Vibe Coding: A New Way to Build Without Writing Code
Why the next generation of software creation is powered by vibes, not syntax.
“Vibe coding isn't a fad. This isn't going away. [Vibe coding] is actually the dominant way to code.”
— Garry Tan, President of Y Combinator
You're not alone if you’re asking, “Wait—what’s vibe coding?”.
When the head of the world’s most influential startup accelerator says that, it’s not just hype. It’s a glimpse into what might become the default way to build software in the years ahead.
But before we define vibe coding, let’s ask a more straightforward question:
What Is Coding, Really?
At its core, coding means giving instructions to a computer — telling it what to do, step by step. These instructions are written in programming languages like Python or JavaScript.
For decades, learning to code required years of mastering syntax, tools, and logic. You were shut out of the process if you weren’t a trained developer. The barrier was real. Many ideas never made it past the napkin sketch.
But now, that’s changing — fast. And AI is leading the shift.
Enter Vibe Coding: Build with Intuition, Not Syntax
Vibe Coding is a new approach to building software. Instead of writing code line by line, you work with AI in natural language. You describe what you want, and the AI writes the code.
It’s not construction. It’s a collaboration.
The term comes from Andrej Karpathy, former Director of AI at Tesla, who describes this shift as "giving in to the vibes." Rather than scripting every detail, you guide the AI — like a creative director shaping an idea through feedback.
It’s fast. It’s fluid. And it’s opening the door to people who’ve never written a line of code.
The following definition is based on the inception tweet from Karpathy, which closely encapsulates the idea expressed in the initial tweet:
A programming paradigm where you let AI-assisted coding tools and Codegen platforms build software solutions based on your ideas. Instead of writing code line by line, you describe what you want — in natural language — and guide the AI through iterative prompting. You co-create by expressing intent, observing output, and refining the result with minimal manual intervention. It’s not about controlling every line of code — it’s about shaping the outcome through conversational design.
How It Works (And Why It Matters)
Here’s the process in practice:
You describe what you want to build: “Create a landing page with a sign-up form.”
The AI generates the code — HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and backend logic.
You refine with prompts — “Center the button,” or “Make it mobile-friendly.”
The AI updates the code — instantly applying your feedback.
You iterate — refining until it clicks.
There’s no need to memorize syntax or set up development environments. Most of the scaffolding and more is handled behind the scenes.
Of course, AI isn’t flawless. But for many creators, vibe coding is already powerful enough to launch actual products — without traditional coding chops.
Why Now?
Three forces have aligned to make vibe coding inevitable:
Large language models like GPT and Claude can now generate and explain code with near-human fluency.
A rising class of solo founders, educators, and creatives want to build but can’t afford years of learning to code. (If you don't believe me, ask the CEO of Replit, one of the widely used AI-assisted coding platforms.)
Modern development workflows have become so complex that vibe coding isn’t just more straightforward—it’s often smarter.
At Y Combinator, some startups generate up to 95% of their codebase with AI. These aren’t side-projects. They’re funded companies shipping production software in weeks. These startups are often founded by technical people, and their reliance on Vibe coding makes it evident that it is here to stay as a dominant method of developing web-based solutions.
How It’s Different from No-Code and Low-Code
You might wonder, “Isn’t this just no-code with AI?”
Not quite.
No-code platforms use drag-and-drop interfaces. These are great for quick prototypes, but they’re limited by pre-built templates and platform constraints.
Vibe Coding generates actual code. Code you can extend, scale, and modify freely. You’re not locked in. It’s as flexible as traditional development — but powered by prompts, not syntax.
Think of it like this:
With vibe coding, you describe your vision, and the AI brings it to life. Think of the pain point you've always experienced when doing a quarterly report: non of the software you use is unified enough to handle the one computation that requires exporting data in different formats from various applications. Now, you can vibe code a single solution that can handle that, just like that.
What Tools Are We Talking About?
There are two main categories (in my opinion):
✅ For Non-Coders: Codegen Platforms
Platforms like Bolt, Lovable, V0, and Replit (which, in my opinion, lies more in the middle of the spectrum between Codegen platforms and AI-assisted coding tools) allow you to build entire apps simply by describing what you want. They generate clean starter code, manage setup, and often even handle deployment — all with minimal effort.
Given the sophistication of modern web apps and the absence of a “full-stack product with everything included, " these tools are improving daily, though they are nowhere near the complexity of assembling and configuring numerous individual services, from frontend and backend to hosting and analytics.
💻 For Developers: AI-Integrated IDEs
If you’re code-literate (or want more control), Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) like Cursor, Windsurf, and Devin provide that extra control. They empower you to build apps in most cases without having to type a single block of code. These AI-assisted coding tools have evolved significantly, moving beyond simple autocompletion and error explanations to offer instant refactoring and prompt-driven code snippets.
True, they are not there yet when it comes to debugging (finding and fixing code errors), the very important task of any programmer, but if you take the words of the industry leaders behind the technology, large language models, that power the AI of today, those, too, will be handled by these development tools closer than you think.
These AI-assisted development tools are perfect for developers seeking speed without compromising precision or structure.
But Is It Reliable? What Are the Risks?
Let’s be honest: AI has limits.
It can misread your intent.
It may produce insecure or messy code if not guided well.
It sometimes hallucinates functions or logic that don’t exist.
Even Andrej Karpathy admits:
“I’m building a project or web app, but it’s not really coding — I just see stuff, say stuff, run stuff, and copy paste stuff, and it mostly works.”
That “mostly works” is key. You still need judgment, taste, and structure. Vibe coding reduces the technical barrier but raises the bar on creative clarity.
After all, the large language models that power today's AI are trained on data scraped from the internet. These training datasets often may not match the quality of the most sophisticated datasets behind paywalls and enterprise gates.
Why It’s a Big Deal — Even If You’re Not a Developer
The most powerful part of vibe coding isn’t speed.
It’s access.
A designer can go from Figma to a live site.
A teacher can build a tool tailored to their students.
A freelancer can ship a paid product solo.
A hobbyist can finally build what they’ve imagined.
This is software creation for everyone — not by dumbing it down but by raising the leverage.
You Don’t Have to Code to Build Anymore
Vibe coding is a quiet revolution. It doesn’t ask you to discard what you know; rather, it invites you to build differently.
Whether you're a founder, teacher, marketer, accountant or creative — this is your moment. You no longer need deep technical chops to ship helpful software. What you do need is vision, clarity, and the ability to guide AI with purpose.
Because in this new world:
Coding is about rules.
Programming is about thinking.
Prompting is about vision.
You don’t have to master them all. But the better you get at asking, refining, and directing, the farther you’ll go.
Even the top minds at Anthropic and OpenAI agree that AI will soon write most of the code. But the most valuable skill won’t be typing.
It will be knowing how to ask the right question.
How to shape outcomes through feedback.
How to prompt with precision — and purpose.
From Pain Point to Product — One Prompt at a Time
That idea you’ve been carrying?
That fix you wish someone would build?
Now, you can build it.
This newsletter is here to help — not with theory but with step-by-step guidance, curated tools, and practical prompts to take you from zero to one.
Vibe coding isn’t just a new way to build software.
It’s a new way to express creativity — and finally build the thing the world (or your niche) has been waiting for.