mise-neovim-integration

name	mise-neovim-integration
description	Wiring Neovim to mise — using vim.env.PATH to prepend the mise shims directory, handling LSP servers installed via mise vs mason.nvim, and the mise neovim cookbook pattern. Use when setting up Neovim for a project that uses mise-managed tools.

Neovim + mise

Neovim is simpler than VSCode or JetBrains: there's no plugin system to fight with, just PATH and a bit of Lua.

The core pattern

In your init.lua (or early in your config load order):

-- Prepend mise shims to PATH before any LSP / tool invocation.
local mise_shims = vim.fn.expand("~/.local/share/mise/shims")
vim.env.PATH = mise_shims .. ":" .. vim.env.PATH

Or, equivalently, in Vimscript init.vim:

let $PATH = expand('~/.local/share/mise/shims') . ':' . $PATH

That's it. Every subprocess Neovim spawns — LSPs, linters, formatters, terminal — inherits the modified PATH and finds mise-managed tools.

Why not just use the login shell?

If you launch Neovim from a terminal where mise activate has already run, PATH is already correct, and you don't need the vim.env.PATH line.

But:

• If you launch Neovim from a GUI (Neovide, macvim GUI, a desktop launcher), the shell rc never runs.
• If you launch Neovim from tmux with default-command set weirdly, same problem.
• If you use nvim --headless for scripts, same problem.

The vim.env.PATH line is a defensive belt-and-suspenders — it's always correct, regardless of how Neovim started.

Per-project tool activation (vs shims)

Shims resolve to the project-appropriate tool version by reading mise.toml at invocation time. So if you have Python 3.11 in project A and 3.12 in project B, opening a file in each and running :!python --version gives the right one without any extra work.

This is the biggest reason to use shims over mise activate in Neovim: shims are per-invocation-correct, while mise activate resolves once at Neovim startup.

LSP setup (lspconfig / nvim-lspconfig)

With shims on PATH, nvim-lspconfig finds LSPs via cmd = { "pyright" } etc. automatically. No special config:

require("lspconfig").pyright.setup({})   -- finds mise-installed pyright via shims
require("lspconfig").gopls.setup({})     -- finds mise-installed gopls
require("lspconfig").ts_ls.setup({})

Install the LSPs themselves via mise.toml:

[tools]
"npm:pyright" = "latest"
"aqua:golang/tools/gopls" = "latest"
"npm:typescript-language-server" = "latest"

mason.nvim interop

mason.nvim is the traditional way Neovim users install LSPs — it downloads them into ~/.local/share/nvim/mason/. This works, but it duplicates what mise already does: installs language tooling outside the project config.

Options:

1. Use mise for LSPs, skip mason. Simplest. Puts LSPs in mise.toml so everyone on the team gets the same version.
2. Use mason for LSPs, mise for language runtimes. Split concerns. Works fine.
3. Use both, with mason deferring to mise when a tool is available — mason-lspconfig.nvim has some hooks for this but it's fiddly.

Pick one per project and stick with it. The worst option is having both install pyright and wondering which one Neovim picks up (whichever is first on PATH, which is usually mason because ~/.local/share/nvim/mason/bin is often prepended by mason).

Formatters / linters (conform.nvim, none-ls, etc.)

Same story as LSPs — install them via mise, let conform/none-ls find them via PATH:

# mise.toml
[tools]
"aqua:mvdan/gofumpt" = "latest"
"npm:prettier" = "latest"
"pipx:ruff" = "latest"

-- conform.nvim
require("conform").setup({
  formatters_by_ft = {
    go = { "gofumpt" },
    javascript = { "prettier" },
    python = { "ruff_format" },
  },
})

Terminal mode

When you open :terminal, Neovim spawns a shell. That shell reads its rc files. If your shell rc runs mise activate, PATH gets set up normally. The vim.env.PATH change also gets inherited. Everything works.

Launching Neovim from mise tasks

If you want mise run dev to launch Neovim with the right tools, put it in mise.toml:

[tasks.dev]
run = "nvim"

Then mise run dev gives you a Neovim session with mise.toml's [env] vars already set and tools on PATH.

The mise cookbook

mise ships a Neovim cookbook recipe at docs/mise-cookbook/neovim.md (in the jdx/mise repo) / mise.jdx.dev/mise-cookbook/neovim.html with additional patterns. Worth reading once if you're doing a deep setup.

Known issues

• Launching Neovim via an application launcher (Alfred, Raycast, Spotlight) on macOS: desktop launchers don't run shell rc files. The vim.env.PATH line is essential here.
• AstroNvim / LazyVim / NvChad (distros): add the vim.env.PATH line to your user config's startup, not the distro files (those get overwritten on update).
• Treesitter compilers: :TSInstall <lang> uses cc / gcc from PATH. Make sure one is available — either from the system or from mise (ubi:gcc, etc.).

See also

• mise-pathing-and-shims — how shims work under the hood.
• mise-ide-activation — cross-IDE overview.
• mise docs: mise.jdx.dev/mise-cookbook/neovim.html.