docs: update intro messaging

Cargo.toml

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ members = [
 name = "mise"
 version = "2026.4.23"
 edition = "2024"
-description = "The front-end to your dev env"
+description = "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI"
 authors = ["Jeff Dickey (@jdx)"]
 homepage = "https://mise.en.dev"
 documentation = "https://mise.en.dev"

README.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
   <a href="https://discord.gg/mABnUDvP57"><img alt="Discord" src="https://img.shields.io/discord/1066429325269794907?style=for-the-badge&color=8B2252"></a>
 </p>
 
-<p><b>The front-end to your dev env</b></p>
+<p><b>Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI</b></p>
 
 <p align="center">
   <a href="https://mise.en.dev/getting-started.html">Getting Started</a> •
@@ -34,9 +34,13 @@
 
 ## What is it?
 
-- Like [asdf](https://asdf-vm.com) (or [nvm](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm) or [pyenv](https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv) but for any language) it manages [dev tools](https://mise.en.dev/dev-tools/) like node, python, cmake, terraform, and [hundreds more](https://mise.en.dev/registry.html).
-- Like [direnv](https://github.com/direnv/direnv) it manages [environment variables](https://mise.en.dev/environments/) for different project directories.
-- Like [make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html) it manages [tasks](https://mise.en.dev/tasks/) used to build and test projects.
+`mise` prepares your development environment before each command runs. It keeps
+project tools, environment variables, and tasks in one `mise.toml` file so new
+shells, checkouts, and CI jobs all start from the same setup.
+
+- Install and switch between [dev tools](https://mise.en.dev/dev-tools/) like node, python, cmake, terraform, and [hundreds more](https://mise.en.dev/registry.html).
+- Load [environment variables](https://mise.en.dev/environments/) per project directory, including values from `.env` files and other sources.
+- Define and run [tasks](https://mise.en.dev/tasks/) for building, testing, linting, and deploying projects.
 
 ## Demo
 

communique.toml

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-context = "mise is a polyglot runtime manager (like asdf, nvm, pyenv, etc), environment manager, and task runner."
+context = "mise prepares project dev environments by managing tools, environment variables, and tasks in one CLI."
 
 [defaults]
 emoji = false

default.nix

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ rustPlatform.buildRustPackage {
   '';
 
   meta = with lib; {
-    description = "The front-end to your dev env";
+    description = "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI";
     homepage = "https://github.com/jdx/mise";
     license = licenses.mit;
     mainProgram = "mise";

docs/dev-tools/index.md

@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 # Dev Tools
 
-> _Like [asdf](https://asdf-vm.com) (or [nvm](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm)
-> or [pyenv](https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv) but for any language), it manages dev tools like node,
-> python, cmake, terraform, and [hundreds more](/registry.html)._
+> _Install and switch between dev tools like node, python, cmake, terraform,
+> and [hundreds more](/registry.html), all from the same project config._
 
 `mise` is a tool that manages installations of programming language runtimes and other tools for local development. For example, it can be used to manage multiple versions of Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, etc. on the same machine.
 
@@ -27,9 +26,9 @@ including values produced by env directives like `_.source`, `_.file`, or env mo
 before tool version templates are rendered.
 
 ::: info
-mise is inspired by [asdf](https://asdf-vm.com) and can leverage asdf's
-vast [plugin ecosystem](https://github.com/mise-plugins/registry)
-under the hood. However, [it is _much_ faster than asdf and has a more friendly user experience](./comparison-to-asdf).
+mise is compatible with asdf `.tool-versions` files and can still use asdf
+plugins when needed. If you're migrating from asdf, see the
+[comparison guide](./comparison-to-asdf).
 :::
 
 ## How it works

docs/environments/index.md

@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 # Environments
 
-> Like [direnv](https://github.com/direnv/direnv) it
-> manages _environment variables_ for
-> different project directories.
+> Load the right _environment variables_ automatically for each project
+> directory.
 
 Use mise to specify environment variables used for different projects.
 

docs/index.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ title: Home
 
 hero:
   name: mise-en-place
-  tagline: The front-end to your dev env
+  tagline: Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI
 ---
 
