This is a super valuable reference! Wish I’d seen something like this last year. 😆 All the issues you called out are painfully familiar, and I’ll add one more: AI building code that cannot run in production, because it triggers server timeouts. Now I always consider the need for background processing when building my specifications docs.
I have vibe coded a site after being laid off. I was inspired to build and just try something new. This article encapsulated so many of my frustrations with building my simple site on Cursor lol. Thanks so much!
Appreciate it, Kent! A lot of people get into vibe coding for different reasons, and while it’s great, we all run into frustrations along the way. Glad the piece resonated with you. Would love to hear more about your product building journey.
The way you explained vibe coding problems, security, technical debt, skill loss, and how to manage them makes total sense.
The biggest lesson for me: AI isn’t magic. You still need to guide it, check its work, and keep learning. That checklist could really help anyone who’s building real projects with AI.
Jenny, we have arrived on Substack and would love to talk to you about reposting this story in the Code Like A Girl Substack Publication. If you shoot us an email to info@codelikeagirl.io, we can share how it would work.
Such a needed post, Jenny. With the current love–hate relationship people have with vibe coding, I really appreciate how you embrace it as a developer while also taking things at face value and showing others how to do it right & what to watch out for.
Thanks so much, Daria! I’m amazed by how many great ideas and prototypes non-technical folks like you are generating, and these voices deserve to be heard.
Developers may feel conflicted about vibe coding, but they can’t gate it for long. Better to embrace the change and join in.
Impressive breakdown. This is the kind of experience you don’t get just by trying it a couple of times. It feels like an entire different role and set of skills. It’s beyond traditional software development.
This right here shows me what software development roles might look like in the future.
Not yet….still coding the traditional way but using ChatGPT heavily in the process. I really need to start using a coding tool and giving it a try though
Interesting! I’ve been using AI to write standalone functions when I suspect it would take me longer to figure out the algorithm. For example, “write me a function that takes the current date and a previous date and tells me if the current date has passed Friday 11:59 PM.” I also ask it to help me figure out a coding pattern. Like “how do I validate an input matches certain values in JavaScript similar to Typescript enum.” Your article inspired me to ask it to look for security flaws in code I’ve written. Thanks!
The skill atrophy bit is spot on. You stop understanding what the AI wrote, then something breaks at 3 AM and you're just staring at the codebase. I went deep on the infrastructure side of this same problem recently. Staging environments, dependency auditing, PCI DSS 4.0, the stuff nobody wants to think about until it bites them: https://reading.sh/your-vibe-coded-app-works-now-ship-it-properly-80b98f77ec25
I haven't vibe coded yet but I'm going to try soon☺️😎 let's see what happens.
Haha yes, let's see!
I'll share what happens with you.
This is a super valuable reference! Wish I’d seen something like this last year. 😆 All the issues you called out are painfully familiar, and I’ll add one more: AI building code that cannot run in production, because it triggers server timeouts. Now I always consider the need for background processing when building my specifications docs.
Thank you, Karen!
I’ve definitely run into those timeouts myself lol, I ended up adopting a simple queuing system to handle the load without too much tech overhead.
Feel free to check out the free list, would love to chat more about building soon!
Sounds great! 🤗
I have an ex-apple dev friend who snubs on Vibe Coding, also won't even sign up to test my platform because of "security"
It is what it is :)
Ahh no surprises if you experience that :)
I see this as the curse of knowledge, it’s fair judgement but will cost a lot more down the road.
absolutely.
people are always scared of what they don't know.
Excellent piece, Jenny! You packed a lot of value in that article. Saving it for reference.
Thank you, Veronica! I’m so glad it resonated with you. Keep me posted on how your product building goes, would love to hear more!
Of course, I will. Kind of you to ask.
That’s a guide for vibecoding
Thanks Farida :)
Great write-up Jenny, will be sharing this for sure!
Thank you Jonas!
Thanks for breaking this down in a simplified way.
Thank you Sharyph!
Excellent post! I have faced a few, especially security holes and scaling big questions.
Thank you Soumya! What did you build?
An AI product in the automotive domain.
Awesome! Is that already publicly available?
I feature AI builders with domain expertise, so your answer got me intrigued :)
In a bit. Wrapping final finishes :)
Hi Jenny, following up on your comment above. I posted about my product. Initial version and details are available in the post here. This product is for everyone who owns and drives a car. Check it out and let me know if you'd like to chat more. :) https://open.substack.com/pub/soumyasreeram/p/ai-product-introducing-carify-your?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Pro tip - There is a slash command that can be installed for Claude to conduct security reviews, https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code-security-review
This is awesome, thanks for sharing it!
I have vibe coded a site after being laid off. I was inspired to build and just try something new. This article encapsulated so many of my frustrations with building my simple site on Cursor lol. Thanks so much!
Appreciate it, Kent! A lot of people get into vibe coding for different reasons, and while it’s great, we all run into frustrations along the way. Glad the piece resonated with you. Would love to hear more about your product building journey.
This is super helpful, Jenny!
The way you explained vibe coding problems, security, technical debt, skill loss, and how to manage them makes total sense.
The biggest lesson for me: AI isn’t magic. You still need to guide it, check its work, and keep learning. That checklist could really help anyone who’s building real projects with AI.
Thank you so much Nitin!
Completely agree, AI isn’t magic and human guardrails is more important than ever.
Really appreciate your visit!
Jenny, we have arrived on Substack and would love to talk to you about reposting this story in the Code Like A Girl Substack Publication. If you shoot us an email to info@codelikeagirl.io, we can share how it would work.
I would do it right away!
Amazing. I have replied to your email!
Such a needed post, Jenny. With the current love–hate relationship people have with vibe coding, I really appreciate how you embrace it as a developer while also taking things at face value and showing others how to do it right & what to watch out for.
Thanks so much, Daria! I’m amazed by how many great ideas and prototypes non-technical folks like you are generating, and these voices deserve to be heard.
Developers may feel conflicted about vibe coding, but they can’t gate it for long. Better to embrace the change and join in.
Impressive breakdown. This is the kind of experience you don’t get just by trying it a couple of times. It feels like an entire different role and set of skills. It’s beyond traditional software development.
This right here shows me what software development roles might look like in the future.
Thank you Diego! Appreciate the comment. Do you vibe code?
Not yet….still coding the traditional way but using ChatGPT heavily in the process. I really need to start using a coding tool and giving it a try though
Haha let me know how it goes!
Interesting! I’ve been using AI to write standalone functions when I suspect it would take me longer to figure out the algorithm. For example, “write me a function that takes the current date and a previous date and tells me if the current date has passed Friday 11:59 PM.” I also ask it to help me figure out a coding pattern. Like “how do I validate an input matches certain values in JavaScript similar to Typescript enum.” Your article inspired me to ask it to look for security flaws in code I’ve written. Thanks!
You are welcome Miguel! Yes absolutely try it.
I’d be curious to see how you find it with the depth of your expertise!
The skill atrophy bit is spot on. You stop understanding what the AI wrote, then something breaks at 3 AM and you're just staring at the codebase. I went deep on the infrastructure side of this same problem recently. Staging environments, dependency auditing, PCI DSS 4.0, the stuff nobody wants to think about until it bites them: https://reading.sh/your-vibe-coded-app-works-now-ship-it-properly-80b98f77ec25