Vibe Coding Guide: Build Products With AI

Vibe coding flipped software development on its head. Instead of writing code line by line, you describe what you want and AI builds it. The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy and it captured something real - a fundamental shift in how software gets made.

I've shipped 5 products using vibe coding. This guide is everything I've learned - the tools, the workflows, the mistakes, and the mental models that actually work.

What Is Vibe Coding?

Vibe coding is building software by describing your intent in natural language and letting AI generate the code. You focus on the "what" and "why" while AI handles the "how."

It's not just using AI autocomplete. It's a complete workflow shift:

Traditional coding: Write code → debug → test → iterate
Vibe coding: Describe intent → AI generates → review → refine

The key difference is the feedback loop. In traditional coding, you spend 80% of your time on implementation details. In vibe coding, you spend 80% on design decisions and quality review.

Who it's for:

Developers who want to ship faster
Founders building MVPs
Anyone with an idea but not years of coding experience
Experienced developers tackling unfamiliar tech stacks

The Best Vibe Coding Tools (2026)

Claude Code (My Primary Tool)

Anthropic's terminal-based agent. Reads your entire codebase, writes files, runs commands. Best for:

Complex multi-file features
Architecture decisions
Full application scaffolding

Why I prefer it: It works alongside any editor, thinks before it acts (plan mode), and handles multi-step tasks autonomously.

Cursor

AI-native IDE built on VS Code. Best for:

Inline code generation
Quick edits and refactors
Tab completion on steroids

Windsurf

IDE with agentic capabilities. Best for:

Visual-first development
Rapid prototyping
Designer-developer workflows

v0 by Vercel

Web-based UI generator. Best for:

React component generation
Landing page prototyping
Design-to-code workflows

Replit Agent

Cloud development environment with AI. Best for:

Quick prototypes
Learning to code
Deploying without infrastructure knowledge

My Vibe Coding Workflow

After shipping 5 products, this is the workflow I've settled on:

Phase 1: Design (30 minutes)

Before touching any tool, I write down:

What am I building and for whom?
What are the 3 core features?
What's the tech stack?
What does the data model look like?

This document becomes my CLAUDE.md file - the instruction manual for AI.

Phase 2: Scaffold (1-2 hours)

I use Claude Code to generate the project skeleton:

Project structure
Database schema
API routes
Core UI components

At this stage, I'm approving or rejecting large architectural decisions. Claude proposes, I decide.

Phase 3: Build Features (2-4 hours per feature)

For each feature:

Describe what I want in natural language
Claude enters plan mode, shows me the approach
I approve or redirect
Claude implements
I test and refine

Phase 4: Polish (1-2 hours)

Fix edge cases
Improve error handling
Add loading states
Responsive design tweaks

Phase 5: Ship

Deploy to Vercel or similar
Set up analytics
Share it with the world

Total time for an MVP: 1-2 days. Not weeks. Not months. Days.

Common Vibe Coding Mistakes

1. No Clear Specification

Vague prompts produce vague code. "Build me an app" gives you garbage. "Build a Next.js app with user auth, a dashboard showing real-time metrics from a Supabase database, using Tailwind for styling" gives you something useful.

2. Not Reviewing Generated Code

AI code is not guaranteed correct. I review every file Claude generates. Not line by line - but I check:

Does the architecture make sense?
Are there obvious security issues?
Does it follow the patterns I established?

3. Trying to Build Everything at Once

Break projects into small, testable chunks. Build one feature at a time. Verify it works. Then move to the next. This applies to any development but it's critical with AI because errors compound.

4. Ignoring Tests

Vibe coding without tests is like driving without brakes. AI can write tests too - use it. Test-driven vibe coding (describe the test first, then let AI implement) produces much better results.

5. Wrong Tool for the Job

Not every task benefits from vibe coding. Config file changes, simple bug fixes, one-line edits - just do them manually. Save AI for complex, multi-step work.

Vibe Coding vs Traditional Coding

| Aspect | Vibe Coding | Traditional Coding | |--------|------------|-------------------| | Speed | 5-10x faster for prototypes | Predictable, steady pace | | Quality | Needs careful review | Quality scales with skill | | Learning | Great for exploring new stacks | Deep understanding required | | Cost | API credits + subscription | Time investment | | Best for | MVPs, prototypes, scaffolding | Mission-critical systems |

Vibe coding doesn't replace traditional coding. It augments it. The best developers use both - AI for the tedious parts, manual coding for the parts that require deep thought.

The Future of Vibe Coding

We're in the early days. Current tools are impressive but limited. What's coming:

Better context windows - AI will understand entire codebases, not just files
Multi-agent systems - Multiple AI agents collaborating on different parts
Continuous deployment - AI writing, testing, and deploying code autonomously
Domain-specific agents - AI specialized for specific frameworks and industries

The developers who learn to work with AI now will have a massive advantage. Not because AI replaces developers - but because AI-augmented developers are dramatically more productive.

Getting Started Today

Pick a tool - Claude Code, Cursor, or Replit. Start with one
Pick a project - Something small. A landing page, a CLI tool, a simple API
Write a spec - 1 page describing what you want
Build it - Use the tool to generate code. Review everything
Ship it - Deploy it. Show it to people. Get feedback
Iterate - Build something bigger next time

The only way to learn vibe coding is to vibe code. Start today.

The Complete Vibe Coding Guide: Build Products With AI (2026)