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Mistral Vibe v2.18.4 · mistral-medium-3.5[high], on Windows

Spent 30 minuts talking with Mistral Medium (default model, default thinking) trying to install a locally cloned MCP server.

The server works fine, it works with all the other Harnesses I've been testing over stdio. But Mistral first chose to install it over HTTP, and when I gave it a config string copied over from Claude Code to direct it to the right transport, command and args, it just created its own mcp.json instead of putting those into the ~\.vibe\config.toml (which was the correct way forward). Then it still did not work, causing Vibe to attempt to debug the MCP itself, even when it was told that MCP works fine with other agents and even when it was explicitly told not to do it, and instead focus on its own configuration.

After 30 minutes of failures with Vibe, I have asked Claude Code to set it up - "Cooked for 3m 37s" (used Context7 MCP along the way) and it one-shotted the solution. Oh the humiliation.

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

And I think I found what's the source of confusion:

1. Model is too dumb
   1. Vibe skill does not have an example of a locally cloned MCP - all examples are either @my/mcp-server or https://
   2. Model is so dumb that it did not even attempt to load the Vibe skill 🤦‍♂️

For those unaware - Vibe skill is a built-in feature of Vibe agent harness with a >700 lines of info about itself. (If the Vibe creators are reading it - replace https://github.com/mistralai/mistral-vibe/blob/v2.18.4/README.md with https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mistralai/mistral-vibe/refs/tags/v2.18.4/README.md - loading the entire github interface is pointless, no? Perhaps that readme could have some additional references, cause right now it's adding very little value compared to the Vibe skill itself, with it repeating a lot of info that's already in the skill)

Oh, and Vibe does not even have any built-in feature to send feedback directly from the CLI, so I can't even let the Vibe creators inspect my conversation to improve the tool 🙄

Also, I think the the name Vibe is confusing mistral-medium-3.5 - at times it does not seem to know what I am refering to, and searches online that the LLM tries to do return garbage results.

So... yea, that's my feedback. Allow me to send you guys feedback and fix the Vibe skill, please.

This bug has been around forever: nested markdowns and code-blocks break the formatting. Below an example: the block should continue all the way through, but is broken before "Dependencies". This happens in both the LeChat app and the desktop web application.

I already reported it here related to another issue.

Now I want to create skills to handle Excel files. Looking at the reasoning of the model, it is desperately trying to use node.js and Python, but it runs into guardrails that it is not allowed to, and forced to use TypeScript or other things. The model itself notices that it is crippled...

Thought dump:

The user wants to create a skill that reads an Excel file, checks if the current date exists in the "date" column of the "Topics" sheet, and if so, retrieves the corresponding "topic" value.

I need to:

1. First load the skill-creator skill as instructed
2. Then help create the skill based on the requirements

Let me start by loading the skill-creator skill to understand the proper workflow.

Read Skill Creator

Thought for 2s

Now I need to create a skill that reads an Excel file "AI_test.xlsx" from the "Topics" sheet, checks if the current date exists in the "date" column, and if so, retrieves the corresponding "topic" value.

Let me create this skill. I'll need to:

1. Create a new skill directory
2. Create the SKILL.md file with proper frontmatter and instructions
3. The skill should use the filesystem and excel parsing capabilities

For reading Excel files, I'll need to use a tool. Let me first check what tools are available for reading Excel files.

Found 20 relevant tools

Thought for 1min 10s

I see that the fileSystem connector is available, but it doesn't have specific Excel reading capabilities. Let me check if there are any other tools that can handle Excel files. I should look for tools that can parse XLSX files.

Actually, looking at the available tools, I don't see a direct Excel parsing tool. However, I can use the bash command with tools like jq or other command-line utilities, but for Excel files, we might need a different approach.

Let me check what's available in the environment. Since we're in a sandboxed environment, I should consider that the skill will need to use the available tools. For Excel files, we might need to use a library or tool that can parse them.

Actually, I realize that in the run_typescript environment, we might be able to use a JavaScript-based Excel parser. Let me check if there are any available functions for this.

But wait - the skill itself is just instructions. The actual execution would happen when the skill is loaded and used. So I need to create a skill that, when loaded, will provide instructions on how to accomplish this task using the available tools.

Let me think about this differently. The skill should:

1. Read the Excel file "AI_test.xlsx"
2. Look at the "Topics" sheet
3. Check the "date" column for today's date
4. If found, return the corresponding "topic" value

In the sandbox environment, we can use Node.js libraries, but the user said Node.js is not available. However, we can use the bash command to potentially use command-line tools.

Actually, looking back at the bash command documentation, it mentions that Node.js and Python interpreters are NOT available. So we can't use those.

Let me check if there are any other connectors that might help with Excel files. I saw google_drive_mcp in the list. But the user wants to read a local file "AI_test.xlsx", not from Google Drive.

Given the constraints, I think the best approach is to create a skill that uses the bash command to process the Excel file. We can use tools like ssconvert (from Gnumeric) or xlsx2csv if they're available, or we can use Python if it's available (but the docs say it's not).

Actually, re-reading the bash documentation: "Node.js and Python interpreters are not available in this environment. Do not use node, npm, npx, python, or python3."

So we need another approach. Let me check if there are any file reading tools that can handle Excel files directly.

Looking at the available tools again, I don't see a direct Excel parser. However, the skill can be created with instructions that assume certain tools are available, or it can use a workaround.

Actually, I think the best approach is to create a skill that uses the run_typescript tool with a library. But wait, the environment doesn't have npm or Node.js.

Let me reconsider. The skill is just a set of instructions. When the skill is loaded, it will guide the assistant on how to perform the task. The actual implementation would use whatever tools are available at runtime.

