Vibe Coding: When ‘Feeling Right’ Becomes the Strongest Programming Language

2026-03-30 15:40

Using natural language to describe needs allows AI to generate runnable code—Vibe Coding is disrupting traditional development processes. This article deeply analyzes this phenomenal programming method, revealing how product managers leverage their ability to decompose requirements and their product sense to gain an advantage, while clarifying three key misconceptions. From tool selection to practical paths, this guide helps you master the essential skills to quickly turn ideas into reality.

Recently, someone in a product group shared a message:

“Today, I used Cursor for three hours to create a feature that I previously got quoted for 8000 yuan and needed two weeks to develop. I didn’t write a single line of code, but I knew what I wanted.”

This message sparked nearly 200 replies in the group.

Some said, “This is the future,” others said, “This is not development at all,” and some warned, “This will ruin you.”

However, I noticed that those who had deeply used AI programming tools were the quietest—they were already using them.

This phenomenon has a rapidly growing name: Vibe Coding.

What is Vibe Coding?

In February 2025, OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy tweeted:

“There’s a new way of coding that I call vibe coding. You are completely immersed in the vibe, forgetting the actual existence of code, just watching, asking, running, copying and pasting, and most of the time the results work.”

He even mentioned that when encountering errors, he doesn’t read the error messages but simply throws them to AI to resolve.

This statement quickly sparked discussions in the tech and product circles.

Vibe Coding literally means ‘atmosphere programming.’

However, the term “atmosphere” can be misleading, suggesting a casual, unrigorous approach. Its true meaning is:

Describe what you want in natural language and let AI generate the code; you are responsible for judging whether it “feels right” rather than checking whether the “logic is correct.”

You don’t need to understand variables, functions, or frameworks.

You only need to be clear about—what you want and how it should feel to use.

Why Now?

The term Vibe Coding didn’t appear out of nowhere; it suddenly became a phenomenon in 2025 due to three key reasons.

Reason 1: Tools Have Finally Caught Up with Imagination

As early as 2023, some attempted to use ChatGPT to generate code. However, the experience was frustrating: generate a piece, it wouldn’t work, ask again, still wouldn’t work, and ultimately give up.

Today is different.

Tools like Cursor, GitHub Copilot, v0.dev, and Bolt.new are no longer just “code completion”; they can understand the entire project context, automatically fix errors, and generate complete pages and logic based on natural language descriptions.

The leap in tool capabilities has made “feeling programming” genuinely feasible for the first time.

Reason 2: An Expanding ‘Sweet Spot’

Vibe Coding is not suitable for all scenarios, but there is a large sweet spot—

Those features that are complex enough for individuals or small teams but relatively standardized for AI:

• A data dashboard with login
• A small tool for form collection and email notifications
• An internal task management system
• A product prototype demonstration page

In the past, these required hiring developers, scheduling, and spending money. Now, a product manager who knows how to express their needs can potentially complete it in an afternoon.

Reason 3: A Historic Drop in Execution Barriers

A saying has circulated in the Silicon Valley startup circle:

“In the past, ideas were worthless; execution was valuable. Now, the barriers to execution are disappearing, and ideas are becoming valuable again.”

The popularity of Vibe Coding fundamentally represents a significant reduction in execution barriers.

This allows those with clear ideas, user insights, and product sense to truly have the possibility of hands-on involvement for the first time.

What is the Real Experience of Vibe Coding Like?

Let’s recreate a specific scenario.

Scenario: A product manager wants to create a ‘user feedback collection tool’

The requirements are: users fill out a form, and after submission, an email is automatically sent to the PM. The backend can view all feedback and mark the processing status.

Traditional Path:

Write PRD → Find developers → Schedule → Development → Integration → Testing → Go live

If all goes smoothly, this takes a week, but likely two to three weeks.

Vibe Coding Path:

Open Bolt.new and input:

“Help me create a user feedback collection tool. The user side is a form with three fields: name, email, and feedback content. After submission, it automatically sends an email to my inbox. The backend page can view all feedback records, and each feedback can toggle between ‘pending’ and ‘processed’ status. The overall style should be clean and modern.”

Then you start conversing with AI—it generates code, you run it to see the effect, and if something is wrong, you say:

“Change the button color to blue.”

“There should be a success message after form submission.”

“Can the backend list be sorted in reverse chronological order?”

Throughout the process, your input is about the feeling, and your judgment is whether it’s ‘right or wrong.’

You don’t need to know whether it’s using React or Vue, which service to send emails, or how to design the database tables.

This is Vibe Coding.

Why Are Product Managers Naturally Suited for Vibe Coding?

An interesting observation is that among all those trying Vibe Coding, product managers often have a higher success rate than many novice engineers.

This sounds counterintuitive, but the logic behind it is clear.

The core ability of Vibe Coding is not writing code, but expressing needs.

What do product managers do every day?

They break down vague business goals into clear user stories; they describe complex interactions into specific operational steps; they translate “feels wrong” into executable modification suggestions.

This is precisely the core capability needed for efficient collaboration with AI.

In contrast, engineers often fall into a strange loop when Vibe Coding: they know how it should be done technically, but when AI generates something different from their expectations, they get bogged down in implementation details, wanting to control the underlying logic, which actually reduces efficiency.

Product managers are naturally results-oriented and experience-focused, which is the mindset required for Vibe Coding.

Another point many overlook: product sense is the best prompt engineering.

Have you heard of Prompt Engineering? Many people spend a lot of time learning “how to write good prompts.”

But actually, someone with product sense naturally writes good prompts:

• They know to clarify who the user is.
• They know to describe specific usage scenarios.
• They know to specify what success looks like.
• They know to differentiate between “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves.”

Isn’t this just the basic skill of writing a PRD?

