diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index eada31bdc5..2521afba24 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -894,7 +894,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "bitflags",
  "cexpr",
  "clang-sys",
- "itertools 0.13.0",
+ "itertools 0.10.5",
  "log",
  "prettyplease",
  "proc-macro2",
@@ -1364,7 +1364,7 @@ version = "3.1.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "faf9468729b8cbcea668e36183cb69d317348c2e08e994829fb56ebfdfbaac34"
 dependencies = [
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1565,9 +1565,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "crc"
-version = "3.4.0"
+version = "3.3.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "5eb8a2a1cd12ab0d987a5d5e825195d372001a4094a0376319d5a0ad71c1ba0d"
+checksum = "9710d3b3739c2e349eb44fe848ad0b7c8cb1e42bd87ee49371df2f7acaf3e675"
 dependencies = [
  "crc-catalog",
 ]
@@ -2048,7 +2048,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
  "option-ext",
  "redox_users",
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2284,7 +2284,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "39cab71617ae0d63f51a36d69f866391735b51691dbda63cf6f96d042b63efeb"
 dependencies = [
  "libc",
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -4004,7 +4004,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
  "percent-encoding",
  "pin-project-lite",
- "socket2 0.6.2",
+ "socket2 0.5.10",
  "system-configuration",
  "tokio",
  "tower-service",
@@ -4090,7 +4090,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "js-sys",
  "log",
  "wasm-bindgen",
- "windows-core 0.62.2",
+ "windows-core",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -4442,7 +4442,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "portable-atomic",
  "portable-atomic-util",
  "serde_core",
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -4551,7 +4551,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "642883fdc81cf2da15ee8183fa1d2c7da452414dd41541a0f3e1428069345447"
 dependencies = [
  "scopeguard",
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -4868,20 +4868,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lzma-rust2"
-version = "0.13.0"
+version = "0.15.7"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "c60a23ffb90d527e23192f1246b14746e2f7f071cb84476dd879071696c18a4a"
+checksum = "1670343e58806300d87950e3401e820b519b9384281bbabfb15e3636689ffd69"
 dependencies = [
  "crc",
  "sha2",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "lzma-rust2"
-version = "0.15.7"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "1670343e58806300d87950e3401e820b519b9384281bbabfb15e3636689ffd69"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "lzma-sys"
 version = "0.1.20"
@@ -5334,7 +5328,7 @@ version = "0.50.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "7957b9740744892f114936ab4a57b3f487491bbeafaf8083688b16841a4240e5"
 dependencies = [
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -5455,7 +5449,7 @@ version = "5.0.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "51e219e79014df21a225b1860a479e2dcd7cbd9130f4defd4bd0e191ea31d67d"
 dependencies = [
- "base64 0.22.1",
+ "base64 0.21.7",
  "chrono",
  "getrandom 0.2.17",
  "http 1.4.0",
@@ -5696,7 +5690,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "7d8fae84b431384b68627d0f9b3b1245fcf9f46f6c0e3dc902e9dce64edd1967"
 dependencies = [
  "libc",
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.45.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -6215,7 +6209,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "be769465445e8c1474e9c5dac2018218498557af32d9ed057325ec9a41ae81bf"
 dependencies = [
  "heck",
- "itertools 0.14.0",
+ "itertools 0.10.5",
  "log",
  "multimap",
  "once_cell",
@@ -6235,7 +6229,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "8a56d757972c98b346a9b766e3f02746cde6dd1cd1d1d563472929fdd74bec4d"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
- "itertools 0.14.0",
+ "itertools 0.10.5",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
  "syn 2.0.114",
@@ -6330,7 +6324,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "quinn-udp",
  "rustc-hash 2.1.1",
  "rustls 0.23.36",
- "socket2 0.6.2",
+ "socket2 0.5.10",
  "thiserror 2.0.18",
  "tokio",
  "tracing",
@@ -6368,9 +6362,9 @@ dependencies = [
  "cfg_aliases",
  "libc",
  "once_cell",
- "socket2 0.6.2",
+ "socket2 0.5.10",
  "tracing",
