Overview

Mistral AI, the Paris-based startup often seen as Europe's challenger to OpenAI and Anthropic, has taken a significant step forward with its latest release: Mistral Medium 3.5. Alongside this new model, the company has introduced a cloud-based runtime for its coding assistant, Vibe, and a new "work mode" for Le Chat. This guide walks you through everything you need to know to leverage these tools—from setting up Vibe on your local machine to teleporting complex coding tasks to the cloud, and even using Le Chat for broader project work. Whether you're a developer looking to offload repetitive tasks or a team lead exploring AI-assisted workflows, this tutorial will help you get started with Mistral's expanding ecosystem.

Prerequisites

Before diving in, ensure you have the following:

• A Mistral AI account – Sign up at mistral.ai (free tier available).
• Python 3.8+ installed on your local machine.
• pip package manager (comes with Python).
• Git installed (if you plan to work with repositories).
• An API key – Generate one from your Mistral account dashboard.
• Basic familiarity with command-line interfaces (CLI) and version control.

Step-by-Step Guide

Setting Up Vibe CLI

Start by installing the Vibe command-line tool. Open your terminal and run:

pip install vibe-cli

After installation, authenticate with your API key:

vibe auth --api-key YOUR_API_KEY

Verify the setup by asking Vibe a simple question:

vibe "What is the current time?"

If everything is working, Vibe will respond with the current time based on your system.

Running Coding Agents Locally

Vibe can operate directly in your terminal, reading your codebase, editing files, and running commands. To use it with a local project, navigate to the project directory:

cd /path/to/your/project
vibe "Summarize the main features of this project"

For more complex tasks like writing tests or fixing bugs, you can issue multi-step instructions:

vibe "Add a unit test for the user authentication module and run the test suite"

Vibe will break down the task, edit files, and execute commands step by step. You can review the changes before they are applied by using the --review flag.

Teleporting Tasks to the Cloud

One of the most powerful features is the ability to "teleport" a session to the cloud while preserving full context. This frees your local machine and allows agents to run in isolated sandboxes. Start a task locally:

vibe "Refactor the payment processing module to use async/await"

While the task is running, you can teleport it to the cloud by pressing Ctrl+T in the Vibe terminal (or using the command vibe teleport). The current state—including the task description, any files changed, and the agent's working memory—is transferred to a remote environment. You can then close your terminal or switch to other work. To check on the progress later, reconnect using:

vibe list-sessions  # lists active cloud sessions
vibe attach SESSION_ID  # reattach to a specific session

Once the task completes, Vibe can push the results as a draft pull request directly to your repository:

vibe "Create a draft PR for the changes"

Using Vibe from Le Chat

You can also launch Vibe tasks directly from Mistral's ChatGPT-style interface, Le Chat. Open Le Chat in your browser and type a request like:

Build a sales dashboard showing monthly revenue and customer count using the data in my repository.

Le Chat will interpret the request and delegate the task to Vibe's cloud agents. You'll receive a notification when the work is done, along with a link to the resulting branch or PR. This integration makes it easy to kick off coding tasks without leaving the chat interface.

Leveraging Work Mode in Le Chat

Beyond coding, Mistral introduced "Work Mode" in Le Chat for broader, tool-assisted tasks. To enable Work Mode, click the "Work" toggle at the top of the Le Chat interface. You can then assign complex jobs like:

• "Prepare a meeting brief for tomorrow's product review, including recent updates and action items from the project board."
• "Update the onboarding document with the new API changes described in this pull request."

Work Mode instructs Le Chat to use connected tools—such as web search, document editors, or project management APIs—to gather information and produce deliverables. The agent runs in the background, and you can come back to review the output or request revisions.

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting to authenticate the CLI – Without a valid API key, Vibe commands will fail. Double-check that you ran vibe auth correctly.
• Not initializing git in the project directory – Vibe uses git history to understand your codebase. Missing a .git folder may limit its capabilities.
• Losing context during teleport – Always ensure the local task is fully started before teleporting. Teleporting during a pause may cause incomplete state transfer.
• Overloading a single agent – For large refactors, split the work into smaller subtasks and assign each to a separate agent. This reduces errors and makes debugging easier.
• Ignoring the sandbox limits – Free accounts have resource limits on cloud sessions (e.g., runtime, memory). Check your plan's quotas to avoid unexpected terminations.
• Not reviewing generated code – Always review the changes made by Vibe before merging. AI-generated code may contain subtle bugs or security issues.

Summary

Mistral's new cloud-based coding agents and Le Chat Work Mode represent a major leap in practical AI assistance for developers and teams. With Vibe, you can offload coding tasks to the cloud, freeing your local machine and enabling parallel work. Le Chat's Work Mode extends this to non-coding workflows, making Mistral a versatile productivity tool. By following the steps outlined here—setting up the CLI, running local agents, teleporting to the cloud, and using Le Chat—you can start automating repetitive work today. Avoid the common pitfalls, and you'll be well on your way to a more efficient workflow powered by Mistral AI.