Three Misconceptions That Must Be Clarified

The rise of any new phenomenon is accompanied by misunderstandings. Regarding Vibe Coding, there are three misconceptions that need to be addressed.

Misconception 1: Vibe Coding = No Technical Knowledge Required

This is the biggest misunderstanding and the most dangerous perception.

Vibe Coding lowers the barrier to writing code, but it does not lower the necessity to understand technology.

When the code generated by AI doesn’t work, you need to determine whether the issue lies in the requirement description or if AI made a mistake; when a function is implemented but performs poorly, you need to know whether that’s acceptable or a problem that must be resolved; when you want to launch something, you need to understand the basic deployment process.

Completely zero technical background individuals will find their upper limit in Vibe Coding very low.

Those with some technical foundation, even just a little, will see an exponential difference in efficiency.

Misconception 2: Vibe Coding Outputs Cannot Go to Production

This statement is overly absolute.

A more accurate description is: the outputs of Vibe Coding can be directly used in certain scenarios, while in high-demand scenarios, additional engineering work is needed.

Internal tools, MVP validation, low-concurrency applications, personal projects… In many scenarios, the outputs of Vibe Coding are entirely sufficient.

If you regard it as a “toy that cannot go to production,” you will completely miss its true value.

Misconception 3: Vibe Coding is for Developers, Irrelevant to Product Managers

On the contrary.

Vibe Coding should fundamentally change the way product managers work.

When you can quickly create an interactive, real prototype yourself, your understanding of requirements will deepen; when you have run through a process yourself, your communication with developers will become more efficient; when you can independently create internal tools, your personal value will stand out.

What is Vibe Coding Redefining?

I want to discuss several deeper changes. These changes are not just about efficiency but structural.

Redefining ‘Knowing How to Develop’

In the past, “knowing how to develop” was a relatively clear skill boundary: you could write code and independently implement functions.

Now, this boundary is starting to loosen.

“I can’t write code, but I can create a product”—this statement holds true in the Vibe Coding era.

In the future, “knowing how to develop” may split into two capabilities:

• Can write code: traditional engineering skills, deep, precise, and controllable.
• Can use AI to build: new product building capability, fast, flexible, and results-oriented.

Both abilities are valuable, but the latter’s entry barrier is significantly decreasing.

Redefining ‘Product Prototype’

In the past, prototypes were divided into two types:

• Low-fidelity prototypes: wireframes created with Axure/Figma, aesthetically pleasing but not truly functional.
• High-fidelity prototypes: require development resources, high cost, and long cycle.

Vibe Coding creates a third form:

Runnable functional prototypes: look like finished products, can be operated, and the cost is close to low fidelity.

The impact on product validation is revolutionary. Before talking to users, you can present a real, usable item to them.

Redefining ‘Personal Productive Power’

This may be the most profound change.

In the past, a product manager with an idea found it difficult to independently build a product without a technical partner.

Now, “one-person product companies” are becoming a real possibility.

This doesn’t mean every product can be made by one person, but validating an idea, serving a niche market, and running through the first 100 users—this task’s barrier is being significantly lowered by Vibe Coding.

How to Start Your First Vibe Coding Practice?

If you want to get started, here’s a validated entry path.

Step 1: Choose a Tool and Use It Seriously for Two Weeks

Don’t try everything; start with one and use it seriously.

Recommended choices:

• Bolt.new: web-based, zero configuration, suitable for complete beginners, great for full-stack application experience.
• Cursor: local IDE, has a certain entry barrier but offers a higher ceiling, more suitable for those with some technical background.
• v0.dev: produced by Vercel, focuses on UI page generation, suitable for creating front-end display pages.

Step 2: Start with Real Pain Points, Don’t Practice for the Sake of Practicing

Find a real problem you encounter at work:

• Is there data that needs to be manually organized every week?
• Is there an internal process that could use a small automation tool?
• Is there a product idea you’ve always wanted to validate?

Real needs will push you to turn Vibe Coding into a true skill. Practicing with hypothetical scenarios will likely lead to giving up in three days.

Step 3: Learn to ‘Break Down Further’

The most common reason for failure in Vibe Coding is giving AI too large a request at once.

The correct approach is to break down the goal into the smallest possible units, doing one thing at a time:

Don’t say, “Create a complete user feedback system,” but first say, “Create a submission form,” run it successfully, then add “backend viewing page,” then add “email notification function”…

This aligns perfectly with the logic of product iteration—small steps, rapid progress, and each step is verifiable.

Step 4: Establish Your Own ‘Feeling Standards’

Vibe Coding heavily relies on your subjective judgment, so you need to clarify before starting:

• Is this function smooth to use?
• Will the target users understand this interaction?
• Is this speed acceptable?

Don’t just focus on whether the function has been implemented; pay attention to whether the experience is right.

This is what product managers are better at than anyone else.

Conclusion

Some criticize Vibe Coding, saying it cultivates a group of people who have a superficial understanding of technology yet believe they can develop, producing items filled with security vulnerabilities, performance issues, and unmaintainable code.

This criticism has merit, but it points to the misuse of tools rather than Vibe Coding itself.

Word processing software won’t make someone a writer, PowerPoint won’t make someone a designer, and Vibe Coding won’t make someone an engineer.

But all these tools achieve the same thing: they enable more people to express themselves.

Vibe Coding allows more people to turn their product ideas into something clickable, tangible, and presentable to users.

This, in itself, is valuable enough.

The essence of “Vibe” is an atmosphere, a feeling, a state of flow.

True Vibe Coding is not aimlessly chatting with AI but—having a clear enough feeling about the product that you can accurately convey it to AI and know precisely when it gets it right.

This feeling is one of the most valuable abilities of product managers.

Now, it has a brand new application.