Vibe coding
Building software by describing what you want to an AI agent in plain language, then steering and reviewing what it writes.
Not the same as autocomplete
Autocomplete finishes the line you are typing. An agent reads your project, decides on an approach, and edits files you never opened — including ones you did not know existed.
Where it bites
The failure that costs the most is not a crash. It is code that runs, looks right, and is wrong: an invented API, a unit mismatch, a check quietly removed. Nothing warns you, so the only defence is running it once with an input whose answer you already know.
In practice
One request, four steps: you describe, the agent plans, it edits, you review. Skipping the fourth step is what turns the loop into a gamble.
Covered in these lessons
Related terms
Where this comes up
Also written as vibe coding, vibecoding. Checked 2026-08-06.