What is Vibe Coding? - A New Development Approach in the AI Era
Hey there, I’m LISA! 🙂
Today I want to share my experience with Vibe Coding that I discovered while developing my first iOS app.
What’s Vibe Coding anyway?
Simply put, it’s working with AI to build apps together!
You know how traditionally, developers had to write all the code, design everything, and debug stuff themselves? Well, Vibe Coding is different - AI creates the code, and I’m more like a supervisor going “this looks good, hey can you fix that part?”
Characteristics of Vibe Coding
- Working with AI buddies: Collaborating with AI tools like Cursor, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI
- Build fast, improve later: Skip the perfect planning - just get something working first!
- Always review the code: Check what AI made and be like “hmm, is this right?” then ask for fixes
- Keep going back and forth: Spot issues → Ask AI to fix → Check again → Repeat the cycle!
How has development changed?
AI tools got so crazy good that development is totally different now!
The old way (Traditional Development)
- Plan → Design → Code → Test → Deploy
- Developers had to do literally everything
- You’d design everything perfectly before starting
- Super predictable but took forever
The new way (Vibe Coding)
- Idea → Work with AI → Check it out → Make it better → Repeat
- AI does the coding, I give feedback and direction
- Build something quick first, then make it awesome step by step
- Flexible and fast, but lots of unexpected things happen 😅
Vibe Coding: Pros and Cons
👍 Good points
- Really fast: Development speed changes dramatically thanks to AI
- Learn new things: Looking at AI-generated code, “Oh, there’s this method too!”
- Focus on creation: Can focus more on “what app should I make?” rather than coding
- Lower barrier to entry: You can make apps even if you’re not good at coding!
👎 Disappointing points
- Must review everything: Need to check 100% of AI-generated code
- Become anxious without AI: Gradually become dependent on AI
- Debugging is difficult: When problems occur, spend a long time wondering “why doesn’t this work?”
- Fewer opportunities to code directly: Since you don’t write by hand, it feels like skills don’t improve?
My actual experience making an app with Vibe Coding
I made a tip calculator app called TipSmart with Vibe Coding!
How did I start?
- Idea: “Should I make a tip calculator app?”
- Design with AI: Designed MVVM architecture together with Claude Code
- Quick code generation: Generated SwiftUI code quickly with Cursor
- Continuous improvement: Looked at the created code and repeated feedback like “fix this like this”
Problems I actually encountered 😅
- AdMob ads infinite loading: The code AI created was somehow strange
- Core Data synchronization problem: Bug where UI didn’t update
- When registering on App Store: The app description AI created was too insufficient
Still, by solving these problems one by one, I finally successfully launched on the App Store!
When is it good to use Vibe Coding?
✅ Recommended in these cases
- Prototyping: When you want to quickly check “is this idea good?”
- Personal projects: When you want to make something by yourself
- Simple apps: When making apps with not complex features
- AI tool practice: When you want to try new AI tools
❌ Be careful in these cases
- Large projects: When complex systems are needed
- Performance-critical apps: When speed or optimization is key
- Security-critical apps: Apps handling sensitive information
- Team projects: When multiple people develop together (code styles might not match)
In conclusion
Vibe Coding isn’t perfect. But being able to develop quickly and flexibly is a big advantage! I think it’s a really good method especially for individual developers or those thinking “should I try making an app?”
Next article preview: I’ll compare in detail the AI tools I actually used (Cursor, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI). I’ll share honest reviews about what characteristics each has and which was better!
📱 Try TipSmart!
This is the first app I made with Vibe Coding. Please experience what an app made with AI is like and give me feedback!
Download TipSmart from App Store 📱
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