Vibe coding is the wild new frontier of software development—where AI handles most of the heavy lifting, and developers (or even complete newbies) simply describe what they want. It's fast, fun, and completely changing how software gets built. But is it a revolution or just a shortcut with hidden risks?

What is Vibe Coding?

The term vibe coding was coined by Andrej Karpathy, former AI Director at Tesla and one of the biggest names in machine learning. In early 2025, he tweeted:

"There's a new kind of coding I call 'vibe coding,' where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists."

- Andrej Karpathy

Essentially, vibe coding means relying on AI-powered coding assistants to write, debug, and structure your code—often without fully understanding what's under the hood. Instead of carefully crafting every line of code, you:

  • ✅ Describe what you want in natural language
  • ✅ Let AI generate the code for you
  • ✅ Test, tweak, and iterate based on AI suggestions
  • ✅ Roll with the vibes—if something doesn't work, you regenerate until it does

How Vibe Coding Works

Vibe coding thrives on AI-assisted developer tools. Here are the most popular ones right now:

Cursor

AI-powered IDE that writes and refactors code

Windsurf

A fast-growing alternative with better full-project awareness

Claude 3.7 Sonnet

Used for debugging, reasoning, and big-picture problem solving

Replit Agent

Good for experimenting with quick AI-generated projects

Who is Using Vibe Coding?

According to a Y Combinator survey of AI startups:

  • 🔹 25% of founders say over 95% of their code is AI-generated
  • 🔹 Developers now consider themselves more "product engineers" than "software engineers"
  • 🔹 AI-generated coding is 100x faster than traditional methods in some cases

Why is Vibe Coding Exploding in Popularity?

🚀 SPEED

Build apps, websites, and games in hours instead of weeks.

🧠 LOWER SKILL BARRIER

No need to memorize syntax—if you can explain it, AI can code it.

💡 MORE EXPERIMENTATION

Test ideas rapidly and scrap them just as easily.

💰 CHEAPER DEVELOPMENT

One AI-powered coder can do the work of five.

The Future of Vibe Coding

New Roles Emerging:

🔹 "Vibe Coders"

Fast, AI-assisted developers who quickly build and test ideas.

🔹 "Systems Engineers"

Experts who ensure AI-generated code is scalable, secure, and maintainable.

🔹 "AI Architects"

Developers who focus on guiding AI models to generate better, more structured code.

Get Started with Vibe Coding

  • ✅ Experiment with AI-powered IDEs like Cursor or Windsurf
  • ✅ Use AI models (Claude, GPT-4) to generate and refine code
  • ✅ Practice debugging AI-generated code to develop better problem-solving skills
  • ✅ Explore vibe coding job opportunities (yes, they're already a thing!)