- "windows-sys 0.60.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -6617,6 +6611,8 @@ dependencies = [
  "rustls 0.23.36",
  "rustls-pki-types",
  "rustls-platform-verifier",
+ "serde",
+ "serde_json",
  "sync_wrapper",
  "tokio",
  "tokio-native-tls",
@@ -6857,7 +6853,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "errno 0.3.14",
  "libc",
  "linux-raw-sys",
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -6928,7 +6924,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "security-framework 3.5.1",
  "security-framework-sys",
  "webpki-root-certs",
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -7435,7 +7431,7 @@ checksum = "414256b6bb303a2a38ad800096664c3b332295c17b7ef0674bf0acf44284036c"
 dependencies = [
  "crc32fast",
  "js-sys",
- "lzma-rust2 0.15.7",
+ "lzma-rust2",
  "wasm-bindgen",
 ]
 
@@ -7552,7 +7548,7 @@ version = "1.4.8"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "c4db69cba1110affc0e9f7bcd48bbf87b3f4fc7c61fc9155afd4c469eb3d6c1b"
 dependencies = [
- "errno 0.3.14",
+ "errno 0.2.8",
  "libc",
 ]
 
@@ -7992,7 +7988,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "getrandom 0.3.4",
  "once_cell",
  "rustix",
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -8141,6 +8137,7 @@ checksum = "9da98b7d9b7dad93488a84b8248efc35352b0b2657397d4167e7ad67e5d535e5"
 dependencies = [
  "deranged",
  "itoa",
+ "js-sys",
  "num-conv",
  "powerfmt",
  "serde_core",
@@ -8372,7 +8369,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "tempfile",
  "tokio",
  "tokio-util",
- "typed-path",
+ "typed-path 0.9.3",
  "untrusted 0.7.1",
  "url",
  "walkdir",
@@ -8521,6 +8518,12 @@ version = "0.9.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "82205ffd44a9697e34fc145491aa47310f9871540bb7909eaa9365e0a9a46607"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "typed-path"
+version = "0.12.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "3015e6ce46d5ad8751e4a772543a30c7511468070e98e64e20165f8f81155b64"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "typeid"
 version = "1.0.3"
@@ -9047,7 +9050,7 @@ version = "0.1.11"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "c2a7b1c03c876122aa43f3020e6c3c3ee5c05081c9a00739faf7503aeba10d22"
 dependencies = [
- "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+ "windows-sys 0.59.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -9072,7 +9075,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "9babd3a767a4c1aef6900409f85f5d53ce2544ccdfaa86dad48c91782c6d6893"
 dependencies = [
  "windows-collections",
- "windows-core 0.61.2",
+ "windows-core",
  "windows-future",
  "windows-link 0.1.3",
  "windows-numerics",
@@ -9084,7 +9087,7 @@ version = "0.2.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "3beeceb5e5cfd9eb1d76b381630e82c4241ccd0d27f1a39ed41b2760b255c5e8"
 dependencies = [
- "windows-core 0.61.2",
+ "windows-core",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -9100,26 +9103,13 @@ dependencies = [
  "windows-strings 0.4.2",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "windows-core"
-version = "0.62.2"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "b8e83a14d34d0623b51dce9581199302a221863196a1dde71a7663a4c2be9deb"
-dependencies = [
- "windows-implement",
- "windows-interface",
- "windows-link 0.2.1",
- "windows-result 0.4.1",
- "windows-strings 0.5.1",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "windows-future"
 version = "0.2.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "fc6a41e98427b19fe4b73c550f060b59fa592d7d686537eebf9385621bfbad8e"
 dependencies = [
- "windows-core 0.61.2",
+ "windows-core",
  "windows-link 0.1.3",
  "windows-threading",
 ]
@@ -9164,7 +9154,7 @@ version = "0.2.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "9150af68066c4c5c07ddc0ce30421554771e528bde427614c61038bc2c92c2b1"
 dependencies = [
- "windows-core 0.61.2",
+ "windows-core",
  "windows-link 0.1.3",
 ]
 
@@ -9632,9 +9622,9 @@ checksum = "66fee0b777b0f5ac1c69bb06d361268faafa61cd4682ae064a171c16c433e9e4"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "xx"
-version = "2.3.0"
+version = "2.5.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "704f7d8fce796d9206ab2f0a04a0c59c54394105b838b236d6687e8eef721440"
+checksum = "82a174a1d4ba003417df5f1ac4f66fa5a198aa08abcc9c0b67bb2e4b8a9bf9b5"
 dependencies = [
  "bzip2 0.6.1",
  "duct 1.1.1",
@@ -9646,13 +9636,17 @@ dependencies = [
  "miette",
