Mistral: get an API key and write fiction with it on your phone

A rare no-card free tier among frontier labs: the whole model line-up is open to try (at tight limits), plus the data-sovereignty stance of a European vendor — pick it to sample a frontier lab at zero cost or when EU compliance matters. This page is the BYOK quick answer for Mistral: key steps, direct console and pricing links, and the app-side notes that matter. Verified 2026-07-18.

Two links up front: get your key at the official console and check rates on the official pricing page. Prices and free quotas move; the official pages are authoritative.

What does it power inside Foreverse?

The factory preset declares 1 modality flag for Mistral. The models actually available come from the live catalog fetched in-app — catalogs move fast, and the flag only means the protocol wiring is ready.

Modality	Used for
Text	Continuation · roleplay chat · agent

How do I get a Mistral API key?

Sign up at console.mistral.ai (the Mistral Studio console, a.k.a. La Plateforme). New accounts start in the free mode by default — no card needed.
Go to API Keys in the sidebar → Create new key; you can set an expiration while you're at it.
The key is shown exactly once at creation — copy it on the spot.
If calls return 401, open Billing and confirm the free plan is actually active (a common trap on older accounts, sometimes with a phone-verification step); a card is only needed for the pay-as-you-go Scale plan.

Key in hand: three steps to connect

Open the app's Settings → AI models & services and find Mistral in the list (one of 62 presets, with logo and search).
Paste the key and tap the connectivity test — it fires one real request to verify key and network, and pulls back the model list while it's at it.
Enable the models you want, then set per-modality defaults (text, image, speech, and video each get their own); continuation, chat, and listening route through them from then on.

The one universal host pitfall: the API host must include its full version prefix (this provider's exact form is in the notes below) — the app never appends /v1 for you.

Mistral-specific notes

The preset host is https://api.mistral.ai/v1 — leave it as is. Le Chat subscriptions are a separate billing track and include no API credit. Free-mode rate limits are conservative (single-digit RPM territory), so upgrade to the pay-as-you-go Scale plan for long sessions; if requests return 401, check the plan status under Billing first.

FAQ

Does Mistral have a free tier?

Yes: the free mode (called the Experiment plan on the billing page) is permanently free with no credit card (phone verification may be required), covering the full model line-up at tight limits (in the 1-2 requests-per-minute range — the console Limits page is authoritative); move to the Scale pay-as-you-go plan for production-grade volume.

Where does the key live once I paste it into the app?

It's stored on your device only, under system-level encryption — never uploaded or synced to any Foreverse server. Requests go straight from your phone to the provider's official endpoint with zero markup. To revoke access, delete the key in the provider's console.