Vibe Coding
"There's a new kind of coding I call "vibe coding", where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists."
"It's possible because the LLMs (e.g. Cursor Composer w/ Sonnet) are getting too good."
"Also I just talk to Composer with SuperWhisper so I barely even touch the keyboard. I ask for the dumbest things like "decrease the padding on the sidebar by half" because I'm too lazy to find it."
"I "Accept All" always, I don't read the diffs anymore. When I get error messages I just copy paste them in with no comment, usually that fixes it."
— Andrej Karpathy (@karpathy)
Enabled by New Thinking Models
Recent advances in language models have fundamentally changed how we interact with code:
Claude 3.7 & Claude Code
Advanced reasoning and code generation with extremely high context
O3-Mini
Fast, efficient coding assistance with strong reasoning
Cursor Agent
Purpose-built IDE with integrated voice commands
Vibe Coding in Action (10x Speed)
Vibe First Try in Public
Vibe Problem: The Error
Vibe Solution: Just Ask AI
What Is (and Isn't) Vibe Coding?
Vibe Coding IS
- ✓Fully giving in to the vibes and forgetting that code exists
- ✓Not reading diffs, always accepting all changes
- ✓Copy-pasting error messages with no comment
- ✓For throwaway weekend projects and prototypes
- ✓Building software without reviewing the code an LLM writes
- ✓A way for beginners to get past the steep learning curve
- ✓Good for experienced devs to build intuition about LLMs
- ✓Best for low-stakes projects where bugs won't cause harm
"I ask for the dumbest things like 'decrease the padding on the sidebar by half' because I'm too lazy to find it."
— Andrej Karpathy
Vibe Coding IS NOT
- ✗The same as all AI-assisted programming
- ✗Responsible production-quality code development
- ✗Reviewing, testing, and understanding code written by an LLM
- ✗Considering performance, accessibility, security, maintainability
- ✗Making trade-offs based on specific requirements
- ✗Suitable for high-stakes projects
- ✗Appropriate when money or security is on the line
- ✗The only way to use AI for programming
"If you're an experienced engineer using LLMs responsibly to write software that you understand and test thoroughly, that's not vibe coding."
— Simon Willison
Linting: Essential for the Agent Era
Why Linting Matters in Vibe Coding:
In a world of coding agents, we need systems that can automatically check work
- Static analysis - Checks code without running it
- Rule enforcement - Validates code against defined standards
- Immediate feedback - Catches issues before they cause bugs
- Quality control - Essential when AI generates most code
"One of the things that keeps floating around my head as I use these tools is that marketers will need something similar to linting to run across all their AI-generated content and agents to ensure everything stays on brand."
— Noah Brier, BRXND Dispatch Vol. 75
Key Takeaways
The shift is real: Vibe coding fundamentally changes the developer experience
10x productivity: Dramatically reduced time from idea to implementation
Approachable complexity: Build features that would normally be outside your comfort zone
New skill emphasis: Focus shifts from syntax to system design and creative solutions
Not universally applicable: Perfect for prototyping, but needs guardrails for critical systems