Add `depends = ["build"]` to publish tasks
Orchestrator without all phases	"Run X next" messages get ignored	Include all phases in `release:full` depends array

For release-specific anti-patterns and patterns, see Release Workflow Patterns.

Cross-Reference: mise-configuration

Prerequisites: Before defining tasks, ensure [env] section is configured.

PRESCRIPTIVE: After defining tasks, invoke mise-configuration skill to ensure [env] SSoT patterns are applied.

The mise-configuration skill covers:

[env] - Environment variables with defaults
[settings] - mise behavior configuration
[tools] - Version pinning
Special directives: _.file, _.path, _.python.venv

Additional Resources

Task Levels Reference - Levels 1-9: basic tasks, dependencies, hidden tasks, arguments, file tracking, advanced execution, watch mode
Task Patterns - Real-world task examples
Task Arguments - Complete usage spec reference
Advanced Features - Monorepo, watch, experimental
Environment Integration - [env] inheritance and credential loading
Polyglot Affected - Pants + mise integration guide and tool comparison
Bootstrap Monorepo - Autonomous polyglot monorepo bootstrap meta-prompt
Release Workflow Patterns - Release task DAG patterns, build-before-publish enforcement

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Solution
Task not found	Typo or wrong mise.toml	Run `mise tasks` to list available tasks
Dependencies not run	Circular dependency	Check task depends arrays for cycles
Sources not working	Wrong glob pattern	Use relative paths from mise.toml location
Watch not triggering	File outside sources list	Add file pattern to sources array
Env vars not available	Task in wrong directory	Ensure mise.toml is in cwd or parent
Run fails with error	Script path issue	Use absolute path or relative to mise.toml

mise-tasks