Buildifier w/o Workspace - Buildifier not found in path if installed via mise

[ivancuric]

If I install buildifier via https://mise.jdx.dev/, the VScode extension does not pick it up on the path.

Placing echo "$(which buildifier)" inside .zprofile correctly outputs /Users/ivan/.local/share/mise/shims/buildifier inside the vscode terminal, and it's available on the path.

I also have the following, which does not help:

    "terminal.integrated.automationProfile.osx": {
        "path": "/usr/bin/zsh",
        "args": ["--login"]
    }

Installing it globally via mise does not help either.

Setting the path in settings to /Users/ivan/.local/share/mise/shims/buildifier or /Users/ivan/.local/share/mise/installs/buildifier/8.5.1/buildifier does not help either.

[cbandera]

So even if you set the vscode setting bazel.buildifierExecutable to the absolute path of the binary?
And the binary is a normal binary marked as executable?
And the version is 8.5.1?
What is the output of running echo "" | buildifier --format=json --mode=check --lint=off?
(it should look like this {"success":false,"files":[{"filename":"\u003cstdin\u003e","formatted":false,"valid":true,"warnings":[]}]})

Also, do you see any hints in the log output? (Bazel: Show Output)

[anp]

I got the error to go away by configuring the remote SSH settings to point the buildifier executable setting at the mise shim for buildifier:

❯ cat ~/.vscode-server/data/Machine/settings.json
{
    "bazel.buildifierExecutable": "/home/adam/.local/share/mise/shims/buildifier"
}

That said I'm still not seeing the Format Document command working, but that path can definitely invoke the mise-installed buildifier and it is stable across buildifier version updates unlike the normal path within mise's install.

Bazel: Show Output only shows the following for me:

2026-05-03 20:19:24.291 [info] Logger initialized.
2026-05-03 20:19:24.291 [info] Extension activated successfully.
2026-05-03 20:19:24.291 [error] Failed to find a Bazel workspace

[cbandera]

So since the error message says: Failed to find a Bazel workspace... are you in a Bazel Workspace? I.e. is there a MODULE.bazel or a WORKSPACE file in a directory above the file that you are trying to format?
That's a precondition for the extension to work correctly

[anp]

That's a precondition for the extension to work correctly

Ah, that's unfortunate. I work on a project that uses starlark as a freestanding config language and another project that's using bazel but has had to be a bit creative about where to put the MODULE.bazel files because it's part of a migration between build systems. It would be great to be able to autoformat starlark without being in a workspace.

[cbandera]

I see. I have adapted the title of your issue accordingly and will see whether that's possible

[cbandera]

That was actually a very good point that will make the implementation more useful for many users. I have implemented a proposal in 6d823ef

[anp]

Awesome!