Install and authenticate

Install Mistral Vibe for VS Code, open the Vibe panel, and sign in. The extension ships with the Vibe agent built in, so no separate CLI install is required.

Tip

Switching surface? This page covers the VS Code extension. To set up Vibe in your terminal, see Install the CLI; for a cloud session on a GitHub repo, see Vibe Code Web. Configuration and sessions are shared between the CLI and the extension.

Requirements

Requirement	Details
VS Code	Version 1.94.0 or later.
Mistral account	Required to create or manage API keys.
Access path	A Mistral plan (Free, Pro, or higher), or an API plan with a key you manage yourself. Usage and rate limits apply.

Install the extension

Install Mistral Vibe for VS Code from the VS Code Extensions view, or directly from the Marketplace listing.

From inside VS Code:

Open VS Code.
Press Cmd+Shift+X on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows or Linux.
Search for Mistral Vibe.
Select the extension published by Mistral AI (publisher ID: mistralai).
Click Install.

If the extension doesn't appear after installation, run Developer: Reload Window from the Command Palette or restart VS Code.

Open Mistral Vibe

After installation, open the extension from one of these entry points:

Click the Mistral Vibe icon in the VS Code activity bar.
Run Mistral Vibe: Open Mistral Vibe from the Command Palette.
Use the editor title action when the Mistral Vibe icon is available for the active file.

The extension opens a webview chat panel inside VS Code.

Authenticate

The first time the extension needs credentials, it opens a terminal setup flow:

Start setup from the extension when prompted.
In the Mistral Vibe Setup terminal, paste your Mistral API key.
Complete the prompt and wait for the extension to return to the ready state.

The setup flow runs the bundled Vibe agent with --setup. It stores credentials in the Vibe home directory for future sessions.

Information

Browser-based sign-in is being enabled for the bundled Vibe agent. When your config targets a Mistral provider, you'll be signed in via a browser flow instead of pasting an API key. Until it lands in the extension, use the terminal setup flow above.

Verify the setup

Your setup is ready when:

The Mistral Vibe panel opens without an authentication prompt.
You can send a prompt from the VS Code panel.
The extension can use the active workspace and editor context.

Try a small first prompt:

Explain the currently open file.

Explain the currently open file.

Install from a VSIX

If your team receives a .vsix build before the public listing is available, install it from Extensions > More Actions > Install from VSIX....

Warning

Only use VSIX files from an approved Mistral distribution channel.