What is vibe coding, and why is everyone talking about it? Let's see how this new trend can help or hinder your web development work.
The term “vibe coding” has made quite a splash in 2025, leaving many web developers and designers wondering what exactly it means. More importantly, they’re debating whether this trending term is worth paying attention to.
Let’s take a quick look at the phrase’s origins, explore why this coding technique was inevitable, and consider some pitfalls and benefits of adopting vibe coding as a developer.
What is vibe coding?
The term hasn’t been around long, but Merriam-Webster was quick to register a definition, suggesting that vibe coding is a slang term meaning:
“Writing computer code in a somewhat careless fashion, with AI assistance”
However, the dictionary doesn’t wholly capture what vibe coding means to developers. This definition seems to refer to amateurs who don’t know how to code and are excited at the prospect of being able to dictate to an AI so it can do the programming for them.
In February 2025, Andrej Karpathy posted the following on X:
“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.”
Since Karpathy has 1.2 million followers and a history of working in artificial intelligence for companies like Eureka Labs, Tesla, and OpenAI, it’s no wonder he’s got everyone talking about vibe coding now.
Basically, vibe coding is AI-assisted web development. Here’s what the process generally looks like:
- You give a prompt to the AI, either by typing or saying what you want it to build.
- The AI writes the code for you.
- You plug it in and test if it works.
- If it doesn’t, you copy the error code or summarize what you’re seeing and give it back to the AI to fix.
- If the AI cannot fix it, then you do it yourself.
While Merriam-Webster’s definition describes vibe coding as “somewhat careless,” it requires some intentionality and know-how from the programmer to work. If you read the rest of Karpathy’s tweet, you’ll see that he suggests that he’s barely working and being lazy.
However, his examples demonstrate that you actually have to know what you want and have some understanding of what can be built in order to do vibe coding.
So, yes, in a sense, vibe coding is a more relaxed and vibed-out way to code websites and applications. The AI does a lot of the hard work in generating the code. However, if your intention is to use the code seriously, then reviewing, testing, and iterating are still essential.
Vibe coding tools
So, which tools are people using to build websites and apps using AI? There are loads already. ChatGPT and other LLMs will do a perfectly good job, but here are a few dedicated tools to get you started:
1. Bolt
Bolt is a lightweight, high-performance AI coding assistant designed to streamline development workflows directly within your code editor. Known for its speed and minimal resource usage, Bolt offers real-time code suggestions, intelligent autocomplete, and context-aware explanations without the bloat of heavier tools.
2. Cursor
This developer-focused AI code editor was built on top of VS Code and enhanced with AI pair programming features. Cursor offers in-line code suggestions, natural language code search, and full-project understanding.
3. Replit
Replit is an all-in-one online IDE that brings instant coding, collaboration, and deployment to the browser. Its AI tool, Ghostwriter, offers smart autocompletions, bug fixes, and code generation tailored to your project. Replit is especially useful for rapid prototyping, education, and working on the go.
4. Loveable
Loveable is a newer entrant to the AI coding space, with a design-forward experience for front-end and full-stack developers. It blends AI-assisted coding with a visual-first approach, making it easy to generate components and tweak designs.
5. Databutton
Databutton is an AI-powered platform designed to make building data apps easy for non-experts, and it offers built-in tools for data handling, visualization, and sharing.
Vibe coding was inevitable
When you look back at the history of web development, you see changing UI design trends and technologies, too. Even in the early days of the web, we saw technologies and coding techniques quickly evolve.
- In the beginning, web development evolved from pure markup to HTML and CSS, and then JavaScript.
- Then there was the era of Flash.
- Although blogging software existed before WordPress, it was at the forefront of content management system technology, as were other open-source platforms like Joomla and Drupal.
- Responsive and adaptive design and development became a necessity along the way.
- Next came visual drag-and-drop website builders like Webflow, Wix, and Squarespace.
- E-commerce techs like Shopify and WooCommerce also appeared on the scene.
- In recent years, many CMS platforms have begun offering AI website builders.
These technologies and techniques didn’t just appear to make the web look better (though that was a plus). Each stage of evolution aimed to make building websites easier for everyone—from the amateur who’s just messing around to the professional who makes a living doing this.
When ChatGPT entered the picture in 2022 and got everyone talking about it in the mainstream, vibe coding was the inevitable next step.
We’ve long since had no-code and low-code website builders, but there are limitations to what you can create without doing some serious hands-on coding.
AI-assisted development in the form of vibe coding now bridges that gap. It doesn’t solve all our problems, and it comes with limitations. However, AI now allows amateurs and pros to speak a website or app to life (somewhat).
Does vibe coding have a future?
It’s not like vibe coding is a new approach to web development. Since the launch of LLMs en masse, people have been flooding them with all kinds of requests, including coding-related ones. It’s just that someone has given a name to this particular coding style, which is why we’re all discussing it.
