What Is Vibe Coding? Definition, Risks and Method

Short answer: Vibe coding means building software by describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI tool such as Lovable or Claude write the code. It produces a working prototype in hours. To run a real business app in production, you also need a method: scope the project, design the data, test access and check security.

Where does the term "vibe coding" come from?

The phrase was popularized in February 2025 by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy (Wikipedia, "Vibe coding"). He described a way of programming where you "go with the flow": you describe, the AI writes, you test, you try again, sometimes without reading the code at all.

That is fine for a weekend experiment. For professional use, we add what the term leaves out: the AI builds, but a person specifies, verifies and takes responsibility. That shift, from prototype to production, is what we focus on at Probata Academy.

Today the most common vibe coding tools are Lovable, Bolt, Cursor and Claude, often paired with Supabase for the database, sign-in and file storage.

What does AI do well when you vibe code?

AI coding tools are genuinely strong at a specific set of tasks:

• Generating clean, mobile-friendly interfaces in minutes.
• Writing the standard code found in thousands of apps: forms, lists, sign-in flows, dashboards.
• Explaining the code they produce, when you ask.
• Proposing variants without getting tired.

For someone who does not code, this is a real change. A small business owner can now build an internal tool that, not long ago, would have required a custom development budget.

What does AI do badly?

The same tools have predictable weak spots:

• Consistency over time. The AI answers the current request well, but it can forget a decision made three requests earlier.
• Security by default. It can create a table without access rules, or a storage bucket open to anyone, unless you explicitly ask otherwise.
• Implicit business rules. If you never say that one client must never see another client's files, nothing ensures the AI will guess it.
• Verification. It can report that a bug is fixed when it is not.

None of these weaknesses is hidden. They are simply the parts of software work that a prompt does not cover unless you write them down.

Is vibe coding safe? What the numbers say

These limits are not theoretical. Several primary sources measure them:

The second and third findings point in the same direction: without an explicit instruction, AI does not secure code on its own, and piling fix upon fix does not help. This is a question of method, not of which tool you pick. So yes, vibe coding can be safe for a business app, but only when security is requested, tested and verified before launch.

Why do so many vibe coding projects stay prototypes?

When an AI-built project gets stuck at the prototype stage, three causes come up again and again:

1. Building before scoping. The app drifted in a direction nobody actually decided.
2. Security arriving last. Tables, roles and rules then have to be reworked under pressure.
3. Endless fix loops. Each attempt burns credits and makes the code harder to follow. We cover this pattern in our guide to Lovable credits and debug loops.

None of these causes is technical. They are all about method.

What method turns vibe coding into production work?

We teach a five-step method called CADRE in our Production Program. It applies to anything from a simple internal tool to a multi-client app.

1. Clarify. Write one page that says who uses the app, with which permissions, to do what, and what is out of scope. Have a real future user validate it.
2. Architect. Define the tables, the owner of each row and the access rules before the first business screen.
3. Divide. Split the work into 15 to 25 tasks, each small enough to be checked on screen.
4. Realize. Lovable builds, Claude reviews sensitive plans before any change is applied.
5. Examine. Test with several accounts, including the tests that are supposed to fail.

Most beginners start at step 4. That is exactly why their projects stall. If you want to start with steps 1 to 3 before opening any builder, the Starter Kit covers them in six lessons.

Which tools are used for vibe coding?

The tool matters less than the method, but each one has a clear role:

• Lovable builds a complete web app from the browser and connects to Supabase, GitHub and Stripe. Its Plan mode lets you think before changing anything.
• Bolt takes a similar browser-based approach.
• Cursor is an AI-assisted code editor, better suited to people who read code.
• Claude acts as advisor, reviewer and spec writer, and can work with your tools through connectors.
• Supabase provides the database, sign-in, file storage and server functions. Its security relies on access rules called Row Level Security, explained in Supabase RLS explained.

A poorly scoped app will run into the same problems with any of them.

What does a real vibe coding project look like?

Take Dossiers Clair, the fictional demo app used throughout our course. An imaginary accounting firm loses half a day every week chasing clients for missing documents. Using the method, its manager builds, over a few weeks, a portal where each client sees their own files, uploads documents and knows what is still missing.

The important decisions are made before a single line of code: a client only sees their own files, a file is archived rather than deleted, uploads are private and download links expire. The AI writes most of the code. The person decides, verifies and tests.

This kind of internal tool is the ideal ground for vibe coding: a real problem, known users, a controlled scope. Our guide on building an internal tool without coding walks through the full approach.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Pasting your entire idea into one giant prompt.
• Adding tables as you go, without a data model.
• Testing only with your own admin account.
• Asking for the same fix again and again instead of changing approach after the second failed attempt.
• Publishing without searching for secret keys in the code and in the browser.

How do you get started?

1. Pick a modest project: one real user, a flow of 5 to 10 steps, at most 3 roles, no sensitive data.
2. Write your scoping page before opening the builder. Our free project brief generator and budget estimator help with this.
3. Before going live, run the 12 security checks for a Lovable app, or go deeper with the Security Module.

FAQ

What is vibe coding in simple terms?

Vibe coding is building an app by describing it in everyday language to an AI tool, which writes the code for you. You review the result on screen, ask for changes and repeat. It is fast for prototypes. For business use it needs scoping, access rules and tests.

Is vibe coding safe?

It can be, as long as you verify what the AI produces. According to Veracode (July 28, 2026), nearly 44% of code generated without a security instruction fails security tests. Access rules, secrets and per-role tests must be requested explicitly, then checked before launch.

Do you need to know how to code to vibe code?

No. You need to describe precisely, verify and test. Reading a change plan or an access rule can be learned without becoming a developer.

What is the difference between vibe coding and no-code?

Classic no-code tools assemble predefined blocks in a visual editor. Vibe coding produces real code that you can export to GitHub, hand to a developer or host elsewhere. It offers more freedom and, in return, demands more rigor on security, since nothing is locked down by default.

How long does a first production app take?

For a modest internal tool, plan on 25 to 30 hours spread over several weeks, including scoping and testing. The prototype itself is only a small part of that time.

Sources

• Wikipedia, "Vibe coding", accessed October 22, 2026.
• Matt Palmer, statement on CVE-2025-48757, May 29, 2025.
• Veracode, 2026 GenAI Code Security Report, July 28, 2026.
• Shukla, Joshi and Syed, IEEE-ISTAS 2025 (arXiv 2506.11022).
• Red Access, Shadow AI Builders security report, 2026.

Links are in the table above. All sources accessed October 22, 2026. Last updated: October 22, 2026.

Ready to take an app from prototype to production? See how the Production Program works.