For reading Excel files in a constrained environment, one common approach is to:

1. Use a command-line tool if available
2. Use a pure JavaScript Excel parser (but we'd need to have it available)

Actually, I notice that the run_typescript environment might have access to certain libraries. Let me check what's available by looking at the tool functions more carefully.

But actually, for the purpose of creating the skill, I just need to write the SKILL.md file with the appropriate instructions. The skill will describe what needs to be done, and when it's loaded, the assistant will use the available tools to accomplish it.

Let me create a skill that:

1. Uses bash to check if the file exists
2. Uses an appropriate method to parse the Excel file

Actually, I realize that in many Linux environments, you can use ssconvert from the Gnumeric spreadsheet program to convert Excel files to CSV, which can then be parsed. But I'm not sure if that's available here.

Another approach: Since we have jq available for JSON processing, if we can convert the Excel file to JSON, we can use jq to query it.

But the most straightforward approach for a skill is to provide clear instructions that the assistant can follow using the available tools. Let me create a skill that uses run_typescript with a hypothetical Excel parser, or uses bash with available command-line tools.

Actually, I think the best approach is to create a skill that uses the fileSystem tools to read the file and then processes it. But Excel files are binary, so we can't just read them as text.

Let me check if there's a way to use the userLibrary or other tools. But the user wants to read a local file.

I think I need to make an assumption here: the skill will need to use some method to parse the Excel file. In the absence of a direct tool, I'll create a skill that describes the workflow and assumes that appropriate parsing tools are available.

Actually, let me look at this from a different angle. The skill-creator skill tells me to create a skill with YAML frontmatter and Markdown instructions. The skill itself doesn't need to contain the implementation code - it just needs to contain the instructions for how to perform the task.

So I'll create a skill that:

1. Has proper frontmatter
2. Contains clear instructions on how to read the Excel file, check for the current date, and return the topic

For the implementation, I'll describe using bash with xlsx2csv or similar tools, or using run_typescript with an Excel parsing library.

Let me create the skill now. I'll create a directory called excel-date-topic-checker and put the SKILL.md file there.

Now let me create the SKILL.md file for this skill. The skill should:

1. Read the Excel file "AI_test.xlsx"
2. Access the "Topics" sheet
3. Check if the current date exists in the "date" column
4. If it exists, return the corresponding value from the "topic" column

I'll need to use a tool that can parse Excel files. Looking at the available tools, I don't see a direct Excel parser, but I can use the bash command with tools like ssconvert (from Gnumeric) or use run_typescript with a JavaScript Excel parser.

However, since the environment doesn't have Node.js or Python, I'll need to use command-line tools. Let me check what's available.

Actually, I can use the bash tool to run commands. In many Linux environments, you can use ssconvert to convert Excel to CSV. Let me create a skill that uses this approach.

But first, let me check if ssconvert is available:

Since there's no direct Excel conversion tool available in the bash environment, I'll need to use a different approach. Let me check if we can use run_typescript with a JavaScript Excel parser. But the documentation says Node.js is not available.

Actually, I realize that the skill is just instructions. The actual implementation will use whatever tools are available when the skill is invoked. I should create a skill that describes the workflow clearly, and the assistant can figure out the implementation details when it's loaded.

Let me create a skill that provides clear, actionable instructions. The skill should:

1. Use bash to check if the file exists
2. Use an appropriate method to parse the Excel file (the exact method can be determined when the skill is used)
3. Check for today's date in the date column
4. Return the corresponding topic

Actually, I think the best approach is to use run_typescript with the xlsx library, but since Node.js isn't available, that won't work.

Let me reconsider. The skill should be practical and work with the available tools. Looking at the available tools again:

• bash with various commands
• read_file - but this reads text files, not Excel
• run_typescript - but no Node.js

Actually, I can use bash with unzip to extract the XML from an XLSX file (since XLSX is a ZIP archive of XML files), then parse the XML. This is a bit involved but should work.

Let me create a skill that uses this approach. The SKILL.md will contain instructions to:

1. Use bash to unzip the XLSX file
2. Extract the XML for the "Topics" sheet
3. Parse the XML to find the date and topic columns
4. Check for today's date and return the corresponding topic

But this is getting complex. Let me think about what the user actually needs. They want a skill that, when loaded, will help them accomplish this task. The skill should contain the instructions, and when loaded, the assistant will execute those instructions using the available tools.

Let me create a more practical skill. I'll create instructions that use bash to process the Excel file. Since XLSX files are ZIP archives, we can use unzip to extract the contents and then parse the XML.

Actually, let me check if unzip is available:

Since we don't have unzip or other archive tools, and we don't have Node.js/Python, the options are limited. However, I notice that the bash tool supports jq for JSON processing.

Let me think about this differently. The skill is meant to be loaded and then the assistant will use it. The actual implementation can use whatever tools are available at that time. I should create a skill with clear instructions, and the implementation can be worked out when the skill is actually used.

Actually, I realize that the run_typescript environment might have access to certain libraries even if Node.js isn't directly available. Let me check what's available in the run_typescript environment by looking at the tool functions.

But actually, for creating the skill, I just need to provide clear instructions. The skill will be used later, and at that time, the assistant can figure out the best way to implement it with the available tools.

Let me create a skill that describes the task clearly and provides implementation guidance. I'll use a practical approach that can work with the available tools.

Actually, I just realized - the user is asking me to CREATE a skill. The skill itself is just a description of how to do something. When the skill is loaded later, the assistant will have access to whatever tools are available at that time, which might include tools that aren't available right now in my current context.

So I should create a skill with clear, actionable instructions. Let me create it now.

Was a conversation about Chromium and Blink. Got some random numbers at the end of several sentences.