Vibe coding
In short
Vibe coding is building software by telling an AI tool what you want in ordinary language and letting it write the code. The original sense was stricter: you accept the code without reading it.
- Also called
- Vibe-coding
- Topic
- Using AI tools
- Level
- Beginner
- First described
- Andrej Karpathy, in a post on X on 2 February 2025, where he wrote that he calls this way of working "vibe coding"1.
On 2 February 2025 Andrej Karpathy posted the phrase on X. He described a way of building a small project in which you "forget that the code even exists". He spoke instructions to Cursor's Composer, used with Anthropic's Sonnet model, and pressed "Accept All" without reading the changes. When something broke he pasted the error message back in with no comment. He said the code grew past what he could follow without a long read, and that this was "not too bad for throwaway weekend projects"1.
The phrase then got wider. On 6 November 2025 Collins Dictionary named vibe coding its word of the year. The BBC, reporting that choice, described it as making an app or website by describing it to AI rather than writing the program by hand. Its example was asking for a program that schedules weekly meals. The BBC also said there is no guarantee the code will work or be free of bugs, and that more complicated tools still need skill2.
Those are two different bars. Karpathy's post is about not reading the code. The Collins choice, as the BBC reported it, covers the broader habit of describing an app and letting AI write it12. Either way it is not the same as autocomplete that offers the next line while you watch. Karpathy's limit was the weekend project he was willing not to understand1.
Example
Karpathy's own case was asking the tool to decrease the padding on a sidebar by half, because he did not want to find that line himself, and then accepting the edit without reading it1.
Why it matters
The name marks a real split: using AI and still reading the code, or shipping code you have not read. Karpathy put the second habit on throwaway projects1.
Questions people ask
Who coined vibe coding?
Andrej Karpathy, in a post on X dated 2 February 20251. The BBC, reporting Collins Dictionary's 2025 word of the year, called him an OpenAI co-founder and said he coined the term in February2.
Is vibe coding just using AI to help you code?
People now use it that loosely. Karpathy's post was narrower: he accepted every change, did not read the diffs, and said the code grew beyond his grasp1. The BBC's account of the Collins choice is the wider one, describing an app to AI instead of writing it yourself2.
Is vibe coding safe for a product other people will use?
Karpathy limited it to throwaway weekend projects, and said he would have to read the code for a while to understand it1. The BBC said there is no guarantee the result works or is free of bugs, and that complicated tools still require skill2.
Do I need to know how to program?
The BBC's report said people can ask for a basic app, such as a weekly meal planner, without having programmed before. It also said more complicated tools still require skill2.
Related terms
Tools that use it
- CursorAI code editor from Anysphere built around coding agents that write, test and review code
- ReplitBrowser-based platform where an AI agent builds, hosts and publishes apps and websites from a text prompt
- Bolt.newAI builder that creates websites and web apps from a chat description, with hosting included