What is Vibe Coding? A Complete Guide

Definition

Vibe coding means describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI coding tool draft the code. You still decide what the product should do, and you still have to run it and check it.

Origin

Andrej Karpathy popularised the phrase "vibe coding" in early 2025. He described programming where you "fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists." People using Cursor, Claude, and GitHub Copilot already recognised the feeling, and the name stuck.

How it works

• Describe the idea in English, Cantonese, or any language the tool accepts.
• The model drafts components, queries, and styles.
• Run the result. If it is wrong, describe the problem.
• Ship only after you have checked accounts, payments, and data rules yourself.

Who it is for

Entrepreneurs can draft a first version. Designers can turn a layout into a page. Students can build a small app while they learn. Professional developers can skip repetitive setup. None of that removes the need to read errors and test the result.

Vibe coding and traditional coding

Traditional coding asks you to write the syntax. Vibe coding asks you to write a clear brief. Complex performance work, security, and unusual systems still need someone who can read the code. A first version of a normal web app is where the language-first approach helps most.

Key takeaways

• You describe behaviour. The tool drafts code.
• The name comes from Andrej Karpathy in 2025.
• The loop is describe, generate, test, then ship.
• You still review anything that touches money, accounts, or private data.