Vibe Coding
Building software by describing what you want to an AI model and steering the result, rather than writing the code yourself.
Design DisciplinesVibe coding describes working at the level of intent: you say what the thing should do, a model produces the implementation, you look at the result and adjust the description. It has genuinely changed the economics of prototyping. A designer can now produce a working, clickable, data-backed prototype in an afternoon — which makes concept testing and usability testing possible far earlier than a design-file prototype allowed.
The limits are where the output has to be maintained. Code produced this way tends to work for the demonstrated path and to be inconsistent underneath — duplicated logic, no error handling, no tests, security assumptions nobody stated. That is fine for a prototype, which is meant to be thrown away, and expensive when a prototype gets promoted to production because it demoed well. The discipline is deciding which of the two you are making before you start.
In practice
A team prototyped an onboarding flow in two days instead of the usual two-week build and tested it with eight users, finding a step-ordering problem that would have shipped. The same prototype was then proposed as the production implementation; a review found no validation on any input and credentials in the client bundle. Rebuilt properly, it took the two weeks — but built the right flow.
Where teams get it wrong
- Promoting a prototype to production because it demonstrated well.
- No review of generated code for validation, error handling or secrets.
- Assuming the model's output reflects a coherent architecture.
- Using it for the parts that are hard to get right and reviewing the parts that are easy.
- Not deciding up front whether the artefact is disposable.
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You may ask
Frequently Asked Questions
What is vibe coding?
Building software by describing the intended behaviour to an AI model and steering its output, rather than writing the implementation directly. It is most valuable for prototypes, where speed matters more than maintainability.
Is vibe-coded software production ready?
Usually not without review. The output typically works for the demonstrated path while lacking validation, error handling and tests, and may carry security assumptions nobody stated. Treat it as a prototype unless it has been properly reviewed.
Related terms
All terms- PrototypingBuilding a simulated version of a product or flow — from paper to clickable to coded — in order to test an idea before committing to it.
- AI Product DesignDesigning products whose behaviour is probabilistic — where the system can be confidently wrong and the interface has to account for it.
- MVP (Minimum Viable Product)The smallest version of a product that delivers real value to real users and produces evidence about whether the idea works.
- Concept TestingPutting an idea in front of the people it is for, before it is built, to find out whether it is worth building.
Defined by Mara Last reviewed .
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