You know that feeling when you’re in the zone, completely absorbed in solving a problem, and the code just flows? That’s what vibe coding feels like – but with AI as your creative partner. I’ve been living and breathing this approach for months now, and let me tell you, it’s changing everything about how we build software.
The core insight from Andrej Karpathy’s original vision – embracing exponentials and forgetting the code even exists – has evolved into something much more profound. We’re witnessing a fundamental shift from writing code to defining intentions. Think about it: instead of wrestling with syntax errors and debugging line by line, you’re describing what you want the system to do in plain English. The AI handles the implementation details while you focus on the big picture.
One principle that’s become absolutely foundational in my workflow comes from the Ten Principles of Vibe Coding: 「Code is Capability, Intentions and Interfaces are Long-term Assets」. This means our development efforts are shifting from traditional source code files to high-level intention descriptions. The code itself often becomes disposable – AI can regenerate it anytime based on our evolving needs. What really matters are those golden contracts: clear prompts, stable interfaces, and uncompromising security standards.
Here’s what this looks like in practice. Last week, I needed to build a customer analytics dashboard that pulls data from multiple APIs, processes it in real-time, and generates predictive insights. The old way would have taken weeks of database design, API integration, and frontend development. With vibe coding? I spent an afternoon refining my intention prompts: 「Create a system that aggregates customer data from Salesforce, Shopify, and our internal CRM, then displays real-time analytics with predictive churn indicators. Ensure all data processing complies with GDPR and includes proper authentication.」
The AI assembled everything – from the database schema to the React components. My role shifted from coder to architect and quality assurance. This aligns perfectly with another key principle I follow: 「AI Assembles, Aligned with Humans」. The AI handles the heavy lifting of component selection and orchestration, while I maintain final authority over the overall goals and constraints.
But here’s the thing that really excites me about this movement: it’s making software creation accessible to everyone. The principle of 「Everyone Programs, Professional Governance」 means business managers, entrepreneurs, and even non-technical team members can participate in creating capability units. They describe what they need in business terms, and the AI translates those intentions into working software.
Does this mean traditional programmers are obsolete? Absolutely not. Our role is evolving toward higher-value work: ecosystem governance, security auditing, maintaining critical infrastructure, and setting standards. We’re moving from software engineering to software ecosystem management, as the principles suggest.
The most challenging but rewarding aspect has been learning to 「Avoid Data Deletion」 whenever possible. This means treating everything – from model parameters to runtime logs – as valuable artifacts that should be preserved and versioned. It’s like having a time machine for your entire development process.
So what’s stopping you from embracing vibe coding? Is it the fear of losing control? The concern about code quality? Or maybe you’re just not convinced this approach scales? I’ve faced all these doubts myself. But after seeing how teams at companies like GitHub and Microsoft are adopting these practices at scale, I’m convinced we’re witnessing the beginning of a new era in software development.
The transformation is happening whether we’re ready or not. The question isn’t if you should start vibe coding, but when. And honestly? The vibes have never been better.