What is Vibe Coding?

Recently, a new term has emerged in the tech community: “vibe coding.” It describes a novel programming approach where you don’t need to understand code; you just need a vague idea and let AI help you implement it.

Traditional programming requires learning languages like Python or JavaScript, studying frameworks, libraries, and APIs, and spending months writing, debugging, and testing code. It’s akin to building a house, where you must handle every step from foundation to roof.

In contrast, vibe coding is different: you simply tell the AI, “I want to create a resume generator,” and it generates the complete code for you. You don’t need to know how to write code; you just need to understand what features you want. It’s like hiring an architect to design your house based on your description.

The essence of vibe coding is to drive development through intuition. You don’t need precise technical specifications, just a “vibe”—what you want the software to do, the user experience it should provide, and the problems it should solve. The rest is up to the AI.

How Can Vibe Coding Help Us?

1. Breaking Technical Barriers
   For those of us from non-technical backgrounds, coding can be daunting. With vibe coding, I can create tools to solve small work problems, develop simple automation tools for my team, and create personalized data processing tools.

2. Accelerating Innovation
   Traditional software development cycles can take months from idea to product. Vibe coding can generate prototypes in hours, allowing for rapid validation of ideas.

3. Lowering Entrepreneurial Barriers
   Previously, starting a business required a technical partner. Now, one person can manage the technical aspects alone. You can quickly build an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) with vibe coding and test market reactions.

4. Enhancing Work Efficiency
   In my work, I often encounter small issues like data organization, report generation, and image processing. Previously, I had to either handle these manually or find someone to develop a solution. Now, I can “vibe code” a tool and resolve it in minutes.

5. Stimulating Creativity
   When you’re no longer constrained by technical limitations, creativity flourishes. You can explore various ideas and see how far AI can help you realize them. This feeling of “unrestricted creation” is exhilarating.

Vibe Coding is Simple: Just an Idea and the Right AI

Many people find vibe coding mysterious, but it’s actually straightforward. The entire process involves three steps:

Step 1: Have a Vague Idea
This idea doesn’t need to be precise; even a single sentence will do. The key is knowing what result you want.

Step 2: Choose the Right AI Tool
There are many AI programming tools available, but the most mature in the domestic market is AiPy. It has several features:

1. Supports Chinese descriptions without needing translation to English.
2. Understands vague requirements without needing precise technical specifications.
3. Generates runnable code without extra configuration.
4. Can help improve code and optimize performance.

Step 3: Let AI Generate the Code
Just tell AiPy your idea, and it will analyze your requirements, understand the desired functionality, generate complete code files, and provide running instructions. If there are issues, it can help you debug and improve. The process feels like chatting with a technical expert who helps you implement your needs.

Testing Process

Last week, I decided to try vibe coding with the goal of “creating three software applications in a week.” I chose three common needs:

First Software: Resume Generator

Idea: I wanted a tool that could automatically generate well-formatted resumes based on user input.

I told AiPy: “Help me create a resume generator where users can input their name, education background, work experience, and skills, then generate a nicely formatted resume PDF.”

AiPy’s Response:

• Generated a Python script using the reportlab library to create PDFs.
• Provided an HTML template for users to fill in their information.
• Generated CSS styles to make the resume look professional.
• Offered a complete running guide.

Result: I spent 2 hours testing and adjusting, ultimately creating a usable resume generator. Although I didn’t write the code, the functionality met my needs perfectly.

Second Software: Image Filter Tool

Idea: I wanted a simple tool that could apply common filters (black and white, vintage, bright) to images.

I told AiPy: “Help me create an image filter tool where users can upload images, select filter effects, and download the processed images.”

AiPy’s Response:

• Generated a script using PIL (Python Imaging Library).
• Provided six filter algorithms: black and white, vintage, bright, cool tone, warm tone, and blur.
• Created a simple web interface for users to upload and download images.
• Offered deployment instructions.

Result: I spent 3 hours testing and found the vintage filter effect was not satisfactory. I told AiPy, “The vintage filter is too dark,” and it adjusted the algorithm, resulting in a satisfactory effect.

Third Software: Resume Filter Tool

Idea: I wanted a tool that could automatically filter resumes based on keywords.

I told AiPy: “Help me create a resume filter tool where users can upload multiple resume PDFs, input keywords, and filter resumes containing those keywords.”

AiPy’s Response:

• Generated a script using pdfplumber to parse PDFs.
• Provided a keyword matching algorithm.
• Created a batch processing feature.
• Offered result export functionality (in Excel format).

Result: This was slightly more complex, and I spent 4 hours testing and adjusting. The initial keyword matching was not accurate enough, but AiPy optimized the algorithm and added fuzzy matching capabilities.

Impressive Features of AiPy

AiPy has several impressive features:

1. Chinese-Friendly
   Many AI programming tools only support English, but AiPy fully supports Chinese descriptions. You can describe your needs in Chinese, and it understands perfectly, making it very user-friendly for Chinese users.

2. Understanding Vague Requirements
   I don’t know technical terms; I can only describe, “I want a tool that can filter resumes.” AiPy understands such vague descriptions and generates appropriate code without requiring precise technical specifications.

3. Generating Runnable Code
   The code generated by AiPy isn’t just “example code”; it’s complete and runnable code. You just need to follow the guide to install dependencies and run the program.

4. Continuous Improvement
   If you find issues while running the code, you can tell AiPy, “This feature has a problem,” and it will assist you, like having a technical consultant available to help solve problems.

