The Rise of Vibe Coding
Something remarkable happened in 2023-2024: building software got dramatically easier.
Developers who used to spend weeks on features now ship in days. Non-technical founders are building and launching products. Solo developers are competing with funded teams.
The catalyst? A new way of building called "vibe coding."
What is Vibe Coding?
Vibe coding is building software by describing what you want to AI, then iterating on the output. Instead of writing every line of code manually, you:
- Describe the feature or functionality you want
- Let AI generate the code
- Review, test, and refine
- Repeat until it works
The term "vibe coding" was popularized by Andrej Karpathy (former Tesla AI Director) who tweeted:
"There's a new kind of coding I call 'vibe coding'. You just describe what you want, the AI writes it, you run it. If it doesn't work, you describe the issue, it fixes it. You keep vibing until it works."
It captures the feeling perfectly: you're not wrestling with syntax or debugging obscure errors. You're describing intent and iterating on results. It's a different vibe.
Why Vibe Coding Matters
The Old Way of Building
Traditional software development requires:
- Learning programming languages (months to years)
- Understanding frameworks and best practices
- Writing, testing, and debugging code line by line
- Dealing with dependency management and tooling
- Long feedback loops between idea and working feature
For founders, this meant either:
- Spending months learning to code
- Paying $50-200/hour for developers
- Finding a technical co-founder
- Using no-code tools with limited flexibility
The Vibe Coding Way
With AI assistance:
- Describe what you want in plain English
- Get working code in minutes
- Iterate through conversation
- Ship faster than ever before
The result: Products that took months now take weeks. Features that took days take hours. Solo founders ship production-ready apps.
The Vibe Coding Toolkit
Here are the tools powering the vibe coding revolution:
AI Coding Assistants
Cursor The IDE built for AI-native development. It understands your entire codebase and can make changes across multiple files.
- Best for: Full-stack development, complex projects
- Key feature: Codebase-aware suggestions
- Pricing: Free tier, $20/month for pro
GitHub Copilot Microsoft's AI pair programmer integrated into VS Code.
- Best for: Code completion, boilerplate reduction
- Key feature: Context-aware autocompletion
- Pricing: $10/month
Windsurf (by Codeium) Another AI-native IDE competing with Cursor.
- Best for: Fast iteration, multi-file edits
- Key feature: "Cascade" multi-file agent
- Pricing: Free tier available
AI Interfaces for Building
v0 by Vercel Describe UI components and get React/Tailwind code.
- Best for: Frontend components, UI design
- Key feature: Production-ready React components
- Pricing: Free tier, credits-based
Bolt.new Build entire applications through conversation.
- Best for: Full-stack apps, rapid prototyping
- Key feature: Instant deployment
- Pricing: Free tier, $20/month pro
Replit Cloud development environment with AI assistance.
- Best for: Quick projects, learning, collaboration
- Key feature: Instant deployment, multiplayer
- Pricing: Free tier, $15+/month pro
Lovable (formerly GPT Engineer) AI that builds full-stack web applications.
- Best for: Non-technical founders
- Key feature: Visual editing + code generation
- Pricing: Free tier, paid plans available
Claude & ChatGPT
The foundation models themselves are powerful coding assistants:
Claude (Anthropic)
- Excellent at long-context understanding
- Great at explaining code and debugging
- Strong at following complex instructions
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
- Good general-purpose coding assistant
- Canvas feature for iterative editing
- Wide plugin ecosystem
When to Use What
| Task | Best Tool |
|---|---|
| Build a full app from scratch | Bolt.new, Lovable |
| Create UI components | v0 by Vercel |
| Add features to existing codebase | Cursor |
| Debug complex issues | Claude |
| Quick code completion | GitHub Copilot |
| Learning/prototyping | Replit |
Vibe Coding in Practice: A Real Example
Let me show you what vibe coding looks like in practice.
The Task
I wanted to build a tool that analyzes your Twitter followers and shows demographics. Traditional development timeline: 2-3 days. Vibe coding timeline: 3 hours.
The Process
Step 1: Describe the app to Cursor/Claude
I want to build a web app that:
- Lets users connect their Twitter account
- Analyzes their followers
- Shows demographics (location, interests, follower count distribution)
- Has a clean, modern UI
Use Next.js, Tailwind, and the Twitter API.
Step 2: Get initial scaffold
The AI generated the project structure, API routes, and basic UI components. Maybe 70% correct on first try.
Step 3: Iterate on issues
The Twitter authentication isn't working. Here's the error: [paste error]
AI fixes the auth flow. Repeat for other issues.
Step 4: Refine the UI
Make the demographics section more visual. Add charts for follower distribution. Use a blue color scheme.
Step 5: Polish and ship
Within 3 hours, I had a working app. Not perfect, but functional enough to launch and get feedback.
