mise
Dev tools, env vars, task runner
$ anc audit mise --json
Eight principles, scored
Behavioral and source checks. Every non-pass row carries a copy-paste remediation prompt.
- P1Non-Interactive by Defaultpass
All 6 checks pass.
- P2Structured, Parseable Outputfail
--output/--format flag detected but could not validate JSON via safe probes (--help/--version override output flags in most CLIs) · CLI emits structured output but exposes no `schema` subcommand or `--schema` flag at top level or nested one level deep. Agents need a runtime-discoverable schema to pin against shape changes.
Remediation · P2Make mise satisfy P2 (Structured, Parseable Output) from the agent-native CLI standard. Address: - Structured output support (--output/--format flag detected but could not validate JSON via safe probes (--help/--version override output flags in most CLIs)) - Structured-output CLI exposes its schema at runtime (CLI emits structured output but exposes no `schema` subcommand or `--schema` flag at top level or nested one level deep. Agents need a runtime-discoverable schema to pin against shape changes.) - --json / --jsonl short aliases for --output (no --json or --jsonl short alias found. Agents and pipelines benefit from short forms alongside the canonical `--output` enum.) Requirements: https://anc.dev/p2
- P3Progressive Help Discoveryfail
no `examples` subcommand or `--examples` flag found. MAY-tier — a curated usage block keeps agents from hunting through long help text. · subcommands missing example invocations in their `--help`: tool-alias, backends, bin-paths, cache, generate, implode, oci, plugins, self-update, shell-alias, sync, token, tool-stub, untrust. Examples teach agents the call shape faster than option tables; use clap's `after_help` or a dedicated `Examples:` block.
Remediation · P3Make mise satisfy P3 (Progressive Help Discovery) from the agent-native CLI standard. Address: - `examples` subcommand or `--examples` flag for curated usage patterns (no `examples` subcommand or `--examples` flag found. MAY-tier — a curated usage block keeps agents from hunting through long help text.) - Each subcommand's `--help` ships at least one invocation example (subcommands missing example invocations in their `--help`: tool-alias, backends, bin-paths, cache, generate, implode, oci, plugins, self-update, shell-alias, sync, token, tool-stub, untrust. Examples teach agents the call shape faster than option tables; use clap's `after_help` or a dedicated `Examples:` block.) Requirements: https://anc.dev/p3
- P4Fail-Fast, Actionable Errorspass
All 3 checks pass.
- P5Safe Retries & Mutation Boundariespass
All 2 checks pass.
- P6Composable, Predictable Command Structurewarn
pager referenced in --help but no --no-pager escape hatch advertised · 14/57 subcommand(s) follow standard verb names. Non-standard: activate, tool-alias, backends, bin-paths, cache, completion, deactivate, en, env, fmt, generate, implode, edit, install-into, latest, link, lock, ls-remote, mcp, oci, outdated, patrons, plugins, deps, prune, registry, reshim, self-update, settings, shell, shell-alias, tasks, test-tool, token, tool, tool-stub, trust, unset, untrust, unuse, use, where, which. MAY-tier — community-standard verbs (get/list/create/update/delete) help agents predict subcommand behavior across CLIs.
Remediation · P6Make mise satisfy P6 (Composable, Predictable Command Structure) from the agent-native CLI standard. Address: - Pager-using CLI ships --no-pager escape hatch (pager referenced in --help but no --no-pager escape hatch advertised) - Subcommand verbs follow community-standard names (14/57 subcommand(s) follow standard verb names. Non-standard: activate, tool-alias, backends, bin-paths, cache, completion, deactivate, en, env, fmt, generate, implode, edit, install-into, latest, link, lock, ls-remote, mcp, oci, outdated, patrons, plugins, deps, prune, registry, reshim, self-update, settings, shell, shell-alias, tasks, test-tool, token, tool, tool-stub, trust, unset, untrust, unuse, use, where, which. MAY-tier — community-standard verbs (get/list/create/update/delete) help agents predict subcommand behavior across CLIs.) - `--color` flag for explicit color control (no `--color` flag advertised. MAY-tier — `auto|always|never` lets agents and pipelines override the TTY-based default.) - Subcommand naming follows a consistent verb/noun convention (subcommand naming is inconsistent: 5 non-verb subcommand(s) (tool-alias, plugins, settings, shell-alias, tasks) mix verb and non-verb children at the second level, so an agent cannot predict where the action lives. SHOULD-tier: pick a consistent shape (all verb-first, all noun-verb hierarchy, or any combination where each non-verb group's children are uniformly verbs). The verb list is a heuristic; inspect `--help` to confirm.) Requirements: https://anc.dev/p6
- P7Bounded, High-Signal Responseswarn
list-style subcommand present but no limit flag advertised (looked for --limit, --max-results, --max, --top, -n). SHOULD-tier — callers should be able to bound response size directly rather than scrape-then-truncate. · list-style subcommand present but no cursor/page flag advertised (looked for --after, --before, --cursor, --page, --offset). MAY-tier — cursor pagination lets agents traverse large result sets without re-scanning earlier pages.
