I still remember my early days in coding, when every line felt like a brick laid by hand, slowly, meticulously, to build a structure. Today, thanks to vibe coding – or as I like to call it, chill coding – my daily life as a developer has suddenly changed.
With tools like Windsurf, Trae, and Cursor, I explore new technologies while refining my craft. It's a bit like building a house: you can lay each brick yourself, but why not call on several specialized workers? The key is having a good architect to orchestrate everything and ensure the house doesn't collapse at the first gust of wind.
My tips to make the most of vibe coding :
☕ 1. Prompts in English are key
- It standardizes my ideas, makes sharing with the community easier, and lets me reuse the best prompts (note to self: store them somewhere!).
💡 2. Break down tasks for AI
- It seems obvious, but it’s crucial: instead of throwing a massive request at the AI, I break my work into clear steps. Yes, it costs more credits, but the quality of the result and understanding the underlying technologies is totally worth it.
⚙️ 3. Choose the right AI model
- Sometimes, I resist the urge to jump straight to the premium models like Sonnet 3.7. I prefer free models for simpler tasks, which allows me to have more "little helpers" on the job without blowing my budget. (Okay, let’s be honest, sometimes we all cave 😆).
🧱 4. Lay a good architecture from the start
- Like masonry, everything starts with a good plan: frameworks, libraries, and all that. Avoiding nasty surprises later is key. Otherwise, it’s like realizing you forgot insulation once the walls are up. Not fun.
💬 5. Dialog with the AI, don’t just consume
- I challenge it, rephrase requests, and refine its answers. The idea is not to just copy-paste its suggestions but to tweak them to fit my needs. For more complex tasks, I work in "read-only" mode/chat, define the solution together, and then, when it seems solid, I execute the changes.
🧩 6. Context is everything
- Before firing off a prompt for a new project, I usually specify my tech stack, patterns to follow, and constraints to respect. AI works best when given the right brief. And on an existing project, this is just as important because the additions should align with your coding style. If you’re into SOLID principles and clean architecture, the generated code should align with how you structure things.
🔄 7. Refactoring, always and forever
- AI helps me save time writing code, but I always go back and check for structure, security and readability (and update when necessary). For performance, I test it myself. It does the heavy lifting, but I ensure the finishing touch.
Feedback
On the back-end (Java, Elixir, PHP), vibe coding has saved me a ton of time. However, on the front-end, tested with React/Next.js, it still struggles with CSS and library conflicts (for instance, it won’t mind using 2 different UI libraries in the same project 🙃). But with some experience and persistence, you get there.
There are failures too
Of course, not everything is perfect. I wanted to push the experience to the limit by putting myself in the shoes of a non-developer, just to see. Verdict? After 2 hours of well-crafted prompts and tests with the best models, I still couldn’t fix a simple issue of double loading in a modal in a React/Next.js app.
This is where you hit the limits: if you don't know exactly what information to give the AI and how to structure the context, it can go in circles. In this case, the issue could have been avoided if the AI had understood from the start that the modal was used across several screens and needed a dedicated context.
In short, AI can be a powerful ally, but it doesn’t work miracles on its own.
A change of role, but not of profession
A developer's real job is not just to write lines of code but to design intelligent, tailored solutions. AI doesn’t replace this thought process; it accelerates it.
I also believe that our role will evolve. We are becoming less "coders" in the traditional sense and more architects and designers. This change has already begun with the advent of high-level languages, ORMs, frameworks, etc. These tools have always been there to help us save time and focus on what truly adds value.
Of course, sometimes it’s a bit scary. We wonder what our profession will look like in 5 years. But ultimately, what makes the true value of an engineer or developer is not just the line of code they write, but their ability to understand the needs, design tailored solutions, and be creative in solving complex problems.
That said, this shift probably penalizes juniors more when entering the workforce. With AI and modern tools, it’s harder to stand out purely by mastering code, a skill they often develop early in their careers. Juniors will have to further develop their ability to understand the issues at hand and design solutions from the start.
And what about jobs?
I don’t believe AI will kill jobs in development. On the contrary, companies will produce more, faster, and innovate more to stay competitive.
Our profession will continue to evolve, as it always has. Nothing disappears, everything transforms.
Conclusion
Vibe coding, when used well, is a powerful tool that enhances our craft without replacing it. A good artisan doesn’t disappear with the arrival of new machines: they learn to use them to work better.
How are you experiencing this revolution? Share your experiences and tips! 🚀
PS: This post reflects my personal opinion only.