What is vibe coding?
Vibe coding is a way of building software where you describe what you want in plain language and let an AI coding tool write the code for you. Instead of typing every line by hand, you steer the AI with intent — a mood, a feature, a "what if?" — and refine until the result matches what's in your head.
The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy in February 2025, who described it as giving in to the vibes and "forgetting that the code even exists." By the end of 2025, Collins Dictionary named vibe coding its Word of the Year.
Why is it a big deal?
- Speed — you can go from idea to working prototype in minutes, not weeks.
- Access — people who never learned to code can now ship real apps.
- Focus on the idea — you spend your energy on the what and why, not the boilerplate.
By early 2026, roughly a quarter of Y Combinator startups reported building most of their codebase with AI-generated code.
How do you start vibe coding?
- Pick a tool. Popular options include Cursor, Lovable, v0, Bolt, Claude Code, Replit Agent, and Windsurf.
- Describe the outcome. Tell the AI what you want to build and how it should feel.
- Iterate in small steps. Ship something rough, then refine it prompt by prompt.
- Share it. Submit your creation to a showcase like Hall of Vibe so the community can discover it.
Is vibe coding "real" programming?
Yes — it's a different level of abstraction, the same way high-level languages abstracted away assembly. You still make architectural decisions, review output, and take responsibility for what ships. The tools change; the craft of building something people love does not.
Ready to show what you built? Submit your app to Hall of Vibe and let the community celebrate it.