How To Start Vibe Coding
Vibe coding gets a bad rep but you can learn a lot if you get into the habit of doing it on a regular basis.
Will you create the next Snapchat or Oracle? No.
But that’s not even close to the point. I wouldn’t even worry about building an MVP.
I’d just focus on trying to do stuff.
I started 2024 with zero knowledge of APIs, Python, node js, react, or deploying scripts.
I didn’t even know how to use a database.
I’d never even opened VS Code or Terminal on my Mac. I’d never used Postman, never written a line of code in my life.
I was a complete beginner. No prior knowledge or experience.
But nowadays, I not only understand what these things are; I know how to use them in practical, real-world applications.
Here’s an overview of the vibe-coding tools I’ve used to date (with detailed notes on each of them).
I’ve Vibe-Coded Micro Tools That I Actually Use For Work
I’ve built a few micro tools that I use on this site and other projects.
One of these tools pulls data from AirTable and Google Sheets into Custom Fields inside WordPress.
Another pulls data from the web and puts them into AirTable and Google Sheets.
Another is a diary app that’s synced with my natal chart and the phases of the moon (IFYKYK).
I host them on a VPS which costs me like $6 a month. I think I could probably get 100 of these apps up and running on that plan as well.
And another is a HIIT timer app for my iPhone that I use for running.
You Will Learn Way More Than The Basics When You Vibe Code
None of these projects will allow me to quit my day job but that’s not the point.
The point is this: I learned how to code web apps and applications (albeit in a veru rudimentary way) just buy playing around with these AI coders.
I didn’t set myself any goals or objectives. The only rules were: 1) I had to actually learn stuff and 2) it had to be fun.
I watched A LOT of YouTube videos, read a few books, and downloaded a couple of courses.
It was a practical, hands-on baptism of fire.
But after a few months, stuff that had seemed completely alien to me started clicking.
I started thinking in processes, figuring things out based on how it *might potentially be coded together.
And all this happened simply by doing stuff inside Cursor and Cline.
You Can Start Vibe Coding For Free
It’s also one of the cheapest hobbies you can take up. If you use something like Cline, it’s basically free. You just pay for the tokens you use.
You don’t even need a good computer.
Bolt is cloud-based and Cline runs inside VS Code which would probably run just fine on a potato.
Just be prepared to spend a month or so learning the ins and outs of platforms like VS Code and not really understanding anything.
My advice during this period would be this: go slow, ask lots of questions and be prepared to spending a lot of time reading.
If you don’t understand anything, ask. I have ChatGPT running alongside VS Code with Cline.
ChatGPT answers my questions. I share screenshots and it explains how things work and what is happening and why.
Do this for weeks and months and eventually your brain starts to catch up, the blanks start getting filled in.
Build Stuff, Test Ideas & Start Creating Your Own Tools
What I enjoy most about these tools is that they’re brilliant for fleshing-out ideas, testing stuff, and getting an idea about how web apps and applications are actually put together.
If you can think of something, a web app, a tool, a new way of doing something inside Shopify or WordPress, you can now (with a lot of effort and trial and error) potentially build it yourself.
It can be incredibly frustrating, though, so when you’re just starting keep it simple.
You’ll run into roadblocks more or less right away, so a cool temperament is required.
But once you get into the swing of things (it took me a solid few months of tinkering), things just kind of click which means no more ruminating about whether an idea would work or not, or whether people would like it.
You just get up off your ass and build it, test it, and then get some of your buddies to try it.
That’s never been the case before. Ever.
You always had to defer to a developer when developing new projects or ideas.
I know this because I’ve spent thousands of dollars doing exactly this since 2014.
Is AI as good as a pro coder? Not even close. But, again, this is not the point.
The point is this: AI coding platforms are as bad as they’re ever going to be right now.
And they’re not even bad; once you know the basics, they’re immensely powerful.
Now, imagine what they’ll able to do in five or ten years time?
You’re literally doing your future-self (and earning potential) a massive disservice by NOT learning how to use these tools.
Think about: 10 years ago, it’d cost you anywhere from $5k to $15,000 to develop a basic AF beta of anything.
Now, with tools like Cursor or Cline or even just VS Code and ChatGPT or Claude, you can do it on your laptop on your lunchbreak or instead of rotting in front of the TV every night for hours on end.
Whatever your preconceived notions about AI and vibe coding might be, you have to admit that’s pretty freaking cool.
