Vibe Coding: Opening the Future of Coding

1. What Is Vibe Coding?

• Vibe Coding is a new approach to coding introduced in a viral post by Andrej Karpathy, meaning "forget the code itself, fully immerse yourself in the vibes, and embrace exponential change."
• This approach goes beyond simply writing code, focusing on maximizing productivity and creativity.
• A key quote from early in the video:

  "This isn't just a trend. It's not going away. This is going to become the dominant way of coding. If you're not doing this, you might just fall behind."

2. The Core Changes of Vibe Coding

• The Changing Role of Coding: Traditional software engineers are now transitioning into Product Engineers.

  • Human Taste is becoming increasingly important, and AI tools are turning everyone into "10x Engineers."
  • A notable founder comment:

    "I barely write code anymore. I just think and review." (Obby, Asra founder)

• Reduced Attachment to Code: Because AI tools can write and revise code quickly, there's a growing tendency to boldly discard and rewrite code rather than clinging to it.

  • Founder comment:

    "My code isn't precious anymore. If needed, I just throw it away and rewrite it. Because I can code 3x faster." (RB, Copycat founder)

• Parallel Work Possibilities: Using AI tools to open multiple windows and work on tasks in parallel has become commonplace.

  • Founder comment:

    "I use Cursor to write everything. Sometimes I open two Cursor windows and work on different features in parallel."

3. AI Tools and the Coding Speed Revolution

• Exponential Increase in Coding Speed: Six months ago coding was 10x faster; now it's 100x faster.

  • Founder comment:

    "Six months ago it was 10x faster, a month ago it was 100x faster. Now I'm not an engineer — I'm a product person." (Train Loop founder)

• Current AI Tool Landscape:

  • Cursor: Currently the most widely used tool — you specify files for tasks, while competitors like WindSurf automatically index codebases and are catching up fast.
  • ChatGPT: Still used as a powerful reasoning model, especially for debugging and complex problem-solving.
  • Gemini: Used to analyze entire codebases and fix bugs leveraging long context windows.

• Proportion of AI-Generated Code: 25% of founders in the current YC batch reported that 95% or more of their code was AI-generated.

  • "This isn't just non-technical founders — even highly technical founders are using AI to write most of their code."

4. Changes Vibe Coding Will Bring

• Two Emerging Roles in Coding:

  1. Product Problem Solving: Designing and improving products through user communication and feedback.
  2. System Architecture: Designing large-scale systems and creating scalable structures.
  • "Writing code itself is becoming less important, and 'Good Taste' and 'System Thinking' are becoming more important."

• The Importance of Debugging: AI tools are still weak at debugging, so human engineers continue to play a critical role.

  • "AI needs clear instructions for debugging, like a junior engineer. So debugging ability remains a human responsibility."

• Zero to One and Beyond:

  • Vibe Coding is optimized for rapidly building products (Zero to One), but scalability and reliability (One to N) still require deep system design skills.
  • "Going from zero to one is very rare, and the scaling phase that follows still requires advanced systems engineering."

5. Engineering Hiring in the Vibe Coding Era

• Changing Hiring Criteria:

  • While traditional evaluation methods like algorithm problem-solving were once dominant, now how well you leverage AI tools is becoming a key evaluation criterion.
  • "How quickly you can build a product will become an important evaluation factor."

• Testing Taste and Debugging Ability:

  • The ability to review AI-generated code and distinguish good code from bad is becoming important.
  • "Good taste and debugging ability remain essential. This is an area AI cannot replace."

6. The Future and Challenges of Vibe Coding

• The Rise of AI-Native Generations:

  • Founders who started learning to code just 2 years ago are showing remarkable productivity with AI tools.
  • "They skipped traditional software engineering education and started coding directly through AI tools."

• The Need for Senior Engineers:

  • As AI tools become ubiquitous, many engineers with basic coding skills will emerge, but top-tier engineers will still be required to have deep system understanding and advanced problem-solving capabilities.
  • "To be the best founder, you still need deliberate practice."

7. Conclusion: Vibe Coding Is Not Just a Trend

• Vibe Coding isn't simply a new trend — it's establishing itself as the new standard for coding.

  • "This isn't just a trend. It's not going away. This is going to become the dominant way of coding. If you're not doing this, you might just fall behind."

• Now it's important to use AI tools to rapidly build products and create scalable structures through good taste and systems thinking.

• Vibe Coding is opening the future of coding, and only those who embrace it will survive in the competition ahead.

  • "Vibe Coding is no longer optional — it's essential. It's time to accelerate."