The Rise of Vibe Coding: Building Apps with AI Assistants

There's a new way to build software, and it's called vibe coding.

Forget the image of developers hunched over keyboards, typing every character. In 2025, the best developers work differently. They describe what they want. AI builds it. They refine and ship.

What is Vibe Coding?

Vibe coding is a development approach where:

• You describe intentions in natural language
• AI assistants generate the code
• You guide, review, and iterate
• The focus shifts from typing to thinking

It's not about replacing developers. It's about amplifying them.

The Tools of Vibe Coding

Cursor

The AI-first IDE that's taken over developer Twitter. Features:

• Chat with your codebase
• Tab completion on steroids
• Multi-file edits from prompts
• Deep context understanding

Claude

Anthropic's AI assistant, available via API and directly in editors. Known for:

• Long context windows
• Code explanation and generation
• Thoughtful, thorough responses
• Strong reasoning capabilities

GitHub Copilot

The original AI pair programmer:

• Real-time suggestions
• IDE integration
• Learning from your patterns
• Broad language support

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

The new standard for connecting AI to tools:

• Give AI access to your data
• Enable real actions, not just chat
• Build integrations once, use everywhere
• Growing ecosystem of connectors

A Day in the Life of a Vibe Coder

9:00 AM - Starting a Feature

Instead of planning detailed implementation, you write:

"Add a user settings page with options for email notifications, theme preference, and data export. Use our existing design system components."

Cursor generates the component, hooks, and API routes. You review for 5 minutes, make adjustments.

10:30 AM - Debugging

You encounter an error. Instead of Stack Overflow:

"This component is re-rendering infinitely. Here's the code. What's causing it?"

Claude identifies the missing dependency array in useEffect. Fixed in 30 seconds.

2:00 PM - Integration

You need to connect a third-party API:

"Write a service to fetch weather data from OpenWeather API. Cache results for 1 hour. Handle rate limiting gracefully."

Complete, tested implementation in minutes.

4:00 PM - Documentation

"Generate comprehensive JSDoc comments for all functions in this file. Include parameter descriptions and example usage."

Documentation that would take an hour: 2 minutes.

Why Vibe Coding Works

1. Leverage, Not Replacement

AI handles the mundane:

• Boilerplate code
• Syntax details
• Common patterns
• Documentation

You handle the important:

• Architecture decisions
• Business logic
• Edge cases
• User experience

2. Faster Iteration

Traditional development: Plan → Code → Test → Debug → Repeat

Vibe coding: Describe → Review → Refine → Ship

The feedback loop tightens dramatically.

3. Learning Accelerator

New framework? Ask AI to explain as it generates. Learn the patterns while shipping features.

4. Reduced Context Switching

Stay in flow state. No more:

• Searching documentation
• Copying from Stack Overflow
• Looking up syntax
• Writing boilerplate

Common Objections (And Why They're Wrong)

"It's just for beginners"

Wrong. Senior developers are the biggest adopters. They know what good code looks like and can guide AI effectively.

"AI code is buggy"

Sometimes. But so is human code. The difference: AI generates bugs in seconds. You can iterate faster.

"Developers will become obsolete"

The opposite. Developers become MORE valuable. The bottleneck was never typing speed - it's design, judgment, and product thinking.

"It's cheating"

Using a debugger was cheating. Using an IDE was cheating. Using Google was cheating. Tools evolve. Professionals adapt.

Best Practices for Vibe Coding

1. Be Specific

Bad: "Add authentication" Good: "Add email/password authentication using NextAuth. Include signup, login, and password reset flows. Store users in our existing Postgres database."

2. Provide Context

Share relevant code, requirements, and constraints. The more context, the better the output.

3. Iterate Rapidly

Don't aim for perfection on first prompt. Generate, review, refine. Multiple small iterations beat one big attempt.

4. Review Everything

AI makes mistakes. Review generated code like you'd review a junior developer's PR. Trust but verify.

5. Understand What You Ship

Never deploy code you don't understand. Use AI to explain code it generates. Learning compounds.

The Vibe Coder's Toolkit

Essential

• Cursor or VS Code with Copilot
• Claude for complex reasoning
• Git for version control (always)

Recommended

• MCP server connections for your stack
• Automated tests (AI-generated work needs verification)
• Design system (consistent outputs)

Advanced

• Custom AI prompts for your codebase
• RAG on your documentation
• Automated code review with AI

Building for Vibe Coders

If you're building developer tools, understand this audience:

• They value speed over ceremony
• They expect AI integration
• They want one-line implementations
• They appreciate good defaults

This is why SupportBase exists. Vibe coders don't want to spend days building customer support. They want to describe what they need and ship it.

"Add an AI chatbot that knows my docs" → One line of code → Done.

The Future

Vibe coding is just getting started:

• Multi-agent systems: Fleets of AI handling different tasks
• Continuous refinement: AI that improves your code over time
• Natural conversation: Voice-driven development
• Autonomous features: AI that ships while you sleep

Getting Started

1. Install Cursor - The gateway drug to vibe coding
2. Learn to prompt - Be specific, provide context
3. Start small - Use AI for boilerplate and docs first
4. Build confidence - As you verify outputs, trust grows
5. Go bigger - Entire features from descriptions

The developers who embrace AI will outperform those who don't. Not because they're better coders - because they're better multiplied.

The vibe is real. Join the movement.