Vibe coding
Building working software by describing what you want in plain language and letting AI write the code, while you test, steer and decide what it should do.
Also called: AI app builders · prompt-to-app · building with AI · no-code with AI · agentic coding
Connections
Understand first
Ideas this one builds on.
Related
Often used together or easily confused.
Blueprints that practise it
Resources that teach it
- Why "Get With the Program" Doesn't Work: Claire Vo on AI That Actually Sticks (Agents of Scale) (garden)
- How I AI (podcast) (garden)
- A guide to AI prototyping for product managers (garden)
- Everyone should be using Claude Code more (garden)
- The non-technical PM's guide to building with Cursor (Lenny's Podcast, with Zevi Arnovitz) (garden)
- What people are vibe coding (and actually using) (garden)
- Management as AI superpower (garden)
- 12 Rules to Vibe Code Without Frustration (garden)
- 20 Tips to Master Claude Code in 35 Minutes (Build a Real App) (garden)
- Introducing My New AI Learning Path and Co-Pilot (garden)
- Behind the Craft (YouTube channel) (garden)
Competency
Find vibe coding on the commons map ↗
You may know it from
- construction commissioning a building from an architect and builder You don't need to lay bricks, but you do need to know what you want, inspect the work and own the permits.
- office work spreadsheets as do-it-yourself software
In products
The same idea, under different names in different tools.
| Provider | What they call it |
|---|---|
| Lovable | Lovable |
| Replit | Replit Agent |
| Vercel | v0 |
| Anthropic | Claude Code |
| OpenAI | Codex |
| Google AI Studio |
In plain words
The term was coined in early 2025 for building software by talking to AI instead of writing code yourself. You describe the app (“a sign-up page for our book club with a waitlist when it’s full”), the AI writes it, you try it, and you say what to change.
The AI writes the code. You handle everything around it: deciding what the app is for, keeping the first version small, testing it like a real user, noticing when the AI adds features you didn’t ask for, and owning the accounts, passwords and any personal data it handles.
Vibe coding is excellent for prototypes and personal tools. For anything that stores other people’s data or handles money, get a technical review before real use.
Example
A volunteer manager builds a shift-swap page in an afternoon. The AI adds a login system she didn’t ask for; she cuts it, because a shared link is enough for twelve people. She tests it on her phone, fixes one confusing button, and shares it.
How it connects
- Grows out of artifacts, scaled up to real apps.
- Mostly a steering skill: you direct, the AI builds.
- The solution ladder asks whether you need an app at all, and the smallest useful version keeps it small.
Try it
Write two sentences describing a tiny tool you wish existed at work, and the one thing it must do. Ask an app builder for exactly that, and strike any extra feature it adds.
Read this card as plain Markdown: /concepts/con-vibe-coding.md. Know a parallel from your own field, or a product that implements this? Add it.