Remediation · P7Make mise satisfy P7 (Bounded, High-Signal Responses) from the agent-native CLI standard. Address: - `--limit` / `--max-results` flag for list operations (list-style subcommand present but no limit flag advertised (looked for --limit, --max-results, --max, --top, -n). SHOULD-tier — callers should be able to bound response size directly rather than scrape-then-truncate.) - Cursor-based pagination flags for list traversal (list-style subcommand present but no cursor/page flag advertised (looked for --after, --before, --cursor, --page, --offset). MAY-tier — cursor pagination lets agents traverse large result sets without re-scanning earlier pages.) - `--timeout` flag for long-running operations (long-running subcommand present but no timeout flag advertised (looked for --timeout, --deadline, --max-time). SHOULD-tier — without a bound, agents that hit a hung operation have to enforce timeouts externally.) - Help text advertises TTY-aware verbosity behavior (no TTY-aware language found in `--help`. MAY-tier — automatic verbosity reduction when stdout is piped or redirected lets agents skip the explicit `--quiet` flag. Behavioral probes cannot simulate a real TTY without a pty crate, so this audit relies on documented intent.) Requirements: https://anc.dev/p7
- P8Discoverable Through Agent Skill Bundlespass
All 3 checks pass.
All Audits
P1: Non-Interactive by Default
| PASS | Non-interactive by default | |
| SKIP | Non-interactive gate flag advertised in --help | target satisfies P1 via alternative gate (help-on-bare or stdin-primary) |
| PASS | Flags advertise env-var bindings in --help | |
| PASS | Secret-bearing flags expose stdin or *-file companion | |
| PASS | `--help` advertises default values for flags | |
| PASS | Rich-TUI affordance for TTY contexts |
P2: Structured, Parseable Output
| WARN | Structured output support | --output/--format flag detected but could not validate JSON via safe probes (--help/--version override output flags in most CLIs) |
| FAIL | Structured-output CLI exposes its schema at runtime | CLI emits structured output but exposes no `schema` subcommand or `--schema` flag at top level or nested one level deep. Agents need a runtime-discoverable schema to pin against shape changes. |
| WARN | --json / --jsonl short aliases for --output | no --json or --jsonl short alias found. Agents and pipelines benefit from short forms alongside the canonical `--output` enum. |
| PASS | `--raw` flag for pipe-safe unformatted output | |
| PASS | `--output` advertises additional formats beyond text/json | |
| PASS | Bad invocation exits with structured usage-error code (2) | |
| SKIP | Errors emit JSON envelope with `error`/`kind`/`message` under `--output json` | binary does not advertise `--output json` in --help; MUST applies only to CLIs that opt into the JSON contract. |
| SKIP | JSON success and error envelopes share their non-payload key set | binary does not advertise `--output json` in --help; envelope-consistency only applies to CLIs that opt into the JSON contract. |
P3: Progressive Help Discovery
| PASS | Help flag produces useful output | |
| PASS | Version flag works (`--version` plus short alias) | |
| PASS | Version flag works (`--version` plus short alias) | |
| WARN | `examples` subcommand or `--examples` flag for curated usage patterns | no `examples` subcommand or `--examples` flag found. MAY-tier — a curated usage block keeps agents from hunting through long help text. |
| PASS | Short `-h` summary differs from `--help` long form | |
| FAIL | Each subcommand's `--help` ships at least one invocation example | subcommands missing example invocations in their `--help`: tool-alias, backends, bin-paths, cache, generate, implode, oci, plugins, self-update, shell-alias, sync, token, tool-stub, untrust. Examples teach agents the call shape faster than option tables; use clap's `after_help` or a dedicated `Examples:` block. |
| PASS | Help text pairs human and `--output json` example invocations |
P4: Fail-Fast, Actionable Errors
| PASS | Rejects invalid arguments | |
