What is vibe coding? The meaning, the origin and the catch

What does vibe code mean?

To vibe code is to build an app by talking to an AI instead of typing code yourself. You say what you want (“a booking page for my yoga classes with a waitlist”), the AI writes the code, you look at the result, and you ask for changes until it works. You judge the app by how it behaves, not by how the code reads.

There are two definitions in use, and it helps to know both. The strict one, from developer Simon Willison, is building software with an AI without reviewing the code it writes. If you read, test and understand every line, he says, that is ordinary programming with an AI helper. The loose one, used by Collins Dictionary and Microsoft Learn, covers any software made by describing it to an AI in natural language.

Interest is huge: “vibe coding” gets about 85,000 US Google searches a month (Ahrefs, October 2026).

Where did the term vibe coding come from?

Andrej Karpathy, an OpenAI co-founder and former director of AI at Tesla, coined “vibe coding” in a post on X on February 2, 2025. He described a new kind of coding where you “fully give in to the vibes” and forget the code exists, and added that it was “not too bad for throwaway weekend projects.” That caveat is often left out when the term is quoted.

• February 2, 2025: Karpathy’s post on X introduces the term.
• March 2025: Merriam-Webster lists “vibe coding” as a slang and trending term, according to Wikipedia’s entry.
• March 2025: Y Combinator’s Jared Friedman says about a quarter of its Winter 2025 startups had codebases that were 95% AI-generated, as TechCrunch reported.
• November 6, 2025: Collins Dictionary names “vibe coding” its Word of the Year for 2025.

What is vibe coding in programming, step by step?

In programming terms, vibe coding is a loop: describe, generate, run, react. The AI tool does the typing; you do the deciding. A typical session looks like this.

1. Describe the app in one or two sentences: who it is for and what it does.
2. The AI writes the code and shows you a live preview.
3. You click around and spot what is wrong or missing.
4. You say what to change in plain words, or paste the error message back in.
5. Repeat until it does what you want, then publish.

The tools differ in how much they handle for you. Some only write code inside an editor, so you still set up hosting, a database, sign-in and payments yourself. Others build the whole app and host it. Our step-by-step guide to vibe coding walks through a real build.

What are some examples of vibe coding?

Vibe coding works best for small, clear apps where a mistake is cheap. Microsoft’s training course on the topic gives examples like a teacher building a quiz app or a marketer building a prototype to pitch an idea. Here are the kinds of things non-developers build:

• A nutrition coach builds a meal-plan generator for their followers.
• A tutor builds a practice-quiz app that marks answers and explains mistakes.
• A designer builds a text-to-image tool sold in credit packs.
• A clinic owner builds a simple booking and reminder page.
• A founder builds a clickable first version to test demand before hiring developers.

Need ideas of your own? See our list of AI business ideas.

Vibe coding vs traditional coding

The difference is who writes the code and who is responsible for understanding it. In traditional coding, a developer writes and reviews each line. In vibe coding, the AI writes it and you judge the result.

Is vibe coding the same as no-code?

No. Both let non-developers build apps, but they work differently. No-code tools give you visual blocks to drag and set up by hand. Vibe coding gives you a chat box; the AI writes real code behind the scenes.

Many tools now mix both: a chat to build, plus visual settings to adjust. If you prefer the visual route, compare the best no-code app builders.

What are the risks and limits of vibe coding?

The biggest risk is code that works on screen but is unsafe or hard to fix underneath. Because nobody reads it, problems stay hidden until real users and real data arrive.

• Security: Veracode tested over 100 AI models and found that 45% of AI-generated code samples failed security tests, introducing well-known vulnerabilities (July 2025).
• Exposed data: in May 2025, a scan of 1,645 apps built with one popular tool found 170 that let anyone see users’ names, emails and other data, Semafor reported.
• Maintenance: Microsoft warns that AI-generated code can add technical debt and be hard to maintain or scale without experienced review.
• Hard bugs: when the AI cannot fix something, people who cannot read the code get stuck in a prompt loop.
• The missing half: a working screen is not a business. Sign-in, payments, emails, support and legal pages still have to be set up and run.

Which tools are used for vibe coding, and who is it for?

Vibe coding tools fall into two groups: AI code editors for people who can read code, and AI app builders that build and host the whole app for people who cannot. We compare them side by side in the best vibe coding tools.

• AI code editors: you work inside a code project and the AI edits files for you. Best if you or a teammate can read code.
• AI app builders: you chat in a browser, see a live preview and publish. Best for non-developers.
• AI app builders with the business built in: the same, plus payments, emails, support and analytics set up for you, so the app can take money on day one.

It suits coaches, creators, designers and small-business owners who have a clear idea and an audience, but no developer. It suits developers too, for quick prototypes. It is a poor fit for complex, regulated or safety-critical software unless someone reviews the code. If you want an AI-powered product rather than a plain website, see our AI app builder page.