What vibe coding is (and isn't)

Vibe coding means building software by describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI assistant write the actual code. Instead of typing syntax yourself, you write prompts, review what comes back, and steer it with feedback until it works.

It isn't "the AI does everything with no oversight." You're still the one deciding what to build, testing whether it actually works, and catching mistakes. The skill isn't coding syntax — it's clear communication and knowing what "good" looks like when you see it.

Set up an AI coding assistant

Pick one tool to start. Any of these work for this course:

If you're not sure, start with Claude.ai or ChatGPT. There's nothing to install, and you'll learn the core skill — prompting — before worrying about any tooling.

The core loop

Every vibe coding session follows the same four steps:

  1. Describe what you want. Be specific: what it does, who it's for, what it should look like.
  2. Let the AI generate the code. It'll hand you working HTML/CSS/JavaScript (or whatever fits the task).
  3. Run it and look at it. Open the file in your browser. Does it actually match what you asked for?
  4. Iterate. "Make the button blue." "Add a search box." Small, specific feedback beats a giant rewrite request.

Exercise: build your first tiny project

Open Claude.ai or ChatGPT and paste in a prompt like this one (swap in whatever you'd actually find useful):

"Create a single HTML file with embedded CSS that displays a simple business card page: my name, title, a short bio, and links to my email and LinkedIn. Make it look clean and modern with a dark background."

Copy the response into a file named card.html and open it in your browser. Then iterate at least twice — try "make the layout centered" or "add a subtle hover effect on the links." That's the whole loop: describe, generate, run, iterate.

Next: Module 2 — Prompting Basics →