history is disabled (history.enabled = false); nothing can b

Error message

history is disabled (history.enabled = false); nothing can be restored

What it means

Restoring (rollback/undo) requires the history store, which only exists when the `history.enabled` setting is true. ensure_enabled checks Settings at the start of both entry points and bails when history is disabled, since nothing could have been recorded — and nothing can be restored — with the store closed.

Source

Thrown at src/system/history/replay.rs:359

            dry_run: req.dry_run,
            yes: req.yes,
            // the protective checkpoint is authoritative: whatever the
            // operation replaced, including a type change it forced, is
            // restored exactly
            force: true,
        },
        &store,
        &tracked,
        &entries,
        live,
    )
    .await
}

/// Restoring needs the store, which `history.enabled = false` closes.
fn ensure_enabled() -> Result<()> {
    if !crate::config::Settings::get().history.enabled {
        bail!("history is disabled (history.enabled = false); nothing can be restored");
    }
    Ok(())
}

struct Execution {
    kind: OperationKind,
    command: String,
    targets: Vec<Target>,
    message: String,
    to: Option<String>,
    sources: Vec<OperationSource>,
    undoes: Option<String>,
    /// Directories to recreate after the plan is applied (an empty directory
    /// an operation replaced leaves no trace in a snapshot).
    restore_dirs: BTreeSet<PathBuf>,
    restore_modes: BTreeMap<String, u32>,
    dry_run: bool,
    yes: bool,

View on GitHub (pinned to afd2eddd3a)

Solutions

Enable history: set `history.enabled = true` in settings (mise.toml [settings] or global settings)
Remove an env override like MISE_HISTORY_ENABLED=false
Check `mise settings get history.enabled` to confirm current value

Example fix

// before
[settings]
history.enabled = false
// after
[settings]
history.enabled = true

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const settings = await getSettings();
if (!settings.history.enabled) {
  throw new Error("history is disabled; enable history.enabled to restore");
}

Type guard

const historyUsable = (s: Settings): s is Settings & { history: { enabled: true } } =>
  s.history.enabled === true;

Try / catch

try {
  await rollback(req);
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e).includes("history is disabled")) {
    await enableHistory();
    await rollback(req);
  } else throw e;
}

Prevention

Check `mise settings get history.enabled` before restore workflows
Avoid MISE_HISTORY_ENABLED=false in shells where you plan to undo
Keep history enabled on machines where you rely on rollback

When it happens

Trigger: Calling rollback or undo while config has history.enabled = false (set in settings.toml, mise.toml [settings], or MISE_HISTORY_ENABLED=false env).

Common situations: Users disabled history for performance/disk reasons and later forget; CI or dotfiles sync templates set history.enabled=false; fresh setups inherit a config that disables history.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jdx/mise@afd2eddd3a (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5febc4863bb66d66. Report an issue: GitHub.