Vibe Coding

Vibe coding is a term coined by Andrej Karpathy in early 2025 to describe a programming workflow where the developer "fully gives in to the vibes" and lets an AI assistant write the code. Rather than typing code line by line, the programmer describes their intent in plain language, reviews what the AI produces, and steers the direction through iterative conversation. The human focuses on what the software should do while the AI handles how to implement it.

The approach relies on large language models with strong code generation capabilities, integrated into tools like Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, or similar AI-powered development environments. The programmer acts more as a creative director than a typist, describing features, pointing out bugs, and requesting changes in natural language. Testing and running the code still provides the ground truth for whether the output works.

Vibe coding has sparked debate in the software engineering community. Proponents argue it dramatically lowers the barrier to building software and lets experienced developers prototype faster. Critics point out that code generated without deep understanding can introduce subtle bugs, security vulnerabilities, and technical debt. The approach works best for prototyping, personal projects, and exploratory work, while production systems typically still require careful human review and architectural oversight.