Dictionary
Vibe coding
Writing software by describing what you want to an AI in natural language, accepting its output with minimal review, and iterating on vibes rather than specifications.
Vibe coding means describing the software you want in plain language, letting an AI generate it, and iterating conversationally — "make the button bigger," "add login" — without ever reading the code closely.
Where it works
Prototypes, demos, internal tools, and learning. Vibe coding compresses the distance between an idea and something clickable to minutes. For exploring what's possible, it's genuinely one of the most productive ways to work ever invented.
Where it breaks
Production. Vibe-coded codebases share a family resemblance: no tests, no threat model, no cost model, dependencies nobody chose, and architecture that made sense to the AI for exactly one prompt. The demo tests the happy path; real users test everything else.
The takeaway
Vibe coding isn't the enemy — unreviewed vibe coding is. The workflow this site advocates: let AI write the 80%, but a human owns the 20% that determines whether software survives contact with reality — architecture, security, concurrency, cost, and dependencies. Use AI. Just don't ship slop.
Related terms
- Agentic coding
A workflow where an AI coding agent plans and executes multi-step software changes — editing files, running commands, and iterating — with a human supervising rather than typing.
- Context engineering
The practice of deliberately assembling what an AI coding assistant knows — relevant files, docs, constraints, and conventions — so its output matches your project's reality instead of generic best guesses.