v2026.9.15

`mise oci build` can now package tools installed by vfox plugins, and vfox plugins can repair an existing install when its tool options change. Shell prompts, `cd`, and settings loading are faster. Dotfiles `include`/`exclude` patterns now follow `.gitignore` rules for `*` and a leading `/`, which fixes a case where rollback could delete a live file.

## Added

- **vfox tools in OCI images (experimental).** `mise oci build` used to reject every tool installed by a vfox plugin. It now builds those tools into the image, with one layer per tool plus one layer per plugin at `/mise/plugins/<name>/`, so mise inside the image can resolve the tool without cloning the plugin. The plugin's env hook runs on the build host. Install-dir paths are rewritten to their in-image location, and mise warns when a value points into the host's home directory. Changing a plugin invalidates the reused layers of its tools on `mise oci push`. asdf plugins are still rejected. [#13670](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13670)
- **vfox plugins can repair installs that no longer match tool options.** Plugins can add an optional `hooks/mise_install_satisfied.lua` hook that tells mise an installed version no longer matches its options, for example after a component is added to a gcloud config. `mise install` and auto-install (such as `mise x`) then rerun the plugin's `PostInstall` and the tool's `postinstall` script on the existing install without downloading it again. If the hook itself errors, mise warns and keeps the install. Plugins without the hook work as before. See `docs/tool-plugin-development.md`. [#13668](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13668)

  ```toml
  [tools]
  gcloud = { version = "latest", components = ["gke-gcloud-auth-plugin"] }
  ```

- **Git subdirectory installs for `pypi:`.** Git sources now accept a `#subdirectory=` fragment (other fragment keys are passed through as written), and `git+<scheme>://` URLs work without a trailing `.git`. Each subdirectory is its own tool with its own install directory. `latest` still means the repository's newest GitHub release, so pin a branch or commit if those releases predate the subdirectory. [#13607](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13607) (@jakedgy)

  ```toml
  [tools]
  "pypi:git+https://github.com/runpantheon/ltui#subdirectory=ltui" = "main"
  "pypi:runpantheon/ltui#subdirectory=jtui" = "main"
  ```

- **`max_version` for registry backends.** Registry entries can now set an exclusive `max_version`, alone or together with `min_version`, so older releases can come from a legacy backend and newer ones from another. It requires `version_order = "semver"`. A locked backend is used only for versions it serves. [#13676](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13676)
- **Mac App Store names in `mise bootstrap packages status`.** Installed `mas:` packages now show the app name next to the numeric ID (for example `1056643111 (Clocker)`), and `--json` adds a `name` field. Apps that aren't installed still show only their ID. [#13622](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13622)
- **Registry:** added `sofka` ([#13612](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13612), @jylenhof), `imessage-exporter` ([#13640](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13640), @i-api), and `spotify-downloader` ([#13641](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13641), @i-api). `nub` 0.9.5 and later now installs from `github:nubjs/nub`, and the entry lists the `nubr` bin ([#13643](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13643), @colinhacks). `cocogitto` now lists `cog` as its bin ([#13657](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13657)).

## Changed

- **`mise exec` warns when a missing pinned tool falls back to `PATH`.** When auto-install is off (`exec_auto_install = false`, `auto_install = false`, or `auto_install_disable_tools`) and the command belongs to a pinned tool that isn't installed, mise used to run a same-named binary from `PATH` without saying anything. It still runs it, but now prints a warning such as `jq@1.7.1 is not installed and auto-install is disabled, so mise looks for jq on PATH instead`. There's no warning when another configured version of the tool, a command wrapper, or a project `env._.path` entry provides the command. [#13650](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13650), [#13658](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13658)
- **`mise tasks validate` fails on unparseable usage specs.** A file task's `#USAGE` spec (or a TOML task's `usage`) that doesn't parse is now a `usage-parse-error` error, so validation exits 1, including with `--errors-only`. Before, it was only a warning and validation passed. `mise run` and `mise tasks ls` behave as before. **CI that runs `mise tasks validate` will now fail on these specs.** [#13672](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13672)
- **Linux GNU release binaries are linked non-PIE.** Every mise command on Linux x64, arm64, and armv7 (GNU) now starts about 3 ms faster. The tradeoff is that ASLR no longer applies to mise's own code and data, though the heap, stack, and shared libraries are still randomized. musl, macOS, source builds, and `cargo install` are unchanged. [#13687](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13687)

