Mistral Vibe: Headless Mode Gets Prompt Files, Time Limits and Clear Exit Codes

Mistral VibeOct 9, 2026View original changelog

Mistral Vibe 2.26.1 expanded vibe -p headless mode for scripts and CI. It can read prompts from --prompt-file or stdin, write results with --output-dir, stop at a deadline with --time-limit, and report distinct exit codes for usage errors, infrastructure failures and limit stops.

Key Takeaways

Prompts can be supplied via --prompt-file or stdin, avoiding quoting issues in scripts.
--output-dir writes export.json and the session journal on every exit.
--time-limit SECONDS stops a run at a deadline, and the session can be resumed afterward.
Exit codes now distinguish usage or config errors (1), infrastructure failures (2) and limit or refusal stops (3).
--max-turns, --max-tokens and --max-price now exit 3 instead of 1, a behavior change that may affect existing scripts.
SIGTERM and Ctrl-C stop the run gracefully and keep it resumable.

Better Automation With vibe -p

Mistral Vibe 2.26.1 makes the non-interactive vibe -p mode easier to use in scripts and pipelines.

Flexible Input and Output

The prompt can now come from --prompt-file or from stdin, which avoids shell quoting problems with long prompts. With --output-dir, Vibe writes an export.json and the session journal on every exit, so each run leaves an inspectable record.

Deadlines That Can Be Resumed

--time-limit SECONDS stops a run at a deadline. SIGTERM and Ctrl-C stop the run in the same way, and the session can be resumed afterward rather than being lost.

Exit Codes Automation Can Rely On

vibe -p now exits 1 on usage or config errors, 2 on infrastructure failures, and 3 when a limit or a model refusal stopped the agent. --max-turns now exits 3 instead of 1 when the turn limit is reached, and so do --max-tokens and --max-price, including when the budget ran out as the agent finished. Scripts that checked for exit code 1 on limit stops will need updating.