What the f**k is: Vibe Coding?

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Due to unforeseen technical difficulties (having a 6 week old daughter), we missed a Friday release for this issue. But we’re back baby.

And today, we’re tackling Vibe Coding.

Chances are if you’re bothered enough to read this newsletter you’ve at least heard the term thrown about, and if you haven’t, it’s going to start popping up a lot more.

WHAT IS IT?

Vibe Coding is asking AI to build you something on the internet, and having it write the code for you.

From the birth of computers right up until about a year ago coding has been tech witchcraft, reserved exclusively for people with fingerless gloves and terrible social skills. 

If you wanted an app/website/software, you had to ask someone who knew how to code (or learn yourself). That costs time and money, and once it’s up and running you still need to pay for help when things break (which they will).

Enter Vibe Coding - Describe what you want in plain English or even upload a drawing on a piece of paper, and watch AI spit out a working product. 

WHY SHOULD I CARE?

With the barrier to entry coming down, coding/programming will stop being an entire job and instead be a skill people have that’s part of a different job.

It’ll be the same as being good at excel spreadsheets or public speaking. Understanding how to build things using AI is a valuable skill and might be the reason you get that next job/promotion (or the reason someone else takes it from you).

BUT HOW DOES IT ACTUALLY WORK?

Like getting anything out of AI, the better your prompts are, the better the output will be.

Give a detailed description of what you want and provide references. Like it says in the name, tell it what you want the vibe to be. (And remember, if you need help with the prompts, you can use AI for that too.)

I used ChatGPT to help me build this prompt, which I then stuck into the site Lovable: 

“Design a homepage for a digital creative studio. Vibe should feel like Wes Anderson crossed with Apple. Big type, clean layout. Image carousel that spins as you scroll down the page. Include 3 hero headlines. Site should scroll vertical only, no nav bar. Make it feel handcrafted, with small fun animations like cursor trails or subtle hover wiggles that fit the theme.”

And it gave me this result. One prompt, one minute, and it’s ready to launch or edit however you want. 

Here’s a demo video of the process from Lovable:  

Want to try it yourself? Give any of the below a crack:

• Lovable.dev

• v0.dev

• Bolt.new

• Replit.com

• Cursor.com

While vibe coding hasn’t overtaken regular coding yet, it’s not far away. I don’t know about you but I’m going to jump on the bandwagon as early as possible to take advantage of whatever opportunities turn up.

Speaking of bandwagons, it would be awesome if you could jump on Token Effort’s and subscribe at tokeneffort.io