  "rand 0.9.2",
  "regex",
- "reqwest 0.12.28",
+ "reqwest 0.13.1",
+ "serde",
+ "serde_json",
+ "serde_urlencoded",
  "sha2",
+ "strsim",
  "tar",
  "thiserror 2.0.18",
  "tokio",
  "xz2",
- "zip 6.0.0",
+ "zip 7.2.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -9833,26 +9827,27 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zip"
-version = "6.0.0"
+version = "7.2.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "eb2a05c7c36fde6c09b08576c9f7fb4cda705990f73b58fe011abf7dfb24168b"
+checksum = "c42e33efc22a0650c311c2ef19115ce232583abbe80850bc8b66509ebef02de0"
 dependencies = [
  "aes",
- "arbitrary",
  "bzip2 0.6.1",
  "constant_time_eq 0.3.1",
  "crc32fast",
  "deflate64",
  "flate2",
+ "generic-array",
  "getrandom 0.3.4",
  "hmac",
  "indexmap 2.13.0",
- "lzma-rust2 0.13.0",
+ "lzma-rust2",
  "memchr",
  "pbkdf2",
  "ppmd-rust",
  "sha1",
  "time",
+ "typed-path 0.12.2",
  "zeroize",
  "zopfli",
  "zstd",
diff --git a/crates/aqua-registry/src/lib.rs b/crates/aqua-registry/src/lib.rs
index 44c1ff8290..e38e064f07 100644
--- a/crates/aqua-registry/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/aqua-registry/src/lib.rs
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ mod types;
 // Re-export only what's needed by the main mise crate
 pub use registry::{
     AQUA_STANDARD_REGISTRY_FILES, AquaRegistry, DefaultRegistryFetcher, FileCacheStore,
-    NoOpCacheStore,
+    NoOpCacheStore, package_ids,
 };
 pub use types::{
     AquaChecksum, AquaChecksumType, AquaMinisignType, AquaPackage, AquaPackageType, RegistryYaml,
diff --git a/crates/aqua-registry/src/registry.rs b/crates/aqua-registry/src/registry.rs
index 7b138e45e3..8da4f510d2 100644
--- a/crates/aqua-registry/src/registry.rs
+++ b/crates/aqua-registry/src/registry.rs
@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@ pub struct FileCacheStore {
 pub static AQUA_STANDARD_REGISTRY_FILES: LazyLock<HashMap<&'static str, &'static str>> =
     LazyLock::new(|| include!(concat!(env!("OUT_DIR"), "/aqua_standard_registry.rs")));
 
+/// Returns all package IDs from the baked-in aqua registry.
+pub fn package_ids() -> Vec<&'static str> {
+    AQUA_STANDARD_REGISTRY_FILES.keys().copied().collect()
+}
+
 impl AquaRegistry {
     /// Create a new AquaRegistry with the given configuration
     pub fn new(config: AquaRegistryConfig) -> Self {
diff --git a/e2e/cli/test_did_you_mean b/e2e/cli/test_did_you_mean
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..90c94334c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/cli/test_did_you_mean
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Test "Did you mean?" suggestions for unknown tools
+
+set -euo pipefail
+export RUST_BACKTRACE=0
+export MISE_FRIENDLY_ERROR=1
+
+# Test: Typo of a known mise registry tool should suggest the correct name
+assert_fail "mise use nod" "Did you mean?"
+assert_fail "mise use nod" "node"
+
+# Test: Typo of python should suggest python
+assert_fail "mise use pythn" "python"
+
+# Test: Completely unrelated name should not show suggestions
+assert_fail "mise use somethingnonexistent" "not found in mise tool registry"
diff --git a/e2e/cli/test_install_inactive_hint b/e2e/cli/test_install_inactive_hint
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..606d409fdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/cli/test_install_inactive_hint
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Test that `mise install` warns when installing tools not in any config file
+
+set -euo pipefail
+export RUST_BACKTRACE=0
+export MISE_FRIENDLY_ERROR=1
+
+# Test: Installing a tool not in config should show a "mise use" hint
+assert_contains "mise install tiny@3.1.0 2>&1" "not activated"
+assert_contains "mise install tiny@3.1.0 2>&1" "mise use tiny"
+
+# Test: Installing a tool that IS in config should NOT show the hint
+mise use dummy@1.0.0
+assert_not_contains "mise install dummy 2>&1" "not activated"
+
+# Clean up
+mise use --rm dummy
diff --git a/src/aqua/aqua_registry_wrapper.rs b/src/aqua/aqua_registry_wrapper.rs
index a064621a8d..bd855aa382 100644
--- a/src/aqua/aqua_registry_wrapper.rs
+++ b/src/aqua/aqua_registry_wrapper.rs
@@ -116,6 +116,39 @@ fn fetch_latest_repo(repo: &Git) -> Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+/// Search aqua packages by tool name, returning "owner/name" IDs
+/// where the name part is similar to the query.
