vibe coding
/VYBE KOH-ding/noun
Meaning
A style of AI-assisted software development in which a person describes what they want in ordinary language and lets an AI system generate, modify, and debug the code. The term often implies a loose, experimental workflow in which the user judges the result by running it rather than fully reading or understanding the underlying code.[1]
- 1. Building an app, website, script, or other software mainly by prompting an AI coding tool.
- 2. Using AI-generated code with minimal manual review, often accepting bugs, awkward architecture, or code the user cannot fully explain.
Examples
“Vibe coding helped me build a tiny habit tracker during lunch.”
“This landing page is pure vibe coding.”
“We used vibe coding for the prototype, then rewrote authentication by hand.”
“My cousin is trying vibe coding for a game and accepting every suggested change.”
“Vibe coding got the demo working, but nobody wants to maintain the codebase.”
Origin and spread
Vibe coding is a compound of vibe and coding. The modern expression entered public circulation in February 2025 through a post by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy describing a workflow of prompting an LLM, accepting generated changes, and largely ignoring the underlying code. The phrase spread quickly through technology reporting and developer discussion. Its meaning has broadened in casual use to include AI-assisted programming generally, although commentators such as Simon Willison reserve it for the more hands-off, minimally reviewed style.[1]
How to use it
The term is informal and often playful, but it can also be mildly critical because it suggests limited code review and acceptance of technical debt. Do not use it as a synonym for every use of AI in programming: a developer who carefully reviews, tests, and understands AI-generated code is generally using AI-assisted software development rather than vibe coding.
