Problems with Vibe Coding
Since Andrej Karpathy coined the term “Vibe Coding”, in one of his tweets, the internet is filled with examples of how Vibe Coding is the next big thing.
Trust me, don’t fall for this trap
Why this post? The internet is taking Vibe Coding way more seriously than it should be taken. Just saw a job posting, and I realized it’s time I jump in
If you don’t know what is Vibe Coding
https://medium.com/media/d059ebe7ed0d7364713f7f5c267b5877/href
If you don’t know what vibe coding is — it’s essentially using AI to generate code, throwing in vague prompts, and hoping it magically works. Sounds cool? Sure. But reality hits differently when you try to build something serious.
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Vibe coding is great for toy projects, but when it comes to building full-fledged, scalable apps? Big. Fat. No.
The Most Excited Crowd? Non-Tech Folks.
Let’s be real — the people hyping up vibe coding the most are usually non-developers. They see it as a way to build apps without needing coding skills or hiring engineers. But that’s where the trap is. AI might give you functional code, but functional doesn’t mean good.
And here is the real trap
I’ve myself been Vibe Coding for a long time (even before Andrej Karpathy coined the term) and some straight-forward issues that I encountered are
1. POCs? Easy. Scalable, Real-World Apps? Nightmare.
Vibe coding works when you’re just testing an idea. Need a quick prototype? Perfect. Want to build a production-level app? Oof.
AI-generated code lacks structure, maintainability, and efficiency.
Debugging turns into a time sink, where you spend more time fixing than you saved.
At scale, you’ll hit limitations in logic, performance, and security — things AI isn’t great at handling yet.
Just see this tweet by Mr “leo”
2. AI Gets You 80% There, But That Last 20%? Pure Pain.
You’ll feel like you’re almost done… and then suddenly, nothing works.
AI doesn’t handle edge cases, optimization, or production-level concerns.
Fixing that last 20%? Not a junior dev’s job anymore. Now you need a senior engineer who charges 10x.
And let’s be real — fixing someone else’s mess is harder than writing from scratch. Your first dev hire will probably want to burn everything down and start over.
3. AI Tools Ain’t Cheap.
Thought you were saving money by skipping dev hires. Nah.
AI services get expensive really quickly.
You’re paying for API calls, model usage, and debugging time.
Fixing AI-generated spaghetti code takes longer than just writing it properly from the start.
4. Vibe Coding Works… If You Actually Know Coding.
Karpathy makes it work because he knows how to code.
He understands why errors happen and how to fix them.
He knows how to prompt correctly and interpret AI’s output.
If you don’t know coding, you’re just throwing prompts at a black box and hoping for the best. Spoiler: that’s not engineering.
5. The “Free Lunch” Is a Lie.
Vibe coding promises fast results, but in reality, it’s a massive time sink.
You’ll spend hours debugging garbage AI output.
The AI won’t explain what it did, so you’re reverse-engineering nonsense.
What looked like a quick hack turns into weeks of frustration.
6. No One Knows What Your Code Does.
You paste AI-generated code, it kinda works, and you move on. But here’s the kicker:
Nobody — including you — knows what the code actually does.
Your app probably has hidden logic bugs and security flaws.
Imagine hiring a new dev, and their first reaction is: “Who wrote this horror movie?”
7. Compliance & Security?
If your app deals with user data, payments, or sensitive info, you CANNOT afford AI’s sloppy coding.
- AI doesn’t follow best security practices.
- You’re at risk for SQL injection, XSS attacks, and data leaks.
- If regulators come knocking, good luck explaining that AI wrote your security vulnerabilities.
Wrapping It Up: Vibes Won’t Save Your Code
Look, vibe coding feels like a cheat code — just prompt some AI magic and boom, instant app. But once you step beyond toy projects, reality checks in hard.
At the end of the day, AI is a tool, not a replacement for engineering skills. Use it wisely, but don’t let it trick you into thinking coding is dead. Because when the vibes fade, you’ll still need real dev chops (at least for now) to keep things running.
Don’t be a Vibe Coder was originally published in Data Science in your pocket on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
