"What is vibe coding and how does it differ from software engineering?"

"Vibe coding is flow-based programming focused on rapid exploration and discovery. You try ideas quickly, learn APIs by breaking them, and sketch solutions fast. Software engineering, on the other hand, is about systematic delivery with proper interfaces, tests, observability, deployment, and rollback capabilities. Vibe coding is great for exploration, while software engineering ensures production readiness."

"What is the permanent prototype trap?"

"The permanent prototype trap occurs when you start with vibe coding, gain users, but never graduate to proper engineering practices. Your napkin sketch grows but the guardrails don't. You'll see mysterious timeouts and 'it works on my machine' scenarios because the prototype code lacks the robustness needed for production."

"What is the Explore, Build, Ship framework?"

"This is a three-phase development approach: Explore with vibe coding to learn fast and try ideas (expect to throw away code), Build with conventional coding using stabilized interfaces and clean code, and Ship with software engineering practices focusing on safety, repeatability, rollbacks, and people considerations."

"When should I use vibe coding versus conventional coding?"

"Use vibe coding for discovery and finding unknown unknowns when you need to try many ideas quickly. Use conventional coding when you need to make correct and stable what you learned from exploration. Don't try to take vibe code directly to production - graduate it through proper engineering practices first."

"How do I graduate vibe code to production-ready software?"

"Follow the Explore, Build, Ship framework: use vibe coding for exploration and learning, apply conventional coding practices to build stable interfaces and clean code, then implement software engineering practices for safe and repeatable deployment including proper testing, observability, and rollback capabilities."

"Can vibe coding and software engineering be blended?"

"Yes, these approaches don't need to be in strict order and can blend together. You can implement all of them under the software engineering umbrella. The key is knowing when to pedal (vibe code for exploration) and when to drive (apply engineering practices for production)."

You're Vibe Coding Wrong

People say, “I am vibe-coding. Therefore, I am a software engineer.” This is like saying, “I can ride a bike, so I can drive a car.” Both have wheels. Both can move forward, right? Here’s what I’ll say: try merging onto a highway on a bicycle. You’ll learn fast what’s missing.

Mapping the Territory

Today I want to place vibe-coding, coding, regular coding, and software engineering onto the same map. So you’ll know when to pedal and when to drive.

Vibe coding is flow. Put your headphones on. You try three ideas in just ten minutes. You learn the edge of an API by breaking it, not reading docs. It’s like a sketch on a napkin.

Coding is construction. You turn the sketch into working instructions: functions, modules, and the glue that connects them all.

Software engineering is about delivery. You require proper interfaces, tests, observability, deployment, rollback, cost, security, people. It’s the umbrella for the overall software project.

The Framework

Here’s the framework we can use: vibe-coding is a step that comes before conventional coding. It informs the conventional coding step. Coding feeds the software engineering flow, and finally, software engineering ships the product safely and repeatedly.

Those steps don’t need to be in strict order. They blend. Just because you are vibe coding doesn’t mean it has to be converted to conventional coding. But you can blend all of them and implement them under the software engineering umbrella.

Where Vibe Coding Shines

It’s great for discovery. It helps us find the unknown unknowns because it lets us try many ideas in a very short amount of time.

But here’s the problem: If vibe coding output goes to production without other steps, it will be a liability.

Let me make this tangible. I built an image upload function. It works on my machine. That’s vibe coding (or we can call it coding). I built the same function that survives Friday night traffic. That’s software engineering. Same feature, different maturity.

How to Graduate Your Vibe Code

How do you graduate this vibe code into something production can trust? We apply software engineering practices.

Here’s the map: Explore, Build, Ship.

Explore is done with vibe coding. What’s the goal? Learn fast and try ideas. Time-box it, keep notes, but expect you will throw away the code. This is your exploration step on the map.

Building is the coding phase. Not just vibe coding;it’s the conventional coding phase. Now your goal is to make correct what you got from the previous step. Use stabilized interfaces and name things properly. Trim the branches. Make it clean.

Shipping is where software engineering makes sense. Make it safe and repeatable. Think about rollbacks and roll-outs. Think about people, not just the code.

The Permanent Prototype Trap

Let’s talk about the trap I want to mention. Let’s call this trap the permanent prototype trap.

So you vibe code. You keep the napkin sketch. It starts growing. Now you have users. Now you have more users each day. But the guardrails don’t grow with it. You don’t have any guardrails.

What you’ll probably see: mysterious timeouts. Or you’ll say “it works on my machine.” This means you’re in this trap;the permanent prototype trap.

The Solution

As long as you’re aware of this trap and you can follow these three steps, you’re good to go. Vibe coding will help you move faster than ever.

The key is knowing when to pedal and when to drive. Use vibe coding for what it’s great at;exploration and discovery. But don’t try to merge onto the production highway without proper engineering practices.

Watch the Video

I also shared this perspective in video format. You can watch it here:

Mapping the Territory#

The Framework#

Where Vibe Coding Shines#

How to Graduate Your Vibe Code#

The Permanent Prototype Trap#

The Solution#

Watch the Video#