In short. A Mistral Library Viewer can use the Library but cannot change its source documents; a Collaborator can upload or delete documents.
Definition: A Mistral Library Viewer can use the Library in their own chats but cannot modify it. A Collaborator can use the Library, upload or delete documents, and modify settings.
Key facts
- Mistral says that a new Library is private by default, so only its owner can see and use it until access is shared. See Mistral's Libraries documentation.
- The Work sharing dialog assigns either Collaborator or Viewer access to a named user found by name or email. See the same sharing instructions.
- A Collaborator can upload or delete documents and modify Library settings. The documentation also says that a Collaborator can use the Library.
- A Viewer can use the Library in their own chats, while the Work documentation says that the Viewer cannot modify it.
- Organization sharing uses the same modal and lets the owner choose Collaborator or Viewer access for everyone in the organization.
What can a Viewer do?
Viewer access is use access. Mistral's Work documentation says that a Viewer can use the Library in the Viewer's own chats. This allows the person to attach the Library to a chat and query its contents, while the Library's source documents remain outside the Viewer role's documented modification rights.
The same page describes Library use as a search across all documents attached to the Library. It also documents a route for selecting one document from a Library through the chat's plus button, Upload Files, the Library, and the chosen document. Those actions describe how a user queries Library content; the permission definition for Viewer remains that the Library cannot be modified.
What can a Collaborator change?
Collaborator access includes three documented changes: uploading documents, deleting documents, and modifying settings. Mistral's Work permission description also includes using the Library. These permissions cover changes to the collection of source documents as well as changes to Library configuration.
The sharing workflow is owner-controlled. The owner opens the Libraries page, selects a Library, clicks Share, searches for a user by name or email, and assigns a permission level. For organization-wide access, the owner toggles Entire organization and chooses Collaborator or Viewer access.
Collaborator: can use the Library, upload or delete documents, and modify settings.
Viewer: can use the Library in their own chats but can't modify it.
Does the API use the same role names?
Mistral's Studio Libraries documentation describes API access control with a level parameter whose values are "Viewer" or "Editor". It states that Viewers cannot edit Libraries and Editors can. The Work page uses Collaborator for the broader sharing role, so an API Editor should not be silently presented as the same named role as a Work Collaborator.
The Studio page also says that the Library owner must share a Library and must delete another entity's access. Its access model identifies the shared entity with share_with_uuid and share_with_type, whose entity types are User, Workspace, or Org.
level: "Viewer" or "Editor"
share_with_type: "User", "Workspace", or "Org"
The Work documentation separately describes opening a document and using Download to save the original file, but it does not assign that action to Viewer or Collaborator.
Related terms
- Mistral Le Chat
- Are images and child pages indexed when a URL enters a Mistral Library?
- Can a Mistral Library citation open the relevant source passage?
FAQ
Can a Viewer upload a new source document?
No. The Work permission description gives document upload to Collaborators and says that Viewers cannot modify the Library.
Can a Collaborator delete a source document?
Yes. Mistral's Work documentation explicitly includes document deletion in the Collaborator permission.
Can a Viewer query the Library?
Yes. A Viewer can use the Library in their own chats, and Work searches across the Library's documents when it is attached to a chat.
Who assigns Viewer or Collaborator access?
The sharing workflow assigns access from the Library's Share modal. For organization sharing, the same modal applies the selected role to everyone in the organization.
Sources
Check how a page reads to answer engines. Open the GEO score analyzer