Vibe coding has been catching on fast, and it’s more than just a passing trend. For those unfamiliar, vibe coding is the art of guiding an AI to write code using natural language prompts, usually in a conversational loop where the human gives feedback, tests the output, and refines it. It’s fast, chaotic, and often wildly productive if done right.
I’ve been working in software for years, but I’m somewhat of a vibe coder these days. I’ve found it especially useful for early prototypes, side projects, or getting unstuck quickly. Like any powerful tool, though, it only works well when you know how to use it. These ten steps have helped me get better at vibe coding so the code I ship works and I stay firmly in control.
1. Learn to Write Precise Prompts
Think like a product owner who just discovered coffee and wants everything documented. You don’t just say, “Make a login system.” You say, “Create a Flask route that serves a login form with email and password fields, and validate the inputs using WTForms.” Overcommunicate like you’re explaining it to someone on their first day. The clearer the prompt, the better the code.
Vague prompts lead to unclear code. Precision doesn’t mean writing a novel; it just includes the key details the AI needs to deliver something workable on the first try. Context is gold.
2. Understand the Stack You're Targeting
Even if you're not typing out every line of code yourself, you need to know what stack you're working in. If the AI gives you React and you were expecting Django templates, you’ll spend more time translating than building.
You don’t need to master every framework it throws at you but be stack-aware. Know how that stack handles routing, state, templates, databases, etc. It’s the difference between collaborating with the AI and becoming confused by it.
3. Break Down Problems Before Prompting
AI does better when you give it bite-sized chunks to chew on. Instead of “Build me a full-featured web app,” say, “Add user registration with hashed passwords using bcrypt.” Once that works, move on to log in, then password reset, then dashboard.
This mirrors agile thinking and prevents the AI from trying to boil the ocean in one go. Vibe coding shines when it’s iterative. Think micro-deliverables, not monoliths.
4. Keep a Mental Model of What the Code Is Doing
Here’s where it stops being fun and starts being engineering. You're shipping black boxes if you’re copying and pasting AI output without understanding what it’s doing. That’s fine until one catches fire.
Read through the code. Ask the AI to explain anything unclear. Track how data flows, what functions do, and where edge cases might break things. If you wouldn’t ship code you didn’t write in a team setting, don’t do it with AI, either.
5. Pair Vibe Coding with Live Debugging
When the AI's code doesn’t work (and it won’t, sometimes), you need tools to understand why. Print statements, console logs, breakpoints, whatever helps you peek under the hood.
When you hit an error, bring it back into the conversation. Copy it into the prompt and ask, “What does this mean, and how do I fix it?” That’s not cheating. That’s the feedback loop. The AI is your pair, not your scapegoat.
6. Build a Reusable Prompt Pattern
Once you’ve written a prompt that works, save it. I’ve started a personal prompt cookbook and little templates like “Set up a FastAPI endpoint with SQLite and JWT auth” or “Add client-side form validation with vanilla JS.”
These give you consistent results and reduce the time spent reinventing the wheel. It’s like building a shared language between you and the AI, except you're both improving over time.
7. Trust but Verify
The AI will often give you code that looks right. It compiles. It runs. But will it handle edge cases? Will it scale? Is it secure?
If the code matters, especially if it’s user-facing or touches data, you need tests. Of course, you should also ask the AI to write unit tests. But read them, run them, and write your own for anything critical. Vibe coding isn’t a substitute for engineering discipline. It just changes where you apply it.
8. Use Version Control Like It’s 2005
Do you know what saves vibe coders from chaos? Git. Good old version control. Don’t just rely on Ctrl+Z and luck.
Make atomic commits, one focused change per commit, with a clear message. “Add login route with WTForms validation” is gold. If something breaks, you’ll know where and why. Reverts are painless. Diffs make sense. Your future self will thank you, and so will your team, if you have one.
9. Get Comfortable Saying “That’s Not It” Nicely
Sometimes, the AI gives you something completely off. It misunderstood the prompt, hallucinated a library, or missed the mark. Don’t force it to work. Just say, “That’s not quite right. Let’s try a different approach.”
And yes, be polite. You don’t need to say “please,” but a little courtesy goes a long way. The models give better results when you’re not yelling at them. Whether it's placebo or prompt tuning magic, being chill helps.
10. Reflect and Refactor
Once something is working, you’re not done. Go back and clean it up. Ask the AI to explain its decisions or to rewrite the code to be more readable, modular, or Pythonic. Small improvements add up.
This is where vibe coding stops being code generation and becomes code curation. Take ownership. If your name’s on it, make sure you’d be proud to stand by it, even if you typed 10 per cent of it yourself.
Conclusion
Vibe coding isn’t magic, and it’s a new way of building software that’s faster, more conversational, and frankly, more fun. But like any tool, it can be cut both ways.
Done well, it turns you into a conductor, prompting, debugging, refining, and steering the code toward something real. Done poorly, it turns you into someone shipping mysterious blobs you don’t understand. The difference is how intentional you are.
Use it like a co-pilot, not a driver. Stay curious. Stay in control. And hey, write less code and build more stuff.
