Config Command Now Defaults to User-Level Saves

Mistral VibeSep 4, 2026View original changelog

Mistral Vibe changed the default behavior of its /config command: changes now save to the user-level config by default, and users can press Tab to cycle between saving to user, session, or (on a trusted project) project-level config. The change gives users an explicit, visible choice over which config layer a setting lands in, rather than relying on an implicit target that could unintentionally affect a shared project file.

Key Takeaways

Mistral Vibe's /config command now defaults to saving changes to the user-level config instead of an implicit target.
A new Tab key binding lets users cycle the save target between user, session, and trusted project config from the same screen.
The change reduces the risk of a personal setting accidentally landing in a shared, committed project config file.
It builds directly on the full-screen /config browser redesign Mistral Vibe shipped in an earlier release.
Mistral Vibe's config system layers user, project, and admin-enforced settings, and this change makes the active layer explicit rather than implied.
The update targets one of the most frequently used commands in the CLI, so the behavior change touches nearly every user.

A Safer Default for a Frequently Used Command

/config is one of the commands Mistral Vibe users reach for constantly, whether to change a model, a theme, or a tool-approval setting. In v2.25.0, Mistral Vibe changed where those changes land by default: /config now saves to the user's own config rather than whatever layer it previously defaulted to. For anyone working in a shared repository, that is a meaningfully safer default, since personal preference changes no longer risk silently landing in a file that gets committed and pushed to teammates.

Explicit Control via Tab

Alongside the new default, Mistral Vibe added a Tab key binding inside the config UI that cycles the save target between user, session, and, when the current project is trusted, project config. Rather than needing to know in advance which config layer a change belongs in, users can now make the change first and choose where it persists afterward, directly from the same screen. This builds on the earlier full-screen, searchable /config browser Mistral Vibe shipped in July, adding a clearer persistence model on top of that redesigned UI.

Why the Layering Matters

Mistral Vibe's config system already composes multiple layers (user, project, and, for enforced settings, an admin layer), and confusion about which layer a given change actually modifies has been a recurring source of surprise. Making the default layer explicit, visible, and switchable turns an implicit detail of the config system into something users control directly every time they open /config.