Codestral - New LLM model for coding

Mistral.AI unveiled a groundbreaking generative AI model designed specifically for code generation tasks. This cutting-edge model, aptly named Codestral, promises to revolutionise how developers write and interact with code by leveraging a shared instruction and completion API endpoint. Its fluency in both code and English makes it an invaluable tool for designing advanced AI applications tailored for software developers.

Features

Here are some of the features that standout as compared to other popular models (Llama 3 70B) focussed on coding and problem solving

Master of Many Languages

Codestral is a powerhouse, fluent in over 80 programming languages. From widely-used languages like Python, Java, C, C++, JavaScript, and Bash, to more specialised ones such as Swift and Fortran, Codestral’s extensive training ensures it can assist in virtually any coding environment. This versatility makes it an ideal companion for developers working on diverse projects across different platforms.

Massive Scale and Capability

Boasting an impressive 22 billion parameters, Codestral sets a new benchmark in the realm of code generation models. This vast scale not only enhances its understanding and generation of complex code but also ensures high performance with minimal latency, outshining previous models in the industry.

Efficiency and Accuracy

Designed to save developers time and effort, Codestral excels in completing coding functions, writing tests, and filling in partial code with remarkable accuracy. Its fill-in-the-middle mechanism is particularly effective in reducing the risk of errors and bugs, thereby elevating the quality and reliability of the code.

Benchmark Results

Setting New Standards in Performance Codestral's performance is unmatched, especially when evaluated against existing code-specific models that demand higher hardware requirements. Its larger context window of 32k tokens (compared to 4k, 8k, or 16k offered by competitors) enables it to handle long-range code generation tasks with exceptional proficiency.

Getting started

You can Codestral through Le chat interface of Mistral.AI

You can interact with Codestral through the Mistral.AI chat interface to generate and manage code effortlessly.

Integrating in VS Code

Step-1: Register on Mistral.AI console

Step-2: Generate a new API key

Step-3: Install continue.dev extension, select the Codestral model and set the API key generated in previous step

Once set up, you can enjoy using Codestral for various coding tasks such as:

• Write Code: Given a function header or a specific functionality, Codestral can generate the necessary code for you (Cmd + I).
• Explain Code: This feature is particularly useful for understanding poorly documented code. Highlight any code snippet and ask questions about it (Cmd + L).
• Edit Code: Select any code segment and update its logic as needed (Cmd + I)

These are the basic functionalities. You can also use Codestral for more advanced tasks, such as generating a complete working project based on a specific framework or language.

Thats it. Hope you found it useful !!