Vibe Coding: Chaos, Structure, and Where the Real Magic Happens

The editor lights up. Code pours onto the screen, tests magically appear, and within minutes you’ve got a working dashboard.

Or maybe it’s Saturday night and you’re feeling spicy:

“Generate a multiplayer snake game in the browser. Make it retro.”

Suddenly, you’re battling friends while AI does the heavy lifting.

Or even better:

“Spin up a backend service that manages pizza orders, with a real-time tracker like Uber Eats.”

Ten minutes later, you’re watching simulated pizzas move across the screen.

That’s the fantasy of vibe coding. But here’s the twist: in practice, it doesn’t actually look like this!

The reality I’ve seen, read about, and learned from others is that vibe coding works best when there’s structure. AI doesn’t replace engineering discipline—it accelerates it. The “vibes” are there, but they’re guided.

Here’s what vibe coding looks like when it’s done seriously.

1. Docs before vibes

Nobody jumps straight into code. The first step is a technical design document. It covers architecture, APIs, data flows, and assumptions. Senior engineers (or teammates) review it, poke holes in it, and make sure it will scale.

Only when that’s solid do the vibes start.

2. Breaking things down

Big features are always chopped into smaller, trackable tasks. Instead of “make a pizza tracker,” it becomes:

• Define the order API
• Implement real-time updates
• Design the tracking UI

Clearer tasks mean AI can actually help in meaningful ways. Otherwise, it just generates chaos.

3. Tests first, code second

This is where things flip. You write tests first—sometimes with AI’s help—then let AI generate the code to satisfy them.

It’s not about hoping the vibes turn out right. It’s about giving AI strict rules to play by.

4. Humans are still the gatekeepers

Even if AI writes 80% of the code, nothing gets merged until real developers approve it. AI might suggest reviews, but humans hold the pen on quality.

Ownership never leaves the team.

5. Safety nets: staging before prod

Everything runs through staging before going live. The vibes might feel instant, but no feature skips the safety checks.

This is how you avoid late-night “why is prod down?” messages.

6. The payoff

Done this way, vibe coding can cut delivery times by around 30%.
The creative work moves faster, the boilerplate disappears, and engineers keep control.

The result is speed without losing quality.

So… is that really vibe coding?

Here’s the funny part: if you plan everything this much, is it even vibes anymore?

Someone online joked:

“If you plan everything ahead of time, are you even vibe coding?”

Fair point. But in practice, the vibes aren’t random. They’re structured.

My takeaway

Real vibe coding isn’t magic. It’s a blend of:

• Engineering rigor (docs, reviews, staging)
• AI acceleration (scaffolding, tests, boilerplate)
• Human judgment (quality, creativity, ownership)

The vibes are real. But underneath, it’s still engineering—just faster, smoother, and maybe a little more fun.