5. Educational Functionality
   AiPy doesn’t just generate code; it also explains how the code works, which is helpful for those wanting to learn programming. If you’re concerned about token limits, fill in the invitation code c8W3 to receive two million tokens directly.

Personal Experience

As a business student with no coding knowledge, I occasionally used AiPy for vibe coding to expand my skills. After a week, I successfully created three tools: a resume generator, an image filter tool, and a resume filter tool.

In my work, I frequently need to handle data, create reports, and organize documents. Previously, when faced with technical problems, I either sought help or managed them manually. I always wanted to learn programming, but every time I saw code, I felt overwhelmed and gave up after a few days.

Why Try Vibe Coding?
Once, I saw a colleague use Python to write a small tool that processed data in minutes, which would have taken me an hour manually. I asked him how he learned it, and he said, “It’s actually quite simple, but it takes time.” I thought, if there were a way for me to create tools without learning code, that would be great.

Later, I heard about vibe coding and decided to give it a try. I chose AiPy because it supports Chinese and is said to be friendly for beginners.

Day 1 Attempt
On the first day, I tried to create a resume generator. The process was as follows:

1. Open AiPy and input my requirements.
2. AiPy generated the code, which I downloaded to my computer.
3. I followed the guide to install Python and the necessary libraries.
4. I ran the program and tested its functionality.

The first run failed due to a library version issue. I told AiPy, “The run failed due to a reportlab version issue,” and it modified the code to use a compatible version.

The second run succeeded, but the generated resume format was not very appealing. I told AiPy, “The resume format is not professional enough,” and it adjusted the CSS styles.

On the third run, everything was fine. I tested several resumes, and the results were good.

Time Spent: Approximately 2 hours, including learning how to run Python programs.

Day 2 Attempt
On the second day, I created the image filter tool. This time, it went more smoothly since I already knew how to run Python programs. The code generated by AiPy ran successfully, but the filter effects needed adjustments. I told AiPy, “The vintage filter is too dark; I want a warmer tone,” and it helped me adjust the algorithm. After several tests, I was satisfied.

Time Spent: Approximately 1.5 hours.

Day 3 Attempt
On the third day, I created the resume filter tool. This was slightly more complex due to PDF parsing and keyword matching. The first run succeeded, but the keyword matching was not intelligent enough (it only matched precisely). I told AiPy, “The keyword matching is not smart enough; for example, ‘project management’ should match ‘project management experience,’” and it helped me add fuzzy matching and word segmentation features. The second run showed significant improvement.

Time Spent: Approximately 2 hours.

One Week Summary
In one week, I created three practical tools:

1. Resume Generator: Now, when my team is hiring, I can quickly generate standard format resumes.
2. Image Filter Tool: When processing promotional images, I can quickly apply filters without needing complex Photoshop.
3. Resume Filter Tool: When sifting through numerous resumes, I can quickly find those that match keywords.

The most important part is that these three tools were all “my ideas,” and the code was written by AI. I participated in the design, testing, and improvement but didn’t write a single line of code.

The Future of Vibe Coding

Impact on Individuals
Vibe coding will enable more people to become “creators.” Previously, only technical personnel could create software; now anyone can. You can:

• Create custom tools for your work.
• Create auxiliary tools for your hobbies.
• Create convenient tools for your life.

Impact on Businesses
Companies can develop internal tools more quickly. There’s no need to wait for IT departments to schedule; business departments can directly describe their needs, and AI will generate tools. This will greatly enhance work efficiency.

Impact on Education
Programming education may change. Previously, it was “learn syntax first, then do projects”; now it may be “do projects first, then learn syntax.” Students can first vibe code to create interesting things, and then dive deeper into learning code when they are interested.

Impact on Entrepreneurship
The barriers to entrepreneurship will lower. One person can handle the technical aspects, focusing on product and market. This will foster more innovation and small entrepreneurial projects.

How to Start Your Vibe Coding Journey?

If you want to try vibe coding, I recommend:

Step 1: Choose a Simple Idea
Don’t start with a complex system. Choose a simple, specific need, such as:

• A calculator
• A weather query tool
• A note organization tool

Step 2: Choose the Right AI Tool
AiPy is recommended domestically, while there are other tools abroad. Choose one that supports Chinese and is beginner-friendly.

Step 3: Prepare Your Running Environment
Most vibe coding tools generate Python code, so you need to:

• Install Python
• Learn basic command line operations
• Prepare test data

Step 4: Start Trying
Tell the AI your idea, download the generated code, and follow the guide to run it. If you encounter issues, inform the AI, and it will help you resolve them.

Step 5: Iterate and Improve
The first attempt may not be perfect, but you can continuously improve. Provide feedback to the AI, and it will help you optimize.

Conclusion

Vibe coding does not replace programmers; it allows more people to participate in creation. Just as cars do not replace walking but enable more people to travel, programmers are still needed for complex systems, performance optimization, and architecture design. However, ordinary people can create simple tools, solve small problems, and realize small ideas.

For me, the greatest value of vibe coding is that it frees me from technical constraints. I can come up with an idea and then realize it. This feeling of “creative freedom” is fantastic.

If you also come from a non-technical background but have many ideas, give vibe coding a try. You might also create three software applications in a week.

Finally, a reminder: the code generated by vibe coding may not be optimal, but it is sufficiently useful for solving specific problems. If you need high-performance, large-scale systems, professional programmers are still necessary. However, for everyday small tools, rapid prototypes, and personal projects, vibe coding is the perfect choice.

Give it a try; you might fall in love with this way of “programming by feeling.”