jdx/mise · error

not connected: choose --sync manual, --sync sync, or --sync

Error message

not connected: choose --sync manual, --sync sync, or --sync fetch-only to connect without a mode prompt

What it means

This error is thrown by `mise bootstrap dotfiles origin` (run) when the sync-mode interactive prompt cannot be answered (stdin unavailable or non-interactive terminal) and the user selected no explicit --sync mode. mise refuses to silently pick a mode for publishing/applying dotfile changes, so it aborts with guidance to pass the mode on the command line.

Source

Thrown at src/cli/dotfiles/origin.rs:95

    }
}

impl DotfilesOriginSet {
    async fn run(self) -> Result<()> {
        if !crate::config::Settings::get().history.enabled {
            bail!("history is disabled (history.enabled = false)");
        }
        let mode = match self.sync.as_deref() {
            Some(mode) => SyncMode::parse(mode)?,
            None if self.yes || crate::config::Settings::get().yes => SyncMode::current()?,
            None => match crate::ui::prompt::confirm_with_default(
                "Automatically publish saved edits AND apply incoming changes to live files? Choose no for manual sharing; local autosave continues in either mode.",
                false,
            )? {
                crate::ui::prompt::Confirmation::Yes => SyncMode::Sync,
                crate::ui::prompt::Confirmation::No => SyncMode::Manual,
                crate::ui::prompt::Confirmation::Unavailable => {
                    bail!(
                        "not connected: choose --sync manual, --sync sync, or --sync fetch-only to connect without a mode prompt"
                    );
                }
            },
        };
        let (store, tracked, _) = super::history::open().await?;
        if let Some(reason) = store.unavailable() {
            bail!("cannot connect a setup repository: {reason}");
        }
        origin::set(
            &store,
            &tracked,
            &origin::SetOptions {
                url: self.url.clone(),
                branch: self.branch.clone(),
                mode,
                yes: self.yes,
            },

View on GitHub (pinned to afd2eddd3a)

Solutions

1. Re-run with an explicit mode: `mise bootstrap dotfiles origin --sync sync` to publish and apply
2. Use `--sync manual` to only publish saved edits without applying incoming changes
3. Use `--sync fetch-only` if supported, to only receive incoming changes
4. Run the command interactively in a real TTY so the prompt can be answered

Example fix

// before
mise bootstrap dotfiles origin git@github.com:me/dotfiles.git
// after
mise bootstrap dotfiles origin --sync sync git@github.com:me/dotfiles.git

# Non-interactive callers must pass --sync explicitly
if [ ! -t 0 ]; then
  SYNC_FLAG="--sync sync"   # or manual / fetch-only
else
  SYNC_FLAG=""
fi
mise bootstrap dotfiles origin $SYNC_FLAG "$REMOTE_URL"

When it happens

Trigger: Running `mise bootstrap dotfiles origin` without --sync in a non-interactive environment (CI, script, piped stdin) so crate::ui::prompt::Confirmation::Unavailable is returned from the sync-mode confirmation prompt.

Common situations: CI pipelines or shell scripts invoking the origin connect command without a TTY; users piping input into mise; IDE terminals where the prompt library cannot read confirmation.

Understand the failure class

Background: "--flag is required" and "must specify" CLI errors: how missing-required-flag validation works and how to fix it — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• --changed does not accept target arguments
• at least one target or --changed is required
• --source can only be used with one target
• `--mode track` tracks a file where it is and takes no source
• --changed requires trusted configuration: {}

AI-assisted analysis of jdx/mise@afd2eddd3a (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/90ea5d3120372913. Report an issue: GitHub.