What Is Vibe Coding? Here's What's Behind the Trend

Write software without programming? That’s the promise of Vibe Coding. Just describe what your app should do, and AI turns your instructions into working code. Instead of dealing with syntax, you focus entirely on your ideas and goals.

Vibe Coding speeds up development and lowers the barrier to entry—but it also comes with limitations. This guide explains how Vibe Coding works, which AI tools support it, and what to consider before getting started.

Vibe Coding refers to an AI-driven approach to software development. You write instructions in natural language instead of code. Rather than typing out commands, you describe your idea. The artificial intelligence then creates machine-readable code from it.

The goal: to build software without getting bogged down in syntax—just by expressing concepts, goals, and requirements.

Unlike no-code tools like website builders, Vibe Coding doesn’t limit you to fixed components or predefined templates. Instead, you express your requirements freely—in plain language.

The term Vibe Coding was coined in early 2025 by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy. He wanted to describe a way of working where you fully embrace the "vibes" of an idea and forget that code even exists.

You still need a basic grasp of program flow, architecture, and technical logic—to guide the AI properly and validate its output.

Here are the main pros and cons of Vibe Coding:

The Vibe Coding process works like a dialogue between you and the AI. A working application evolves from a rough idea through iterative steps:

This loop continues until the outcome meets your expectations. You step in when needed—fixing mistakes or adding specific requirements. Even so, automation takes care of much of the tedious detail work.

At its best, Vibe Coding feels like a creative conversation with an AI partner. It’s more like live brainstorming with instant results than conventional, detail-heavy coding.

Many Vibe Coding tools offer templates for common use cases. This means you don't have to start from scratch. You can adapt prebuilt templates to match your project.

Vibe Coding is for anyone who wants to turn ideas into working software—without having to master complex programming skills. These groups benefit the most from AI-powered coding tools:

Keep in mind: Vibe Coding lowers the entry barrier and accelerates development—but it doesn't eliminate the need for smart software design.

Vibe Coding tools differ greatly in structure, target audience, and feature depth. Some generate entire applications from simple prompts; others embed AI features directly into professional dev environments.

Vibe Coding tools typically fall into three categories. Here's how they differ:

Most tools are available in both free and paid versions. Free plans usually come with limited features but are great for testing the tool. They let you explore the platform and see if it meets your needs.

These tools focus on UI design and interaction logic. You can create working prototypes—or even full web apps—just by describing what you want.

There are many examples of UI and frontend-focused tools. Here's a selection of popular options:

These platforms are useful for designers, product teams, and startups alike. Developers also benefit—mainly from the rapid prototyping speed.

UI and frontend-focused tools reach their limits when tasks go beyond visual interface building. Complex, customized user flows are hard—or even impossible—to implement.

This category is aimed at professional developers looking to enhance their workflow with AI support. In this setup, the developer stays in control. AI provides suggestions, automates repetitive tasks, and analyzes existing codebases.

Here are some examples of AI-powered IDEs:

AI-powered IDEs primarily streamline routine tasks and boost productivity. They don’t replace developers—they assist with refactoring, testing, and building new components.

In complex or poorly documented codebases, AI suggestions can miss the mark. These tools rely on pattern recognition, not genuine comprehension. That can result in avoidable correction cycles.

Command-line interfaces are geared toward experienced developers who prefer the terminal and want to embed AI into existing scripts and workflows.

Examples of CLI-based tools include:

CLI tools are well suited for automation, structured maintenance, and infrastructure-oriented development. They offer speed and precision—but only if you're comfortable using the terminal.

You’ll need to know the correct commands and how to interpret terminal errors. For beginners, CLI tools are typically not the best starting point.

Vibe Coding affects more than just tools and workflows—it’s reshaping the foundations of software development. New roles are emerging, familiar processes are evolving, and long-held assumptions are being questioned.

Vibe Coding redefines the developer’s role. Instead of writing every line of code yourself, you manage the process at a higher level. You guide the process, assess the results, and decide the next steps.

This role resembles that of a director or editor. The AI writes the code—but refinement and final judgment remain human tasks. Programming skills aren’t obsolete—they’re evolving.

Mastering syntax matters less than before. What counts now is your ability to steer the AI and assess its output critically.

One major benefit of Vibe Coding is its speed. With AI support, features that once took weeks now take hours—or even minutes. This speed is especially valuable when building prototypes or MVPs.

This speed impacts the innovation process. Development cycles are shorter, and bugs are found and fixed sooner. You can experiment more freely, as implementation takes less effort.

Vibe Coding makes software development more accessible. People can build software based on domain expertise—even without technical training. Traditional roles begin to blur—as business teams, designers, and developers collaborate more closely, and earlier in the process.

But that doesn’t make development trivial. Long-term maintenance, security, and reliability still demand real expertise.

Vibe coding has many advantages, but it also brings entirely new challenges. You should keep these in mind even after your AI tool has quickly produced nearly finished applications.

Vibe Coding is a powerful aid—but not an autopilot. Without active oversight, you risk serious issues with quality, security, and maintainability. The bigger the project, the more essential conventional development practices become.

Vibe Coding complements software development and makes it more accessible on multiple levels. It lowers the entry barrier and significantly accelerates development cycles. This is particularly beneficial for prototypes and simpler apps.

That said, traditional programming is still crucial for building complex and reliable systems. AI tools can produce impressive results—but not with the precision and reliability of skilled development teams. They also bring entirely new problems and challenges.

The real strength lies in combining both approaches. Let AI handle tasks that benefit from speed and creativity—while relying on human expertise for architecture, performance, and critical thinking. That way, Vibe Coding becomes a valuable tool in the developer’s toolkit—bridging automation and expertise.