What I Didn't Have to Do
- Read Twitter API documentation for hours
- Figure out Next.js authentication patterns from scratch
- Write CSS for basic layouts
- Debug cryptic error messages alone
The AI handled the grunt work. I focused on product decisions.
The Vibe Coding Workflow
Here's the workflow that works best:
1. Start With Clear Intent
Vague prompts get vague results. Be specific:
Bad: "Build me a todo app"
Good: "Build a todo app with Next.js and Supabase. Users should be able to create projects, add tasks with due dates, and mark them complete. Include user authentication. Use a minimal, clean design with Tailwind."
2. Iterate in Chunks
Don't try to build everything at once. Break it down:
- First, get authentication working
- Then, build the basic data model
- Next, create the UI
- Finally, add polish and edge cases
3. Test Frequently
AI-generated code can have subtle bugs. Test each piece before moving on.
4. Understand What You Ship
Important: Don't ship code you don't understand at all. You don't need to understand every line, but understand:
- What the main components do
- Where data flows
- How authentication works
- What dependencies you're using
This matters for debugging, security, and future modifications.
5. Use Version Control
Commit frequently. AI can break things. Having a working version to revert to is essential.
Common Vibe Coding Mistakes
Mistake 1: Being Too Vague
"Make it better" tells the AI nothing. Be specific about what "better" means.
Mistake 2: Not Testing Incrementally
Building an entire app, then testing, leads to nightmare debugging sessions. Test each feature.
Mistake 3: Ignoring Security
AI doesn't always follow security best practices. Always:
- Validate user inputs
- Use parameterized queries
- Implement proper authentication
- Never expose API keys
Mistake 4: Copy-Pasting Without Understanding
If you don't understand what the code does, you can't debug it when it breaks (and it will break).
Mistake 5: Over-Engineering
AI loves to generate complex solutions. Sometimes a simpler approach is better. Don't accept complexity you don't need.
Who is Vibe Coding For?
Experienced Developers
Use AI to 10x your output. Skip boilerplate. Focus on the interesting problems.
Junior Developers
Learn faster by seeing well-structured code examples. Use AI as a mentor that explains concepts.
Non-Technical Founders
Build MVPs without hiring developers. Test ideas before investing in proper engineering.
Indie Hackers
Ship more products. Test more ideas. Compete with larger teams.
Designers
Turn designs into working code without deep programming knowledge.
The Limits of Vibe Coding
Let's be honest about what vibe coding can't do:
Complex Systems Architecture
AI can build features. It's less good at designing systems that scale to millions of users.
Highly Regulated Software
Healthcare, financial, or other regulated software needs careful human oversight.
Novel Algorithms
AI remixes existing patterns. Truly novel algorithmic work still requires deep expertise.
Performance-Critical Code
When milliseconds matter, you need hand-optimized code from experts.
Long-Term Maintenance
AI can create code. Maintaining it over years requires human understanding.
The Future of Vibe Coding
We're in the early innings. Here's where things are heading:
More Capable Models
Each generation of AI models gets better at coding. What takes careful prompting today will be automatic tomorrow.
Better Tooling
Cursor, Bolt, and others are iterating rapidly. The tools are getting more intuitive and powerful.
Higher-Level Abstractions
We'll move from generating code to generating features, then to generating entire products.
New Business Models
The economics of software are changing. When building is cheap, distribution becomes the moat.
Getting Started with Vibe Coding
Ready to try it? Here's your starter path:
Week 1: Get Comfortable
- Sign up for Cursor (free tier available)
- Try building a simple project from scratch
- Practice describing features in plain English
- Learn what prompts work and don't work
Week 2: Build Something Real
- Pick a simple product idea
- Build it entirely with AI assistance
- Ship it to the public
- Submit it to our directory for visibility
Week 3: Iterate and Improve
- Get user feedback
- Use AI to implement improvements
- Compare speed to traditional development
Resources
- Cursor documentation
- v0 by Vercel
- Bolt.new
- Twitter/X: Follow @karpathy, @levelsio, and #vibecoding
Vibe Coding and VibeDirectories
You might be wondering why this site is called "VibeDirectories."
It's because we built it with vibe coding. And we believe vibe coding is creating a wave of new products that need discovery and distribution.
We help vibe-coded products:
- Get discovered through our product directory
- Build SEO foundation through directory submissions
- Connect with users who appreciate indie, AI-built products
If you're building with AI, submit your product to our directory. It's free, and you'll be among the community pioneering this new way of building.
Conclusion
Vibe coding isn't replacing software engineering. It's democratizing it.
More people can now build. More ideas can be tested. More products can ship.
The founders who embrace this shift will build faster, iterate quicker, and ship more products than ever before.
The future belongs to vibe coders.
Are you ready?
Building something with AI? Submit your vibe-coded product to our directory and get discovered by our community.