+pub fn aqua_suggest(query: &str) -> Vec<String> {
+    use std::collections::HashMap;
+
+    let ids = aqua_registry::package_ids();
+    // Build a map from tool name to full IDs for O(1) lookup
+    let mut name_to_ids: HashMap<&str, Vec<&str>> = HashMap::new();
+    for id in &ids {
+        if let Some((_, name)) = id.rsplit_once('/') {
+            name_to_ids.entry(name).or_default().push(id);
+        }
+    }
+    let names: Vec<&str> = name_to_ids.keys().copied().collect();
+
+    // Use a higher threshold (0.8) to avoid noisy suggestions
+    let similar_names = xx::suggest::similar_n_with_threshold(query, &names, 5, 0.8);
+
+    // Map back to full IDs
+    let mut results = Vec::new();
+    for matched_name in &similar_names {
+        if let Some(full_ids) = name_to_ids.get(matched_name.as_str()) {
+            for full_id in full_ids {
+                results.push(full_id.to_string());
+                if results.len() >= 5 {
+                    return results;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    results
+}
+
 // Re-export types and static for compatibility
 pub use aqua_registry::{
     AquaChecksum, AquaChecksumType, AquaMinisignType, AquaPackage, AquaPackageType,
diff --git a/src/cli/args/backend_arg.rs b/src/cli/args/backend_arg.rs
index 69704ed363..94405d7db2 100644
--- a/src/cli/args/backend_arg.rs
+++ b/src/cli/args/backend_arg.rs
@@ -175,7 +175,32 @@ impl BackendArg {
                 bail!("{plugin_name} is not a valid plugin name");
             }
         } else {
-            bail!("{self} not found in mise tool registry");
+            let registry_shorts: Vec<&str> = REGISTRY.keys().copied().collect();
+            let mut suggestions: Vec<String> =
+                xx::suggest::similar_n_with_threshold(&self.short, &registry_shorts, 3, 0.8)
+                    .into_iter()
+                    .map(|s| s.to_string())
+                    .collect();
+
+            let mise_names: HashSet<String> = suggestions.iter().cloned().collect();
+            for aqua_id in crate::aqua::aqua_registry_wrapper::aqua_suggest(&self.short) {
+                // Skip aqua suggestions whose tool name matches an existing mise suggestion
+                let name = aqua_id
+                    .rsplit_once('/')
+                    .map_or(aqua_id.as_str(), |(_, n)| n);
+                if !mise_names.contains(name) {
+                    suggestions.push(format!("aqua:{aqua_id}"));
+                }
+            }
+
+            let mut msg = format!("{self} not found in mise tool registry");
+            if !suggestions.is_empty() {
+                msg.push_str("\n\nDid you mean?");
+                for s in suggestions.iter().take(5) {
+                    msg.push_str(&format!("\n  {s}"));
+                }
+            }
+            bail!("{msg}");
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/cli/install.rs b/src/cli/install.rs
index bc7e8a99c0..4516756b47 100644
--- a/src/cli/install.rs
+++ b/src/cli/install.rs
@@ -121,6 +121,16 @@ impl Install {
             .iter()
             .map(|ta| ta.ba.short.clone())
             .collect();
+        // Collect inactive tool names before trs borrow is consumed
+        let inactive_tools: Vec<String> = expanded_runtimes
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|ta| {
+                trs.sources
+                    .get(ta.ba.as_ref())
+                    .is_none_or(|s| s.is_argument())
+            })
+            .map(|ta| ta.ba.short.clone())
+            .collect();
         let mut ts: Toolset = trs.filter_by_tool(tools).into();
         let tool_versions = self.get_requested_tool_versions(&ts, &expanded_runtimes)?;
         let mut versions = if tool_versions.is_empty() {
@@ -146,6 +156,25 @@ impl Install {
         if !self.dry_run {
             config::rebuild_shims_and_runtime_symlinks(&config, ts, &versions).await?;
         }
+
+        // Warn about tools that were installed but not in any config file
+        if !self.dry_run && !inactive_tools.is_empty() {
+            let tool_list = inactive_tools.join(", ");
+            let use_cmds: Vec<String> = inactive_tools
+                .iter()
+                .map(|t| format!("  mise use {t}"))
+                .collect();
+            warn!(
+                "{tool_list} installed but not activated — {} not in a mise.toml config file.\nTo install and activate, run:\n{}",
+                if inactive_tools.len() == 1 {
+                    "it is"
+                } else {
+                    "they are"
+                },
+                use_cmds.join("\n"),
+            );
+        }
+
         Ok(())
     }