Install and setup

Install the Vibe CLI, run vibe in your project, and complete the setup prompt.

Install the CLI

Use the one-line installer:

curl -LsSf https://mistral.ai/vibe/install.sh | bash

curl -LsSf https://mistral.ai/vibe/install.sh | bash

The installer:

Checks whether uv is installed and installs it if needed.
Installs or upgrades mistral-vibe with uv tool install or uv tool upgrade.
Makes the vibe and vibe-acp commands available, provided your PATH is configured.

If the installer reports that vibe is not on your PATH, add the displayed directory to your shell profile and restart your terminal.

Tip

On a different interface? This page covers the CLI specifically. If you'd rather work inside your editor or against a remote repo, jump to VS Code extension or Vibe Code Web. See Choose CLI, VS Code, or web sessions for a side-by-side comparison.

Start Vibe in your project

Open a terminal in your project root and run:

vibe

vibe

On first launch, Vibe:

Starts with built-in defaults. It writes ~/.vibe/config.toml only when you save a setting, such as the theme you pick during setup or a change in /config.
Walks you through a setup wizard to register your API key.

Choose your access path

The setup wizard asks you to sign in or provide an API key:

Launch browser: sign in with your Mistral account and use your Mistral plan. Vibe Code is included, with usage and rate limits based on your plan and pay-as-you-go settings.
Use an API key: generate a key from Code > Vibe CLI or use a key from another compatible provider.

Paste your API key when prompted. The wizard saves it in your OS keyring, or in ~/.vibe/.env if no keyring is available. You can also set MISTRAL_API_KEY in your shell environment if you prefer not to use the interactive prompt.

To sign in to a dedicated or self-hosted deployment, choose Launch browser, then Other, and enter your console domain. Vibe saves the deployment's URLs to your user config.toml.

Tip

You can rerun the setup wizard at any time using vibe --setup.

Verify the setup

Your setup is ready when:

vibe --version returns a version.
vibe opens the interactive terminal interface from your project root.
Vibe accepts a prompt without asking for an API key again.

Try a small first prompt:

Find TODO comments in this project.

Find TODO comments in this project.

Update the CLI

Vibe checks for a new release once a day and offers to install it at the next launch. To check right away, run:

vibe update

vibe update

vibe --check-upgrade does the same. Both commands prompt before installing a newer version, then exit.

Reset your configuration

If the CLI fails to start or behaves unexpectedly after editing the config, move the file aside and restart Vibe. Vibe starts again with its built-in defaults:

mv ~/.vibe/config.toml ~/.vibe/config.toml.bkp
vibe

mv ~/.vibe/config.toml ~/.vibe/config.toml.bkp
vibe

Prerequisites

Before you install the CLI, make sure you have:

Python 3.12 or later for manual installation. Vibe 3.0.0 alone required Python 3.14.
(Optional) a Mistral account to use Mistral-hosted models. The CLI also works fully offline with local models, or against any compatible API key you provide.

If you choose to use Mistral-hosted models, sign in with your Mistral account during setup. For non-Mistral providers or automation, create an API key from Code > Vibe CLI. The same key works in Free mode, with a paid plan, or with pay-as-you-go enabled.