Vibe CLI Model Config & Skills Setup for Coding

Introduction

Vibe CLI ships with three default models, but they are not the best for coding. If you are using Vibe for actual software engineering, you want smarter, faster, and cheaper models configured properly.

This guide covers:

• Which Mistral models to use for coding and agentic tasks
• How to add them to your ~/.vibe/config.toml
• Essential skills that make Vibe actually useful for developers

Recommended Models for Coding

My recommendation: Use small4 as your daily driver. It is the sweet spot for coding—fast, cheap, and good enough for 90% of tasks. Switch to large only when you are stuck on a hard problem.

How to Add Models

Vibe uses a TOML config file. The devstral models are already configured by default. You just need to add the large, medium, and small models next to them.

Step 1: Open the file:

~/.vibe/config.toml

Step 2: You will already see the devstral models in there:

[[models]]
name = "devstral-small-latest"
provider = "mistral"
alias = "devstral-small"
temperature = 0.2
input_price = 0.1
output_price = 0.3
thinking = "off"
auto_compact_threshold = 200000

[[models]]
name = "devstral"
provider = "llamacpp"
alias = "local"
temperature = 0.2
input_price = 0.0
output_price = 0.0
thinking = "off"
auto_compact_threshold = 200000

Step 3: Paste these models right below the devstral ones:

[[models]]
name = "mistral-small-2603"
provider = "mistral"
alias = "small4"
temperature = 0.2
input_price = 0.2
output_price = 0.6
thinking = "off"
auto_compact_threshold = 200000

[[models]]
name = "mistral-medium-2508"
provider = "mistral"
alias = "medium"
temperature = 0.2
input_price = 1.5
output_price = 4.5
thinking = "off"
auto_compact_threshold = 200000

[[models]]
name = "mistral-large-2512"
provider = "mistral"
alias = "large"
temperature = 0.2
input_price = 2.0
output_price = 6.0
thinking = "off"
auto_compact_threshold = 200000

Step 4: Save the file and restart Vibe.

Now switch models inside the CLI:

vibe > /model small4
Switched to small4

Essential Skills for Coding

Skills turn Vibe from a chatbot into a specialized coding agent. Here are the ones worth using:

How to Install Skills

Skills live in ~/.vibe/skills/:

mkdir -p ~/.vibe/skills

Clone the skills repository:

git clone https://github.com/DevAgarwal2/vibe-skills.git ~/.vibe/skills

Enable All Skills in Config

Open your Vibe config file:

~/.vibe/config.toml

Find the enabled_skills line and change it to include all skills:

# BEFORE:
enabled_skills = ["frontend-design"]

# AFTER:
enabled_skills = ["frontend-design", "test-driven-development", "systematic-debugging", "writing-plans", "requesting-code-review", "popular-web-designs", "docker-management", "github-code-review", "architecture-diagram", "oss-forensics"]

Save the file. All skills are now active by default.

Activate a Skill

Inside Vibe:

vibe > /skill test-driven-development
Activated: test-driven-development

Use Multiple Skills

vibe > /skill writing-plans,test-driven-development
Activated: writing-plans, test-driven-development

Daily Workflow

Here is how I use Vibe for actual work:

1. Start with the cheap model:

vibe > /model small4

2. Plan the feature:

vibe > /skill writing-plans
vibe > Plan a Stripe payment integration for our API

3. Implement with TDD:

vibe > /skill test-driven-development
vibe > Implement task 1: create the Payment model

4. Review before push:

vibe > /skill requesting-code-review
vibe > Review all changes in this session

5. Stuck on a hard bug? Switch up:

vibe > /model large
vibe > /skill systematic-debugging
vibe > This race condition only appears under load...

Cost Cheat Sheet

Quick Commands

Bottom Line

• small4 = daily driver for 90% of coding
• large = backup for hard problems
• devstral-small = when you want to save money
• local = when you need privacy or offline work
• Skills = what makes Vibe worth using over plain chat

Configure once, code forever.