What Is Vibe Coding?
The term “vibe coding” has been floating around developer communities, and while it sounds informal, it describes something real: a fundamentally different mode of programming where you describe intent and the AI generates implementation.
Instead of typing code character by character, you describe what you want in natural language, review the AI’s suggestion, and iterate. It’s not about replacing developers – it’s about changing where developers spend their cognitive energy.
The Tools
Cursor
Cursor has become my daily driver. It’s VS Code under the hood, but the AI integration is deeply embedded into the editing experience. The key features that matter:
- Cmd+K: Describe a change in natural language, and it edits your code in-place
- Tab completion: Context-aware completion that understands your entire codebase
- Chat: Ask questions about your code with full project context
GitHub Copilot
Copilot remains the most widely adopted tool. Its strengths are in inline completion and the familiarity of staying in your existing VS Code setup. The newer Copilot Chat adds conversational capabilities.
Claude Code
Anthropic’s Claude Code takes a different approach – it’s a terminal-based tool that can read your entire project, make multi-file changes, and even run tests. It’s particularly powerful for large refactoring tasks.
What Changes
The biggest shift isn’t productivity (though that improves). It’s the type of work developers do:
- More architecture, less syntax: You spend more time thinking about design and less time remembering API signatures
- Faster prototyping: Ideas go from concept to working code in minutes instead of hours
- Better documentation: AI tools are excellent at generating docs, tests, and comments
- Lower barrier to new languages: Need to write some Go for the first time? The AI knows the idioms
What Doesn’t Change
AI-assisted coding doesn’t replace the need to understand what you’re building. You still need to:
- Know your system architecture
- Understand performance implications
- Review generated code for security issues
- Make design decisions the AI can’t
The developers who benefit most from these tools are experienced ones who can quickly evaluate whether the AI’s suggestion is correct and appropriate.
Teaching Vibe Coding
I’ve been running workshops on AI-assisted development for both professional developers and university students. The key lesson: start with a clear mental model of what you want to build, then use the AI to accelerate the implementation. The AI is a collaborator, not a replacement for understanding.