Talk:Vibe coding

This article was nominated for deletion on 16 March 2025. The result of the discussion was snow keep.

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A fact from Vibe coding appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 26 March 2025 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows: Did you know... that a journalist used vibe coding to create an app to suggest what to pack for lunch? A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2025/March. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Vibe coding.

Are we sure that the current (or previous) prompt really count as vibe coding? My understanding is that there is a distinction between using LLMs for coding (write a function to do x) and vibe coding (make me an app that does x). Write JavaScript code to estimate Pi using the Monte Carlo method. doesn't fit this to me, since it is stating a language and even a specific method to use. That's very different from Mirriam's definition: writing code, making web pages, or creating apps, by just telling an AI program what you want, and letting it create the product for you. I think we should update the example to be product-orientated. If we want to go meta, something like Make an app that counts the number of words in the Wikipedia article about vibe coding would be an option. SmartSE (talk) 10:45, 20 May 2025 (UTC)Reply

Definitely not vibe coding - and lacking any reference to affirm that it is. I propose to delete this so-called example. Jmc (talk) 23:07, 23 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

Nem con, I've gone ahead and deleted the "example". Jmc (talk) 21:03, 24 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

There was a reference as part of the template, also, yes, a better example could be used, but the particular example was chosen for it's brevity. (Since LLM prompts can be fairly large) I oppose it's deletion since I think illustrating how vibe-coding is used in practice is important in the context of a thousand definitions being floating around. Sohom (talk) 03:00, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

There was nothing in that template reference to verify that it was an example of vibe coding. SmartSE has explained in detail above why it didn't cut the mustard as an example. I agree that illustrating how vibe-coding is used in practice would be nice, but I've not yet been able to find a RS with an example. Jmc (talk) 04:00, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

Just for fun, I took up SmartSE's suggestion to go meta and asked Claude to Make an app that counts the number of words in the Wikipedia article about vibe coding. It made a very presentable and functional app (counting 128 words) but at 280 LoC, it's rather too long to use as an example here. -- Jmc (talk) 04:30, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

There should be no requirement to have RS validate that something is indeed vibe-coded when it is literally a GPT generation of code. We don't ask for that level of proof from any other (technical or otherwise) article.

Regarding @Smartse's point of this "not being vibe coding", the snippet was added long before the dictionary definition applied the arbitrary gaurd-rails around the meaning, for a large portion of the time this word has been around, peeps have been using to refer to almost any AI-generated code as being "vibe-coded", which is why the demonstration. If you don't like it, feel free to generate your own/tweak the prompt. I think removing it completely is a net-negative experience for the reader here. Sohom (talk) 12:36, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

@Sohom Datta: No it was not - the dictionary was added on 15 March having been published on 8 March. The first example (which has the same problem as the later one) was added on 20 March. Your claim that it refers to any AI-generated code is patently incorrect per the quote from Simon Willison. SmartSE (talk) 13:29, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

Fair enough, but I still think a example will be beneficial to folks, removing it wholesale is a disservice to our reader since it makes things less interactive/visual to the reader. Also I will note that Simon Willison has himself pointed out that the mainstream usage of the term has been shifting to refer to any use of AI code [1] (he is against it, but that is his POV on the topic). Sohom (talk) 16:09, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

Providing misleading information to readers is a far bigger disservice. SmartSE (talk) 16:45, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

I don't think it is misleading when a large part of mainstream media mis-characterizes the topic as well. Our articles should reflect both the academic/tech consensus as well as what folks on the ground think. That being said, subtle difference in prompting was a oversight on my end, not a deliberate attempt to mislead the audience. If my goal was to mislead people I wouldn't be spending hours reading through and understanding research papers and community publications to write about technology. Implying that it is a deliberate attempt to mislead folks is uncalled for.

Trying to bring this back to the more constructive side, would [2] be a more appropriate illustration ? Sohom (talk) 17:01, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

File:ExampleOfVibecoding.png Different suggestion from a screenshot of Chat-GPT, we could use a screenshot from an IDE of something being vibe coded. I feel like this is better because this is more in line with how actual programmers vibe code these days, with the LLM integrated into the IDE. Example given (took prompt suggestion from Sohom Datta) is using VS Code, but feasibly we could use another IDE if its more photogenic. //Lollipoplollipoplollipop::talk 17:33, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

Honestly that could be a good idea as well! Sohom (talk) 17:38, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

IMO the prompt get a random Wikipedia page is an example of an initial vibe coding prompt and overcomes the deficiencies of the earlier 'example' (stating a language and even a specific method to use). However, it seems pretty clear that vibe coding means much more than feeding in the initial prompt. After all, the term is vibe coding, not vibe prompting.

-- Jmc (talk) 20:18, 25 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

The lead has quite a few references (4-5) for the same general statement summarizing Vibe Coding. This seems excessive and is a maintenance headache. — Safety Cap ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (talk) 19:24, 3 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

This now appears to be fixed. I'll remove the banner. AndyGordon (talk) 13:45, 28 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

The Tea app is famous Vibe coding case:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tea-app-leak-worsens-with-second-database-exposing-user-chats/

https://decrypt.co/331961/tea-app-claimed-protect-women-exposes-72000-ids-epic-security-fail 2A02:16A:A201:0:127C:4CFF:FE68:5CD5 (talk) 09:52, 30 July 2025 (UTC)Reply

Purportedly. kencf0618 (talk) 02:14, 4 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

"Vibe" as per the OED dates to 1968. Unsurprisingly. Keeping WP:NOTADICTIONARY in mind, should the etymology be included? (Good Vibrations, anyone?)

Secondly, this remark by Andrew Chen is on-point: "Most code will be written (generated?) by the time-rich," he said. "Thus, most code will be written by kids/students rather than software engineers. This is the same trend as video, photos, and other social media." (Check history for decrypt.co citation.) The printing press, the Brownie camera, the AK-47, Feynman diagrams, public-key encryption, and the personal computer itself all democratized what was esoteric. Large languages models (LLM's) are doing likewise. It'll be fascinating to watch this play out.

Finally, E.g, I have dyscalculia. I can't program, yet made five Github commits this afternoon, crediting DeepSeek. The street finds its own uses for things, to quote Bruce Sterling. That's fun; that's a hobby. Forensic coding is going to be about what's been shoved into production, to disastrous effect. In this wise pay attention to The Economist and the technical literature. kencf0618 (talk) 02:50, 4 August 2025 (UTC)Reply