Mistral Code: Vibe Coding Client Released

Mistral Launches Mistral Code, a New AI Coding Client

French artificial intelligence company Mistral has announced the release of Mistral Code, a new coding assistant designed to challenge established players in the market. These include companies like Windsurf, Anysphere’s Cursor, and GitHub Copilot.

A Comprehensive Coding Assistant

Mistral Code is built upon the open-source Continue project. It integrates Mistral’s AI models with an in-IDE assistant, options for local deployment, and tools tailored for enterprise use. A private beta version is currently available for JetBrains development platforms and Microsoft’s VS Code, starting Wednesday.

Mistral’s stated objective is to provide enterprise developers with superior coding models. These models aim to facilitate tasks ranging from immediate code completion to complex, multi-step refactoring. The platform offers deployment flexibility – in the cloud, on dedicated resources, or even in air-gapped, on-premise GPU environments.

Growing Popularity of AI Programming Assistants

The adoption of AI-powered programming assistants is rapidly increasing. Despite ongoing challenges in generating flawless software code, the potential for enhanced coding productivity is driving widespread interest. Recent surveys indicate that 76% of developers either currently use or plan to integrate AI tools into their workflows.

Underlying Models and Capabilities

Mistral Code leverages a suite of internally developed models. These include Codestral for code autocompletion, Codestral Embed for code search and retrieval, Devstral for advanced “agentic” coding tasks, and Mistral Medium for chat-based assistance.

The client supports over 80 programming languages and integrates with various third-party plugins. It can also analyze files, terminal outputs, and issue trackers to provide contextually relevant suggestions.

Early Adoption by Major Companies

Mistral reports that several organizations are already utilizing Mistral Code in production environments. These include consulting firm Capgemini, the Spanish and Portuguese bank Abanca, and the French national railway company SNCF.

The platform allows for model customization through fine-tuning or post-training on private code repositories. Furthermore, it enables the creation of lightweight model variants.

Administrative Tools and Open-Source Contributions

IT administrators benefit from a comprehensive admin console. This console provides granular platform controls, detailed observability, seat management, and usage analytics.

Mistral intends to continuously improve Mistral Code and contribute a portion of these enhancements back to the Continue open-source project.

About Mistral

Established in 2023, Mistral is an AI model lab focused on developing a range of AI-driven services. These include the chatbot platform, Le Chat, and mobile applications.

The company has secured over €1.1 billion (approximately $1.24 billion) in funding from venture investors, including General Catalyst.

Recent Launches

Just weeks ago, Mistral introduced the Codestral, Devstral, and Mistral Medium models. Simultaneously, the company launched Le Chat Enterprise, a chatbot service designed for corporate use. This service includes an AI agent builder and integrates with popular tools like Gmail, Google Drive, and SharePoint.