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Vibe Coding — Foundations flashcards

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What vibe coding is and isn't, where it shines and where it's risky, the describe-generate-run-read-refine loop, working in small steps, why you still read the output, and project basics like files, dependencies and boring tech.

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Learn deck · part of Vibe coding · written against: Building software with AI assistants: workflow, prompting, git, web basics, debugging and security; tool-neutral. Updated 2026-10-10.

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  1. Who coined the term "vibe coding", and when?
    Computer scientist Andrej Karpathy, in a social-media post in February 2025.

    He described building software by talking to an AI and accepting its code without closely reading it.
    What Vibe Coding Is › Origins and Meaning
  2. In the original sense of the term, what does a vibe coder mostly skip?
    Reading the code closely. They describe what they want, run the result and judge it by how it behaves, letting the AI worry about the code itself.
    What Vibe Coding Is › Origins and Meaning
  3. Which kinds of projects suit fast, loose vibe coding best?
    Prototypes, one-off scripts and personal tools: things where a bug costs little, only you use it, and trying ideas quickly matters most.
    Where It Fits › Good Fits
  4. You want to rename 400 photos by the date they were taken, just once. Is this a good vibe-coding job?
    Yes, it's a small personal one-off script.

    Watch out: run it on a copy of the folder first, because a renaming bug could scramble the originals.
    Where It Fits › Good Fits
  5. What are the steps of the basic vibe-coding loop?
    Describe, generate, run, read, refine. Say what you want, let the AI write it, run it, look at what happened (and at the code), then ask for changes.
    The Build Loop › Describe and Generate
  6. In the vibe-coding loop, why do you run the code before deciding it's good?
    Running gives real evidence (errors, wrong output, a broken layout) instead of judging by how convincing the code looks.
    The Build Loop › Describe and Generate
  7. Why read AI-generated code even when it already works?
    To catch what testing missed (hard-coded secrets, deleted features, security holes, wrong assumptions) and to understand the app well enough to change it later.
    Reading the Output › Why You Still Read
  8. You can't follow most of the AI's code. What's a sensible minimum to read?
    At least what it touches: which files changed, what data it stores or sends, and any keys, passwords or web addresses.

    Ask the AI to walk you through the rest.
    Reading the Output › Why You Still Read
  9. What is a README file for?
    A README says what the project is, how to install and run it, and what a newcomer (future you included) needs to know first.
    Project Basics › Files and Folders
  10. Why should a vibe-coded project have a README even if only you use it?
    In a few months you'll forget how to run it. It also gives an AI assistant a quick summary of the project when you start a fresh session.
    Project Basics › Files and Folders

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About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

  • Original material; checked against Andrej Karpathy's post on X of 2 February 2025, Simon Willison's writing on vibe coding, Merriam-Webster, MDN Web Docs (CC BY-SA 2.5), the npm documentation, the pip documentation (MIT), the Python documentation (PSF License), GitHub Docs (CC BY 4.0), the Claude Code documentation, the OWASP Cheat Sheet Series (CC BY-SA 4.0), the OWASP Top 10:2025 (CC BY-SA 4.0), the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), Stripe's integration security guide, The Twelve-Factor App, the Agile Alliance glossary, Mozilla's bug-writing guidelines, Basecamp's Shape Up, Google's Engineering Practices documentation and C++ Style Guide (CC BY 3.0), the Google Testing Blog, Martin Fowler's bliki, Russ Cox's "Our Software Dependency Problem" and Dan McKinley's "Choose Boring Technology"; reference only, no text copied

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