The question is: Will we still talk about vibe coding or even use this AI-driven development technique in a few years?
It depends. Vibe coding has clear limitations, but it also offers some advantages. Things could change as AIs improve, too. Let’s look at the good and not-so-good side of vibe coding, and we’ll let you be the judge.
Potential pitfalls of vibe coding
Let’s start by addressing the current risks (AI is obviously developing quickly) of having AI produce your code. To do this, let’s check out some insights from developers on a Reddit thread entitled “Why ‘Vibe Coding’ Makes Me Want to Throw Up”:
Deadlysyntax says:
“I’m using cursor to bootstrap an app this morning. It speeds up getting a first draft started, but with lots of flaws. You still need to study what it generates, understand it fully, and iterate. You 100% need to be able to build apps in order to get a high quality codebase and it still takes time and brainpower. The real benefit is less typing and skipping between files.”
AshTeriyaki says:
“TBH I avoid letting AI generate any code for me. The minute you aren’t familiar with what’s going on, you’ve poured all that speed down the drain and you enter the nonsensical BS this post starts with. Poking at an LLM that’s incapable of understanding context (or anything really) to spit out a copy pasted fragment that just happens to maybe solve one problem, for now.”
Behindmyscreen_again says:
“It’s like being a principal software developer on a team. You spend most of your time telling people what something needs to do, evaluating what they produce, send it back for editing and changes, and then fixing the bugs yourself when the idiots can’t figure it out. Fine for an experienced person, but that’s going to be a nightmare for a noob.”
Full-Spectral says:
“And exactly how is the AI going to know how to generate code that uses my company’s logging, my company’s many utility helpers, follow my company’s style guidelines and coding practices, etc… If I have to update it to use all of that, then it would be quicker to just write it.”
One-Possession7392 says:
“Vibe coding only works for small apps. Creates bloated and non working code if you try to go any further. As much as I love coding with AI to automate some small stuff, never vibe code big things, especially if others are going to try to read or edit it.”
To summarize the pitfalls:
- You need to be a seasoned coder to make vibe coding work.
- AI-generated code isn’t error-free, so you must carefully review it.
- The quality of the code is going to be poorer with more complex tasks.
- AI doesn’t always have the wherewithal to understand or fix bugs and errors.
- It also can’t capture the nuance of a brand’s style or guidelines.
- You may spend more time reviewing and fixing the code than if you’d written it yourself.
This is a big reason we pushed back on Merriam-Webster’s definition earlier. While that definition makes it seem like you can just kick back, chillax, and entrust AI to do its thing, it’s way too risky if you’re building anything for serious, professional purposes.
Vibe coding needs to be a collaboration between AI and humans, not completely outsourcing the task to the machine.
Realistic use cases of vibe coding
In Karpathy’s tweet that started this whole discussion, he says:
“It’s not too bad for throwaway weekend projects, but still quite amusing.”
That only kind of sums up what you can do with vibe coding. Sure, there are limitations and risks with entrusting the coding process to artificial intelligence. However, there are ways in which professionals can use this collaborative development approach to their advantage.
For example, you can use vibe coding for:
- Learning how to code basic applications when you’re first starting out.
- Mastering a new framework before you work with it yourself.
- Developing starter prototypes.
- Building very rudimentary apps or features for personal or professional use.
- Spinning up something that looks good on the front end so you can devote your time to refining the foundation and functionality on the back end.
- Testing out new concepts without throwing away a ton of time on them.
As vibe coding advocate Jamie Marsland says (take a look at his YouTube channel to see his AI coding experiments):
“The web is evolving from static pages to dynamic, app-like experiences. As AI, no-code tools, and automation remove technical barriers, anyone can create richer, more interactive content. This marks a shift from the web as a collection of documents to a platform for limitless creativity and interaction.”
Jamie Marsland
Even though there will likely be flaws in what AI produces, vibe coding can be a helpful start and timesaver. Over time, if you learn how to more effectively direct it in the beginning, you could reduce the amount of errors and bugs that arise, which will save you even more time.
If you’ve been looking to increase your profit margins or explore ideas quickly, vibe coding could be a viable solution. However, it would require understanding the value of AI-assisted development and knowing how to prompt it to do exactly what you want.
Good vibes for the future of coding?
It was only natural that web development would evolve to a no- or low-touch solution. We saw it happen with web design when drag-and-drop technologies and, later, AI website builders hit the market.
AI tools have now allowed programmers to fast-track and simplify some of the coding process’s more tedious and repetitive aspects. For developers who embrace vibe coding and approach it correctly, this could make more room for creativity, help them take on more complex challenges, and improve their bottom lines.
Learn more about vibe coding by checking out these articles from around the web:
Also, check out our articles on how to build a website with AI and 5 ways to use Envato’s AI features in your creative work. Visit Envato’s AI Labs to see the latest tools and features we’ve built with AI—we’re adding new ones all the time!
