What Is Vibe Coding? A New Programming Style Gaining Attention in the Age of AI
What is Vibe Coding? We’ll explain it in an easy-to-understand way—from why it’s gaining attention as a new programming method in the AI era to its pros and cons, and how it’s actually used.
3 min read
AI-assisted coding has changed how many developers move from an idea to a working implementation.
A term you often hear in engineering circles these days is Vibe Coding.
Rather than writing code in minute detail as in the past, it’s gaining attention as a style of development where you convey your intent and vibe to AI to drive the process forward.
We’ll
- Explain what Vibe Coding is
- Discuss why it’s gaining traction in the AI era
- Outline its pros and cons
- Show how it’s actually used
and provide a comprehensive overview.
What Is Vibe Coding?
Vibe Coding is
a development style in which you create code by communicating your “goals” and “vibe” to AI.
In traditional development,
- Engineers wrote the code
- AI served as a support tool
These were the established roles.
However, today,
- AI writes the code
- Humans provide direction
This development style is gaining traction.
The Basic Process of Vibe Coding
Communicate Your Goals to the AI
First, explain to the AI
- The app you want to build
- The technologies to be used
- Required features
in natural language.
Example
- Build a blog site using Next.js
- Markdown posting feature
- OGP image support
The AI Generates Code
The AI generates
- Folder structure
- Code
- APIs
and more.
Test the Code
Run the code in a local environment or similar setting to
- Check for errors
- Verify functionality
.
Request Revisions from the AI
Ask the AI to
- Fix bugs
- UI improvements
- Feature additions
to continue development.
Why Is Vibe Coding Gaining Popularity?
This trend is driven by advances in generative AI.
In particular, the widespread adoption of the following tools has played a major role:
AI Code Generation Tools
- ChatGPT
- GitHub Copilot
- Claude
- Gemini
- Codeium
These AI tools can assist with
- Generating code across multiple files
- Bug fixes
- Generating test code
and more.
As a result,
humans are no longer required to write all the code.
Benefits of Vibe Coding
Significantly Faster Development
Since AI creates code drafts,
- Time spent writing code is reduced
- Implementation speed increases
As a result,
development speed can increase several-fold in some cases.
Even Beginners Can Develop
Traditionally,
- programming languages
- frameworks
- development environments
and other knowledge were required.
With Vibe Coding,
simply instruct the AI to
“Create a blog site”
or “Create a to-do app,”
and
you can create a prototype.
Faster Idea Validation
For startups and individual developers,
the speed of the cycle from idea → prototyping → improvement
is crucial.
With Vibe Coding,
- MVP development
- prototyping
- experimentation
become much faster.
Disadvantages of Vibe Coding
Shallow Understanding of Code
If you rely too heavily on AI,
- You may not understand how the code works
- You may be unable to debug it
These issues may arise.
Therefore,
it’s important to use AI alongside a deep understanding of the code.
AI-Generated Code Isn’t Perfect
AI may
- produce code containing bugs
- produce inefficient code
.
Therefore,
code reviews are essential.
Security Risks
AI-generated code may contain
- vulnerabilities
- Inappropriate dependencies
.
In particular,
- Authentication
- Payment processing
- Personal information
must be carefully verified.
Development Projects Suited for Vibe Coding
It is particularly effective for the following types of development:
Personal Projects
- Web apps
- Chrome extensions
- Small-scale SaaS
MVP Development
- Startups
- New service validation
Internal Tools
- Business automation
- Management dashboards
Summary
What is Vibe Coding?
It is a new programming style where you develop by communicating your intent to AI.
The key points are as follows:
- We’ve entered an era where AI writes code
- Humans take on the role of designing and communicating intent
- Development speed improves significantly
- However, an understanding of code is still necessary
With the evolution of AI,
we’re shifting from “writing code” to “building with AI”
The role of engineers is changing.
Precisely because we’re in an era where AI writes code,
the ability to come up with ideas about what to build has become even more important.