jdx/mise · error

invalid remote global configuration path

Error message

invalid remote global configuration path

What it means

During `mise ssh` staging, mise runs the remote helper `mise ssh --global-config-directory` and expects a single absolute directory path for the trusted global config location. This error means the returned string was empty, relative, or contained newline/CR characters, so it cannot be trusted as a config directory path. mise throws it defensively because only this absolute path becomes trusted configuration on the remote host.

Solutions

1. SSH into the host manually and run the provisioned mise with `ssh --global-config-directory` to inspect what it actually prints
2. Update the remote mise helper binary to the current version so the subcommand emits a single absolute path
3. Remove or fix profile/rc scripts on the host that print output during non-interactive shell commands
4. Ensure MISE_CONFIG_DIR / XDG_CONFIG_HOME on the remote resolve to absolute directories

Example fix

// before: host profile prints banners on every non-interactive shell
~/.bashrc: echo "Welcome to $HOST"
// after: guard interactive-only output
~/.bashrc: [[ $- == *i* ]] && echo "Welcome to $HOST"

# on the host, before mise ssh
out=$(mise ssh --global-config-directory | tr -d '\n\r')
case "$out" in /*) echo "ok: $out";; *) echo "bad: $out"; exit 1;; esac

When it happens

Trigger: Running a staged `mise ssh` bootstrap with a repository bundle (run_staged); the remote helper command `mise ssh --global-config-directory` outputs a path not starting with '/' or containing '\n' or '\r'.

Common situations: The remote mise binary is an old or differently-built version whose `ssh --global-config-directory` subcommand prints extra text, a relative path, or nothing; a shell profile on the host echoes output before the command result; MISE_CONFIG_DIR is misconfigured to a relative path on the remote.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid value" and "allowed values are" config errors: what your library rejected and how to fix it — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

• invalid remote
• local mise is / , while the remote target is
• remote bootstrap failed on
• remote cleanup failed with
• remote command on ' ' failed with

AI-assisted analysis of jdx/mise@533346cc37 (2026-09-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/966ceb00c9429fc3. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/system/remote.rs:622

            install.push("--repository-yes");
        }
        // the whole operation previews: the helper inspects the target and the
        // repository and says what it would write, before the bootstrap preview
        if options.dry_run {
            install.push("--repository-dry-run");
        }
        if preview_setup {
            install.extend(["--repository-preview-directory", &preview_directory]);
        }
        // The helper uses the target's XDG/global-config environment. Only its
        // absolute result, never the staging directory, becomes trusted config.
        let path = session
            .output_async(&[&mise, "ssh", "--global-config-directory"])
            .await?
            .trim()
            .to_string();
        if !path.starts_with('/') || path.contains(['\n', '\r']) {
            bail!("invalid remote global configuration path");
        }
        session.status_async(&install, true).await?;
        if options.dry_run && !preview_setup && !remote_directory_exists(session, &path).await? {
            // nothing was written, so there is no configuration to preview the
            // bootstrap against yet
            miseprintln!(
                "Would then run `mise bootstrap --dry-run` in {path} on {} once the configuration exists there",
                session.host.name
            );
            if options.relay.is_some() {
                info!(
                    "borrowed GitHub access has ended; future private updates require remote credentials or another relay-enabled session"
                );
            }
            return Ok(());
        }
        if preview_setup {
            preview_directory

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