The art of vibe coding

November 15, 2024

I’ve been coding professionally for 12 years. Followed every methodology - Agile, Scrum, TDD, DDD, whatever-DD. But lately, I’ve been doing something different.

I call it vibe coding.

What’s Vibe Coding?

It’s coding by feel. Following your intuition instead of a rigid plan. Starting with what excites you, not what’s “most important” on the backlog.

Sounds unprofessional? Maybe. But here’s what I’ve noticed:

When I vibe code, I ship faster. The code is cleaner. I’m happier.

The Process (If You Can Call It That)

1. Start with energy, not priority
   Work on what pulls you. That tricky animation? That refactor that’s been bugging you? Start there.

2. Follow the thread
   One thing leads to another. Fixing the animation reveals a state management issue. Fixing that improves the whole architecture.

3. Stop when it stops flowing
   When the vibe dies, stop. Switch to something else or take a break. Forcing it produces bad code.

Why It Works

Our brains are pattern-matching machines. After years of coding, your intuition knows things your conscious mind doesn’t.

That “feeling” that something’s wrong? That’s years of experience talking.

That excitement about a particular approach? That’s your brain recognizing a good pattern.

When to Vibe Code

• Side projects (always)
• Exploration and prototyping
• Refactoring sessions
• When you’re stuck on a problem

When NOT to Vibe Code

• Production hotfixes
• Team projects with tight deadlines
• When learning something completely new
• When you’re tired (tired vibes lie)

The Balance

I’m not saying abandon all structure. At work, we have sprints and deadlines. But within that structure, I find space to vibe.

Monday morning? I’ll tackle that payment flow refactor I’m excited about.

Thursday afternoon when I’m dragging? I’ll do the boring ticket.

Results

Since I started vibe coding:

• Built a side project in a weekend that I’d been overthinking for weeks
• Solved three “impossible” bugs by following hunches
• Actually enjoyed refactoring (who knew?)
• Code reviews got better - “This feels really clean”

Try It

Next time you sit down to code, ask yourself: What am I drawn to right now?

Follow that feeling. See where it leads.

You might be surprised.

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Sometimes the best methodology is no methodology. Trust your instincts. They’ve been trained by every line of code you’ve ever written.