Vibe — Product Requirements Document
Problem Statement
Working with a codebase from the terminal means switching constantly between reading files, searching, editing and running commands. Vibe addresses this by putting a conversational AI agent in the terminal: the developer states a goal in natural language and the agent explores, edits and runs the project through a tool suite [README.md:20-22, README.md:92-109].
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Warning
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Why Mistral built Vibe — and how it relates to the paid Mistral Code / Vibe Code offering — is deferred. The code shows the capability, not the business rationale. The Product Owner must supply this before the PRD can claim a strategic problem statement. |
Target Users
| User | Need | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
Interactive developer |
Explore and edit a codebase conversationally, with explicit control over what the agent does. |
|
Scripter / CI automation |
Run the agent non-interactively with deterministic limits and machine-readable output. |
|
Editor / IDE integrator |
Embed the agent in an editor through a stable protocol. |
Segment priority is deferred. The three users are served by peer entry points; which segment the roadmap favours is a product decision.
Goals
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Let a developer complete coding tasks conversationally without leaving the terminal [README.md:92-109].
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Keep the developer in control: no tool runs without a permission decision [vibe/core/tools/base.py:83-113].
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Run unattended for scripting, bounded by turn and cost ceilings [vibe/core/programmatic.py:27-91].
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Be extensible: MCP servers, skills, custom agents and hooks [README.md:340-579].
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Integrate with editors over the Agent Client Protocol [vibe/acp/entrypoint.py:78-108].
Success Criteria
The code emits usage telemetry and per-session statistics — turns, tool outcomes, token counts, estimated cost [vibe/core/telemetry/send.py:58-95, vibe/core/types.py:47-138].
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Warning
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The business KPI that defines success is deferred. Telemetry is the instrument, not the target. Whether success means adoption, retention, task-completion rate or conversion to a paid plan must come from the Product Owner. |
Scope
In scope (recovered from code)
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Interactive and programmatic single-user sessions [vibe/cli/cli.py:197].
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A built-in tool suite for shell, files, search and web [vibe/core/tools/builtins/].
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Session persistence, resume and rewind [vibe/core/session/session_logger.py:36-97].
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MCP, skills, custom agents, hooks, voice mode (experimental) and teleport to the cloud [README.md:282-579, vibe/core/teleport/teleport.py:46-150].
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The ACP server entry point [vibe/acp/entrypoint.py:78-108].
Out of scope
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Any server-side component — Vibe runs entirely on the developer’s machine; all back ends are external (see
arc42/chapters/03_context_and_scope.adoc). -
Multi-user or shared-session operation — the process is single-user.
Constraints
Python >= 3.12, managed with uv; strict pyright and ruff gate CI;
UNIX is the officially supported target; Apache-2.0 licence
[pyproject.toml:6, AGENTS.md:7-46, README.md:24-26]. The full list is
in arc42/chapters/02_architecture_constraints.adoc.
Open Questions (deferred)
| Owner | Question |
|---|---|
Product Owner |
Why was Vibe built, and how does it relate to Mistral Code / Vibe Code? |
Product Owner |
What business KPI defines success? |
Product Owner |
Which user segment is the priority? |
Product Owner, Architect |
What is the priority ranking of the quality goals? |
Product Owner, Domain Expert |
Is the recovered use-case catalog complete, and which use cases are core vs. experimental? |
These are tracked in OPEN_QUESTIONS.adoc at the repository root and
must be answered before the next planning cycle.
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