 <section class="landing-page" aria-label="mise overview">
@@ -18,9 +18,9 @@ hero:
         before the work.
       </p>
       <p>
-        mise does the same for your dev env. It activates the right language
-        versions, loads the right env vars, and wires up the right tasks for
-        the commands you run.
+        mise does the same for your dev env. It installs and activates the
+        right tools, loads the right env vars, and wires up the right tasks
+        for the commands you run.
       </p>
     </div>
     <div class="landing-definition">
@@ -33,29 +33,29 @@ hero:
   <div class="landing-section landing-menu">
     <div class="landing-section-heading">
       <p class="landing-kicker">The Menu</p>
-      <h2>Three dishes, one kitchen.</h2>
+      <h2>One CLI for the whole project setup.</h2>
       <a href="/getting-started" class="landing-small-button">All docs</a>
     </div>
     <div class="landing-feature-grid">
       <a href="/dev-tools/" class="landing-feature-card">
         <span class="card-number">— 01</span>
         <span class="card-icon">🔪</span>
         <h3>Dev Tools</h3>
-        <p>A polyglot tool version manager. Replaces asdf, nvm, pyenv, rbenv, and more — one tool for every language.</p>
+        <p>Install project tools, pin versions, and switch automatically as you move between directories.</p>
         <span class="card-link">read more →</span>
       </a>
       <a href="/environments/" class="landing-feature-card">
         <span class="card-number">— 02</span>
         <span class="card-icon">🫕</span>
         <h3>Environments</h3>
-        <p>Switch sets of environment variables per project directory. A smarter, simpler replacement for direnv.</p>
+        <p>Load project-specific environment variables from <code>mise.toml</code>, <code>.env</code> files, shell commands, and more.</p>
         <span class="card-link">read more →</span>
       </a>
       <a href="/tasks/" class="landing-feature-card">
         <span class="card-number">— 03</span>
         <span class="card-icon">🍳</span>
         <h3>Tasks</h3>
-        <p>A powerful task runner that replaces make and npm scripts. Define, compose, and run with ease.</p>
+        <p>Define build, test, lint, and deploy commands next to the tools and env vars they need.</p>
         <span class="card-link">read more →</span>
       </a>
     </div>

docs/mise.usage.kdl

@@ -1,14 +1,10 @@
 name "mise"
 bin "mise"
-about "The front-end to your dev env"
-long_about r"mise is a tool for managing runtime versions. https://github.com/jdx/mise
+about "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI"
+long_about r"mise prepares your development environment before each command runs. https://github.com/jdx/mise
 
-It's a replacement for tools like nvm, nodenv, rbenv, rvm, chruby, pyenv, etc.
-that works for any language. It's also great for managing linters/tools like
-jq and shellcheck.
-
-It is inspired by asdf and uses asdf's plugin ecosystem under the hood:
-https://asdf-vm.com/"
+It installs and switches between project tools, loads environment variables,
+and runs tasks from the same configuration."
 usage "Usage: mise [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>"
 flag "-C --cd" help="Change directory before running command" global=true {
     arg "<DIR>"

docs/public/site.webmanifest

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "mise-en-place",
   "short_name": "mise",
-  "description": "The front-end to your dev env",
+  "description": "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI",
   "icons": [
     {
       "src": "/logo.svg",

docs/tasks/index.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Tasks
 
-> Like [make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html) it manages _tasks_ used
-> to build and test projects.
+> Define and run project _tasks_ for building, testing, linting, deploying, and
+> everyday development workflows.
 
 You can define tasks in `mise.toml` files or as standalone shell scripts. These are useful for
 things like running linters, tests, builders, servers, and other tasks that are specific to a

llms.txt

@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@
 ## What is mise?
 
 mise (pronounced "meez") is a development environment setup tool that manages:
-1. **Dev Tools**: Version management for programming languages and tools (like asdf, nvm, pyenv, rbenv)
-2. **Environments**: Environment variable management (can replace direnv)
-3. **Tasks**: Task runner for project automation (can replace make, npm scripts)
+1. **Dev Tools**: Installing, pinning, and switching programming languages and tools
+2. **Environments**: Loading project-specific environment variables
+3. **Tasks**: Running project automation for build, test, lint, deploy, and everyday workflows
 
 mise supports hundreds of development tools and can automatically switch between different versions based on your project directory.
 
@@ -1032,4 +1032,4 @@ pub trait Backend: Debug + Send + Sync {
 
 This architecture provides a flexible, extensible foundation for managing development environments while maintaining compatibility with existing tools and workflows.
 
-This covers the essential information about mise for LLMs to help users effectively use the tool for development environment management and contribute to its development.
+This covers the essential information about mise for LLMs to help users effectively use the tool for development environment management and contribute to its development.

man/man1/mise.1

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 .TH MISE 1
 .SH NAME
-mise \- The front\-end to your dev env
+mise \- Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 \fBmise\fR [OPTIONS] [<TASK>] [<TASK_ARGS>] ... [<TASK_ARGS_LAST>] ... [COMMAND]
 .SH DESCRIPTION
-mise manages dev tools, env vars, and runs tasks. https://github.com/jdx/mise
+mise prepares your development environment before each command runs. https://github.com/jdx/mise
 .PP
 .SH OPTIONS
 .TP

mise.usage.kdl

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 min_usage_version "2.11"
 name mise
 bin mise
-about "The front-end to your dev env"
-long_about "mise manages dev tools, env vars, and runs tasks. https://github.com/jdx/mise"
+about "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI"
+long_about "mise prepares your development environment before each command runs. https://github.com/jdx/mise"
 default_subcommand run
 usage "Usage: mise [OPTIONS] [TASK] [COMMAND]"
 flag "-c --continue-on-error" help="Continue running tasks even if one fails" hide=#true

packaging/copr/build-copr.sh

@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ cat >"SPECS/${PACKAGE_NAME}.spec" <<'EOF'
 Name:           __PACKAGE_NAME__
 Version:        __VERSION__
 Release:        1%{?dist}
-Summary:        The front-end to your dev env
+Summary:        Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI
 
