Vibe coding
Also called vibecoding, ai-assisted coding, prompt-to-app
Building software by describing what you want to an AI and accepting the code it writes, often without reading it closely.
Vibe coding is a term coined by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy in early 2025 for a style of programming where you describe what you want in plain language, let an AI generate the code, run it, and keep asking for changes based on what you see, without carefully reading or fully understanding the code itself. You steer by the result, not the implementation.
It has made building software accessible to many people who could not write code before, and it is genuinely fast for prototypes, personal tools, small websites and experiments. AI app builders and coding agents make it possible to go from an idea to a working demo in an afternoon.
The risks grow with the stakes. Code you do not understand can hide security holes, leak secrets, handle data unsafely, or fall apart as the project grows. Professional developers increasingly distinguish vibe coding from AI-assisted engineering, where the AI writes code but a person reviews it, tests it and understands the architecture. A useful rule: vibe code freely for throwaway or personal projects, and review carefully before real users, real data or real money are involved.
Example
A teacher with no programming background describes a quiz app for their class, accepts the AI's code, tests it in the browser, and asks for tweaks until it works. It is ready by the end of the day. Before putting student data in it, they ask a developer friend to review how the data is stored.
Common mistake
Shipping vibe-coded software that handles logins, payments or personal data without review. AI-generated code often works on the happy path while missing input validation, access checks or secret handling. Get a review, or at least ask an AI to audit the code specifically for security problems.