Vibe coding is the future. But get your code checked.
Everyone builds software in a weekend these days. A tool, a website, a full CRM, made without typing a single line of code yourself. That is vibe coding, and it is incredibly fast. I am a big fan. But there is a side to it that almost nobody shows. Because what do you do when a client reports a bug? Or when the data ends up on the street? In this article: what vibe coding is, why it works now, and why a developer who understands the output stays essential for years to come.
What is vibe coding, really?
Put simply: programming without getting your hands on the code. You describe what you want, and the AI translates that into working software. You do not need any programming knowledge, because the AI is that translation layer. You can even set the AI to work by voice and watch your idea turn into software. Four years ago I would have laughed at you. Now I build with it every day.
Why it works now
For years, programmers got the shivers from the term vibe coding, and rightly so. Until last year the output was frightening. Since the big Claude update last November that has flipped. The quality now depends entirely on what you put in. If you get poor code back, that comes down to your input, to poor prompting. Good input, good output. That is how it works.
“Poor output? That comes down to your input.”
How fast it really goes
Internally we run our own environment, Empathree Studio, where we vibe code in the coding style of our own developers. That lets us make big steps. Compared to two years ago we work about five to six times faster. Compared to four years ago closer to ten times. Take Argo. For them we built the entire quotation process with AI. We wrote the first vibe code ourselves, after which René, our lead developer, made it production ready in Laravel and Angular. A quotation tool like that easily used to cost 30,000 to 40,000 euros. Now it was a fraction of that, simply because it takes us far less time.
The downside nobody shows
If you build something for yourself, a tool like Lovable or a cloud interface gets you a long way. Fine. But if you build for clients, and sensitive data runs through your software, it becomes a different story. Try searching for .env inside public GitHub repositories. You will be shocked by how many passwords and keys are sitting out in the open online. One wrong file in the wrong place, and everything is on the street.
Nice, that tool in a weekend. But.
On LinkedIn I see people sharing their vibe-coding adventures every day. A complete tool built in a weekend. Awesome, truly. Until the first client has a bug. Or until someone gets in who should not. What do you do then? Do you still know what the AI wrote exactly? Do you know where to look? That is the part missing from almost all of that content. Building something fast is easy. Keeping it safe and working is the real work.
Why a developer stays essential for now
Here is the core. For the coming years you need someone who can check the output. Someone who knows what the AI wrote and where it lives. With us, the Studio talks continuously to an in-house AI agent that René built entirely himself. That agent only codes in René's style, so the output fits seamlessly with how he works. That way he knows at any moment exactly what sits where, and no sloppy file or stray password slips through. Our clients use this to keep building their own SaaS product or CRM themselves. We make it work, test the security and make sure it scales.
How to start without burning your fingers
Want to get going yourself? Start with something for yourself, a tool that makes your own work easier. Never put your passwords or keys in a public repository, however tempting and quick that is. And as soon as client data or sensitive information comes into play, bring in a developer or an agency that knows what they are doing. Yes, vibe coding is unsafe by default. But with a party behind it that understands what is happening, you can go all out as far as we are concerned.
Finally
Vibe coding is the future. I am convinced of that. Go for it, build, experiment, surprise yourself with how fast it goes. But get your code checked, and make sure you know what you are doing. Want to learn vibe coding without falling into the traps? That is exactly what we teach you in our Vibe Coding workshop.
Marc builds with AI every day and helps companies use vibe coding safely, from prototype to production.
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