Building & Product

What actually counts as vibe coding, and how is it different from serious AI-assisted engineering?

Karpathy's original meaning was specific: let the AI write everything and do not even read the code. Simon Willison drew the now-standard line: if you review, test, and can explain the code, that is just software development with AI assistance, not vibe coding. Most founders should treat it as a spectrum, pure vibes for throwaway prototypes and progressively more review as real users and money show up.

Part of AI coding on eChai Explore.

On the AI map, 29 October 2026 Coding agents App builders

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Vibe Coding

More in Vibe Coding

Why can non-technical founders now build software with AI? 19 → What tools should I start with (Cursor, Claude Code, Lovable, Replit, Bolt, v0)? 10 → How do real founders ship an MVP with AI in days instead of months? 19 → What are the limits, when do I still need a real engineer? 21 → How do I plan and prompt so the AI builds what I actually want? 20 → How do I keep my vibe-coded app from getting hacked? 22 → How do I get my vibe-coded prototype ready for real users? 20 → How do I add accounts, a database, and payments to my vibe-coded app? 19 → What do I do when the AI gets stuck, loops, or breaks things it already built? 18 → How much does vibe coding really cost, and how do I stop burning credits? 20 → Do I still need to learn to code, or is prompting enough? 16 → Can vibe-coded products become real businesses? 21 → Can I vibe code a mobile app and get it into the App Store? 18 → How do I avoid losing work? Version control for founders who don't code 20 → Lovable, Replit, Bolt or Base44: which AI app builder should I use? 9 → Claude Code, Codex or Cursor: which AI coding agent should I use? 8 → How do I vibe code an app or website with AI, step by step? 8 → How do I write a spec or PRD that an AI coding agent like Claude Code can build from? 7 → How do I get started with Claude Code? 7 →

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