| PASS | Error messages include a hint or remediation phrase | |
| SKIP | `--output json` produces JSON-formatted errors | binary does not advertise `--output json` in --help; SHOULD applies only to CLIs that opt into the JSON contract. |
P5: Safe Retries & Mutation Boundaries
| SKIP | Destructive subcommands require `--force` or `--yes` | no destructive subcommands detected; MUST applies conditionally to CLIs with destructive operations. |
| PASS | Read and write surfaces are both visible in subcommand list |
P6: Composable, Predictable Command Structure
| PASS | Handles SIGPIPE gracefully | |
| WARN | Pager-using CLI ships --no-pager escape hatch | pager referenced in --help but no --no-pager escape hatch advertised |
| PASS | Respects NO_COLOR | |
| WARN | Subcommand verbs follow community-standard names | 14/57 subcommand(s) follow standard verb names. Non-standard: activate, tool-alias, backends, bin-paths, cache, completion, deactivate, en, env, fmt, generate, implode, edit, install-into, latest, link, lock, ls-remote, mcp, oci, outdated, patrons, plugins, deps, prune, registry, reshim, self-update, settings, shell, shell-alias, tasks, test-tool, token, tool, tool-stub, trust, unset, untrust, unuse, use, where, which. MAY-tier — community-standard verbs (get/list/create/update/delete) help agents predict subcommand behavior across CLIs. |
| WARN | `--color` flag for explicit color control | no `--color` flag advertised. MAY-tier — `auto|always|never` lets agents and pipelines override the TTY-based default. |
| SKIP | Input-accepting commands read from stdin when no file is given | no input-accepting subcommand detected (process/parse/convert/transform/analyze/validate/format/lint/audit); vacuous skip for the conditional SHOULD. |
| WARN | Subcommand naming follows a consistent verb/noun convention | subcommand naming is inconsistent: 5 non-verb subcommand(s) (tool-alias, plugins, settings, shell-alias, tasks) mix verb and non-verb children at the second level, so an agent cannot predict where the action lives. SHOULD-tier: pick a consistent shape (all verb-first, all noun-verb hierarchy, or any combination where each non-verb group's children are uniformly verbs). The verb list is a heuristic; inspect `--help` to confirm. |
| PASS | Operations are subcommands, not verb-shaped flags |
P7: Bounded, High-Signal Responses
| PASS | Quiet mode available | |
| PASS | `--verbose` flag for diagnostic escalation | |
| WARN | `--limit` / `--max-results` flag for list operations | list-style subcommand present but no limit flag advertised (looked for --limit, --max-results, --max, --top, -n). SHOULD-tier — callers should be able to bound response size directly rather than scrape-then-truncate. |
| WARN | Cursor-based pagination flags for list traversal | list-style subcommand present but no cursor/page flag advertised (looked for --after, --before, --cursor, --page, --offset). MAY-tier — cursor pagination lets agents traverse large result sets without re-scanning earlier pages. |
| WARN | `--timeout` flag for long-running operations | long-running subcommand present but no timeout flag advertised (looked for --timeout, --deadline, --max-time). SHOULD-tier — without a bound, agents that hit a hung operation have to enforce timeouts externally. |
| WARN | Help text advertises TTY-aware verbosity behavior | no TTY-aware language found in `--help`. MAY-tier — automatic verbosity reduction when stdout is piped or redirected lets agents skip the explicit `--quiet` flag. Behavioral probes cannot simulate a real TTY without a pty crate, so this audit relies on documented intent. |
P8: Discoverable Through Agent Skill Bundles
| PASS | Skill bundle has install path (`tool skill install [<host>]`) | |
| PASS | `skill install --all` for multi-runtime install | |
| PASS | `skill update` / `skill upgrade` for bundle refresh |
Reproduce this scorecard for mise locally and inspect the failing audits:
anc audit --command mise --output jsonInstall anc first if you don't have it. Add --output json to get the same JSON shape committed under scorecards/.