asdf vs mise
asdf
asdf-vm.com
mise
mise.en.devSide by side
| Figure | asdf | mise |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Development Environment Management Tools | 8.0 (#9) | 7.5 (#21) |
| Purpose | asdf is a tool version manager that uses one `.tool-versions` file to share exact tool versions with a project team. | mise is a development environment setup tool that uses mise.toml to configure project tools, environments, and commands. |
| Shell support | The homepage lists Bash, ZSH, Fish, and Elvish support with completions available. | Shell activation is documented for bash, zsh, fish, nushell, PowerShell, and other shells. |
Plans
In their own words
asdf
asdf is a free, open-source version manager for Linux and macOS. It gives project teams one command interface and a shared `.tool-versions` file for selecting exact versions of multiple tools and runtimes. Plugins support tools such as Node.js, Ruby, and Elixir, while the plugin API allows additional tools. When a command runs, asdf searches for configuration from the current directory upward toward the home directory, then uses shims to launch the selected executable. Existing `.ruby-version`, `.nvmrc`, and `.node-version` files can be supported per plugin. Listed shell support includes Bash, ZSH, Fish, and Elvish, with completions. A GitHub Action uses `.tool-versions` in CI/CD workflows. Installation options include Homebrew, Zypper, Pacman, precompiled binaries, Go, and source builds. asdf manages tool versions rather than system packages or upstream dependencies. If no version is set, execution errors unless the tool is configured as `system`.
mise
mise is a development environment setup tool for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Projects can use a mise.toml file to declare tools, environment variables, and tasks, while global configuration holds personal defaults. mise installs development tools and selects versions per project, supporting hundreds of tools. It can manage project environment variables and automatically activate Python virtual environments when entering projects. Developers can share tasks and run them when files change. Shell activation is documented for bash, zsh, fish, nushell, PowerShell, and other shells. Documentation covers IDE integration and CI examples for GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Xcode Cloud. Safe mode can prevent project configuration from executing code or injecting environment variables in supported operations, though some backends require code execution and cannot resolve versions in that mode. The project advises reviewing other people's configuration because tasks, hooks, and some environment directives can execute code. mise is a free, open-source command-line tool under the MIT license.