What causes "invalid completion cache identity" in jdx/mise?

Use a plain tool/command name (no '/', '..', or separators) in `mise completion --tool `.

invalid completion cache identity

Error message

invalid completion cache identity

What it means

completion_cache_path builds the on-disk path where a generated completion script is cached (resources/completions-v2/<bin>/<shell>.completion). Before building it, it validates that both the binary name and the shell name are plain file names (no path separators, '..', etc.). If either contains path-like or unsafe characters, mise refuses to construct the cache path to prevent path traversal or corrupt cache layout.

Source

Thrown at src/packslip.rs:1134

/// The `shell` completion script for `tool`, from the packslip of the
/// version that is active right now.
fn completion_bin<'a>(statement: &'a Statement, tool: Option<&'a str>) -> Option<&'a str> {
    tool.map(packslip::command_name)
        .filter(|name| {
            statement
                .predicate
                .artifacts
                .iter()
                .flat_map(|a| &a.bin)
                .any(|b| b.name == *name)
        })
        .or_else(|| statement.sole_bin())
}

fn completion_cache_path(install_path: &Path, tool: &str, shell: &str) -> Result<PathBuf> {
    let bin = packslip::command_name(tool);
    if !file::is_plain_file_name(bin) || !file::is_plain_file_name(shell) {
        bail!("invalid completion cache identity");
    }
    Ok(install_path
        .join(RESOURCES_DIR)
        .join("completions-v2")
        .join(bin)
        .join(format!("{shell}.completion")))
}

pub(crate) async fn completion_script(
    config: &Arc<Config>,
    tool: &str,
    shell: &str,
) -> Result<String> {
    let ts = config.get_toolset().await?;
    let (backend, tv) = find_tool(config, ts, tool).await?;
    let install_path = tv.install_path();
    let Some(statement) = statement(&install_path)? else {
        bail!(

View on GitHub (pinned to afd2eddd3a)

Solutions

Use a plain tool/command name (no '/', '..', or separators) in `mise completion <shell> --tool <name>`.
Pass a supported shell name exactly: bash, zsh, fish, or pwsh.
If a packslip declares a bin name that is not a plain file name, fix the statement to name just the executable.

Example fix

// before
mise completion bash --tool gh/cli
// after
mise completion bash --tool gh

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

fn plain_name(s: &str) -> bool { !s.is_empty() && !s.contains(['/', '\\']) && s != "." && s != ".." }
assert!(plain_name(tool) && plain_name(shell));

Type guard

fn is_plain_file_name(s: &str) -> bool { !s.is_empty() && !s.contains('/') && !s.contains('\\') && s != "." && s != ".." }

Try / catch

if !is_plain_file_name(tool) || !is_plain_file_name(shell) { return Err("invalid completion cache identity".into()); }
let script = completion_script(&config, tool, shell)?;

Prevention

Always pass bare tool/command names, never paths, to `mise completion --tool`.
Use one of the canonical shell names: bash, zsh, fish, pwsh.
Validate bin names in packslip statements before publishing.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling completion_script (via `mise completion <shell> --tool <tool>`) where packslip::command_name(tool) or the shell argument resolves to a value that is not a plain file name — e.g. a tool name containing '/' or a shell string with directory components.

Common situations: A tool name containing slashes or unusual characters; passing a malformed shell identifier; a packslip naming a binary with a path-like name.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid ... format", "must be in format X", "does not look like a ..." — invalid argument format errors across CLI tools and libraries — this error's family across 17 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jdx/mise@afd2eddd3a (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/84eee37a0c3303fa. Report an issue: GitHub.