## Fixed

### Dotfiles
- **`*` no longer crosses `/` in tracked `include` patterns.** Capture and rollback used to disagree about what `rules/*.md` selected. After you widened the list, `mise dot rollback` to an older checkpoint could delete a nested file such as `rules/deep/two.md`. `include` now follows `.gitignore` rules: `*` stops at `/`, and you need `**` to match nested files. `exclude` lists keep matching what they matched before, but mise now prints a deprecation warning when an exclusion depends on `*` crossing `/`. Use `**` in those patterns instead. [#13618](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13618)
- **A leading `/` anchors `include`/`exclude` patterns to the entry root.** Before, these patterns matched nothing at all. Now `exclude = ["/cache"]` skips only the top-level `cache` directory, and `include = ["/rules/*.md"]` works. In the global `[history] exclude` list, a leading `/` still means an absolute path. [#13621](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13621)

### Tasks and config
- Tasks in a `conf.d` folder fragment now run in that folder, with `{{config_root}}` and `MISE_CONFIG_ROOT` pointing there. Each folder's `[task_config]` applies only to its own tasks, so a fragment's `includes` no longer hides the default task directories like `~/.config/mise/tasks`. [#13662](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13662)
- A settings load that was already running could cache a stale snapshot after another thread changed settings, which dropped a just-applied override. This is fixed. [#13646](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13646)

### Plugins and shims
- mise now warns when an installed git plugin's origin URL or checked-out commit doesn't match its `[plugins]` entry. The warning appears in `mise install`, `mise plugins install`, and `mise doctor`. Related fixes [#13663](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13663):
  - `mise plugins install --force <name>` now reinstalls from the `[plugins]` pin.
  - A failed ref checkout no longer leaves an unpinned clone behind.
  - Short SHAs fail with a clear error, since a full SHA is required.
  - Shorthand pins like `owner/repo#v1.2.0` keep their ref.
- On Windows, `[wrappers.*]` command wrappers (including the `cargo` wrapper that `mr_boxington` generates) now run through `exe`- and `file`-mode shims and `mise x`. Before, the real tool ran instead. [#13673](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13673)

### Bootstrap
- On apt systems, mise now simulates the install first and runs `apt-get update` once if the simulation fails. This fixes `has no installation candidate` failures on machines whose package lists cover only the install media. [#13659](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13659)
- On macOS, `mise bootstrap macos defaults` now reads and writes the container plist for sandboxed apps such as Safari, which the app actually uses. Launch the app once first so its container exists. Writing another app's container may require Full Disk Access for your terminal. [#13660](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13660)
- When `mise bootstrap packages prune` fails on a `brew:` formula it can't resolve, the error now names the config file that declares it. When the name is actually a cask, mise suggests `brew-cask:<name>`. [#13661](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13661)

## Performance

- **Faster shell prompts.** When nothing has changed, `mise hook-env` no longer loads all settings or starts the async runtime (6.6 ms to 4.9 ms on Linux in the PR's measurements), as long as `hook_env.chpwd_only` and `hook_env.cache_ttl` are unset. [#13686](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13686)
- **Faster `cd` with npm tools installed.** The npm install health check now reads the virtual store's directory listing instead of calling `stat` on every package. [#13685](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13685)
- **Faster settings loading.** Config discovery skips `conf.d` globs for directories that don't exist, which halves settings load time in deep checkouts. [#13688](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13688)
- **Faster `brew-cask:` lookups.** Official casks are resolved from Homebrew's bulk `cask.json` index, cached locally and re-checked with a conditional request after 7.5 minutes, instead of one request per cask. In the PR's test, `bootstrap packages status` with 143 casks dropped from about 26s to about 2s. [#13349](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13349) (@waynehoover)
- **Fixed slowdowns from deferred prunes.** When a deferred-prune receipt from `mise upgrade` comes due but the version is still in use, mise now re-checks it once a day instead of on every command. This could make trivial commands about 9x slower. Pruning can now happen up to a day after the last reference is removed. [#13674](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13674)
- `mise ls`, `mise prune`, and shim rebuilds scan install directories in a single pass. [#13675](https://github.com/jdx/mise/pull/13675)

**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/jdx/mise/compare/vfox-v2026.9.16...v2026.9.15

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If mise saves you or your team time, please consider becoming an [individual or company sponsor](https://jdx.dev/sponsors.html). Your support funds ongoing development and helps keep mise fast, free, and independent.