Vibe coding is an innovative approach to software development that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to generate functional code from natural language prompts. It fundamentally shifts how software is created, making it more accessible and efficient. The term was coined by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy in early 2025.
Vibe Coding Fundamentals:
At its core, vibe coding is about expressing your desired outcome in plain language, and then an AI assistant handles the complex task of writing the actual code. Instead of traditional programming where a developer writes every line of code using specific programming languages and syntax, vibe coding allows you to describe what you want your application to do, and the AI translates that into a working program.
The developer’s role changes from being a direct “coder” to a “guide” or “prompter.” You direct the AI, review its output, provide feedback, and refine the application through a conversational process.
There are generally two ways vibe coding is applied:
1. “Pure” Vibe Coding:
This is a more experimental approach where you fully trust the AI’s output, almost “forgetting that the code even exists.” It’s great for quickly trying out ideas or for “throwaway weekend projects” where speed is the main priority.
2. Responsible AI-Assisted Development:
This is a more common and professional application. Here, AI tools act like powerful teammates or “pair programmers.” You guide the AI, but then you carefully check, test, and understand the code it generates, taking full responsibility for the final product.
How Does Vibe Coding Work?
Vibe coding operates through two main levels of workflow: a detailed, iterative process for refining specific pieces of code, and a broader lifecycle for building and deploying entire applications.
1. The Code-Level Workflow (for refining specific code):
This is a continuous, back-and-forth conversation between you and the AI to create and perfect smaller parts of the code.
- Describe the Goal: You start by giving the AI a high-level instruction in simple language. For example, “Create a Python function that reads a CSV file.”
- AI Generates Code: The AI assistant interprets your request and produces the initial code for that specific task.
- Execute and Observe: You then run this generated code to see if it works as expected.
- Provide Feedback and Refine: If there’s an error or the code isn’t quite right, you give the AI new instructions or feedback. For instance, you might say, “Add error handling for when the file is not found.”
- Repeat: This cycle of describing, generating, testing, and refining continues until that particular piece of code is complete and functional.
2. The Application Lifecycle (for building complete applications):
This is the bigger picture process of turning a high-level idea into a fully deployed application.
- Ideation: You start by describing your entire application concept in a single, high-level prompt to an AI tool (like Google AI Studio or Firebase Studio).
- Generation: The AI then generates an initial version of the complete application, which might include the user interface, the logic behind the scenes, and the way files are structured.
- Iterative Refinement: You test the application and use more prompts to add new features, change existing ones, or adjust its look and feel.
- Testing and Validation: A human expert (which could be you) reviews the application to ensure it’s secure, high-quality, and works correctly.
- Deployment: Once you’re happy with the application, you can deploy it to a platform like Cloud Run, often with a final prompt or a simple click, making it available for users.
In essence, vibe coding streamlines software creation by allowing creators to focus on what they want to build, while the AI handles how to build it through code.