 License:        MIT
 URL:            https://mise.en.dev
@@ -192,9 +192,9 @@ BuildRequires:  git
 BuildRequires:  openssl-devel
 
 %description
-mise is a development environment setup tool that manages runtime versions,
-environment variables, and tasks. It's a replacement for tools like nvm, rbenv,
-pyenv, etc. and works with any language.
+mise prepares your development environment before each command runs. It installs
+and switches between project tools, loads environment variables, and runs tasks
+from the same configuration.
 
 %prep
 %autosetup -n %{name}-%{version}

packaging/rpm/mise.spec

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-Summary: The front-end to your dev env
+Summary: Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI
 Name: mise
 Version: 2026.4.23
 Release: 1
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Packager: @jdx
 BuildRoot: /root/mise
 
 %description
-mise is a polyglot runtime manager
+mise prepares your development environment before each command runs.
 
 %install
 mkdir -p %{buildroot}/usr/bin/

scripts/build-deb.sh

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ fpm -s dir -t deb \
 	--license MIT \
 	--version "${MISE_VERSION#v*}" \
 	--architecture amd64 \
-	--description "The front-end to your dev env" \
+	--description "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI" \
 	--url "https://github.com/jdx/mise" \
 	--maintainer "Jeff Dickey @jdx" \
 	mise/bin/mise=/usr/bin/mise \
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ fpm -s dir -t deb \
 	--license MIT \
 	--version "${MISE_VERSION#v*}" \
 	--architecture arm64 \
-	--description "The front-end to your dev env" \
+	--description "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI" \
 	--url "https://github.com/jdx/mise" \
 	--maintainer "Jeff Dickey @jdx" \
 	mise/bin/mise=/usr/bin/mise \

scripts/build-rpm.sh

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ fpm -s dir -t rpm \
 	--license MIT \
 	--version "${MISE_VERSION#v*}" \
 	--architecture x86_64 \
-	--description "The front-end to your dev env" \
+	--description "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI" \
 	--url "https://github.com/jdx/mise" \
 	--maintainer "Jeff Dickey @jdx" \
 	mise/bin/mise=/usr/bin/mise \
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ fpm -s dir -t rpm \
 	--license MIT \
 	--version "${MISE_VERSION#v*}" \
 	--architecture aarch64 \
-	--description "The front-end to your dev env" \
+	--description "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI" \
 	--url "https://github.com/jdx/mise" \
 	--maintainer "Jeff Dickey @jdx" \
 	mise/bin/mise=/usr/bin/mise \

scripts/release-npm.sh

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ for platform in "${platforms[@]}"; do
 {
   "name": "$NPM_PREFIX-$os-$arch",
   "version": "$MISE_VERSION",
-  "description": "polyglot runtime manager",
+  "description": "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI",
   "bin": {
     "mise": "bin/mise"
   },
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ EOF
 cat <<EOF >"$RELEASE_DIR/npm/package.json"
 {
   "name": "$NPM_PREFIX",
-  "description": "polyglot runtime manager",
+  "description": "Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI",
   "version": "$MISE_VERSION",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",

snapcraft.yaml

@@ -10,13 +10,13 @@
 name: mise
 title: mise-en-place
 version: "2026.4.23"
-summary: The front-end to your dev env
+summary: Dev tools, env vars, and tasks in one CLI
 description: |
-  mise-en-place is a command line tool to manage your development environment.
+  mise-en-place prepares your development environment before each command runs.
 
-  - Like asdf (or nvm or pyenv but for any language) it manages [dev tools](https://mise.en.dev/dev-tools/) like node, python, cmake, terraform, and [hundreds more](https://mise.en.dev/registry.html).
-  - Like direnv it manages [environment variables](https://mise.en.dev/environments/) for different project directories.
-  - Like make it manages [tasks](https://mise.en.dev/tasks/) used to build and test projects.
+  - Install and switch between [dev tools](https://mise.en.dev/dev-tools/) like node, python, cmake, terraform, and [hundreds more](https://mise.en.dev/registry.html).
+  - Load [environment variables](https://mise.en.dev/environments/) for each project directory.
+  - Define and run [tasks](https://mise.en.dev/tasks/) used to build, test, lint, and deploy projects.
 
   See the [documentation](https://mise.en.dev/getting-started.html) to learn more.
 

src/cli/mod.rs

@@ -744,8 +744,7 @@ impl Cli {
     }
 }
 
-const LONG_ABOUT: &str =
-    "mise manages dev tools, env vars, and runs tasks. https://github.com/jdx/mise";
+const LONG_ABOUT: &str = "mise prepares your development environment before each command runs. https://github.com/jdx/mise";
 
 const LONG_TASK_ABOUT: &str = r#"Task to run.