Path specified with --cd is not a directory: {} Please provi

Error message

Path specified with --cd is not a directory: {}
Please provide a valid directory path.

What it means

mise validates the global `--cd` flag (validate_cd_path) before running any subcommand. The path you passed exists but is a regular file, not a directory, so mise cannot chdir into it and fails up front with the offending path.

Source

Thrown at src/cli/mod.rs:989

        warn!(
            "Current directory does not exist or is not accessible: {}",
            dir_path
        );
    }
}

/// Validate the --cd path if provided and return an error if it doesn't exist
fn validate_cd_path(cd: &Option<PathBuf>) -> Result<()> {
    if let Some(path) = cd {
        if !path.exists() {
            bail!(
                "Directory specified with --cd does not exist: {}\n\
                 Please check the path and try again.",
                ui::style::epath(path)
            );
        }
        if !path.is_dir() {
            bail!(
                "Path specified with --cd is not a directory: {}\n\
                 Please provide a valid directory path.",
                ui::style::epath(path)
            );
        }
    }
    Ok(())
}

#[cfg(test)]
mod tests {
    use clap::Parser;

    use super::*;

    #[test]
    fn test_commands_that_implicitly_trust_active_config() {
        let trusting = [

View on GitHub (pinned to 6f52dcdf99)

Solutions

Pass the containing directory instead of the file (`mise --cd ~/project`, not `mise --cd ~/project/mise.toml`)
Fix the variable or glob so it yields a directory
Confirm with `test -d "$dir" && echo ok` before running

Example fix

# before
mise --cd mise.toml tasks
# after
mise --cd . tasks

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# bash: existence + directory + writability of intent
dir="$1"
[ -d "$dir" ] || { echo "not a usable --cd directory: $dir" >&2; exit 1; }
mise --cd "$dir" tasks

Type guard

is_cd_dir() { [ -d "$1" ] && [ ! -L "$1" -o -d "$(readlink -f "$1")" ]; }

Prevention

Remember --cd takes a directory, never a file — pass the project folder, not mise.toml or a script
Test glob results with `test -d` before feeding them to --cd
In wrappers, reject --cd values that end in known file extensions (.toml, .sh, .lock)

When it happens

Trigger: `mise --cd <path>` where <path> is a file: e.g. `mise --cd mise.toml tasks`, `mise --cd ./script.sh exec node --version`, or pointing at a symlink that resolves to a file.

Common situations: Passing a config or script file when a project directory was intended; copy-pasting a filename instead of its directory; glob expansion landing on a file.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jdx/mise@6f52dcdf99 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6bbe9e02fe5e8455. Report an issue: GitHub.