What Vibe Coding Is
You share a flat with Asha, Ravi and Meera, and every month someone does sums on the back of an envelope to work out who owes whom for groceries and electricity. You decide to build a small web app for it, called Kitty, and you plan to write very little of the code yourself. You will describe what you want, an AI assistant will write it, and you will steer. That way of working has a name: vibe coding.
The rule
You describe, the AI drafts, you run and judge, then repeat.
Vibe coding means building software mainly by describing your intent in plain language to an AI coding assistant. The assistant turns the description into code, and you decide whether that code is right.
The rule has four moves, and each one matters:
- Describe. Say what the feature should do, in words a stranger could follow: "Add a page where a flatmate logs an expense: who paid, how much, and what for."
- Draft. The assistant writes code. Treat it as a draft, not a delivery. It may be excellent, or it may be confidently wrong.
- Run and judge. Start the app, try the feature and look at what changed. Does it do what you described? Does it do anything you did not ask for?
- Repeat. Feed back what you saw: "The amount accepts negative numbers. Reject those." Then go round again.
Vibe coding is not pressing a button and shipping whatever comes out. The speed comes from the assistant; the quality still comes from you. Skip the judging and you are no longer building software, you are gambling with it.
It suits some jobs better than others. Prototypes, personal tools and first drafts gain the most. Code that moves money, holds private data or keeps people safe can still be drafted this way, but it needs far more checking before anyone relies on it.
The shortcut
Picture the loop as a small circle you go round many times, not one long leap. Keep each lap short enough to check in a few minutes.
Describe
"Add a form with three fields: who paid, the amount in rupees, and a short note. Save each entry and list all entries under the form."
The trap is judging by appearance. A form that looks right can still save the wrong number. On every lap, try one ordinary input and one awkward one.
Drills
Answer fast — trust the rule.
Which description best fits vibe coding?
The assistant's code for Kitty's expense form runs without any errors. What is your next move?
Which job is the best place to lean hardest on vibe coding?
The assistant added a login page you never asked for. What does the loop say to do?
Remember
- Rule: you describe, the AI drafts, you run and judge, then repeat.
- Shortcut: keep each lap small enough to check in a few minutes.
- Trap: judging by looks. "It runs" is not "it is right", so test one awkward input on every lap.