What Is Vibe Coding?
Vibe coding is a way of building software by working with AI instead of typing everything by hand. Instead of manually writing functions, setting up boilerplate, or debugging edge-case errors, the coder interacts with an AI through natural language prompts.
Think of it like this: the human describes what they want in a sentence or two, and the AI translates that into code. The coder’s role shifts from writing every line, to guiding the AI, testing what it produces, and refining the results.
For some, it’s a shortcut to productivity. For others, especially non-traditional devs, it opens doors that would’ve required months or years of learning.
Done well, it’s flow state meets functional product. That’s the vibe.
Do I consider myself a vibe coder? To a degree, yes.
To me, that it means momentum. It means frictionless problem-solving, minimum setup, and maximum flow. No bloated dependencies, no dead ends, no yak-shaving. Just: idea → prototype → release.
But lately, I’ve been hitting a wall.
The promise of AI coding tools like Bolt.new, Cursor.dev, and Lovable.dev was that they’d amplify that flow. Speed it up. Remove the heavy lifting. But in reality? For no-code/low-code builders like me, they often do the opposite.
Let me explain.
The Dream: Fast, Friction-Free Micro SaaS Builds
I’m not trying to build the next Google. I’m building small, useful, shippable products. Micro SaaS, internal tools, chrome extensions, niche generators. I want to get an idea out of my head and into a working demo fast.
But I also want to trust the tools I’m using — and more often than not, that trust breaks down.
Bolt.new: A Good Idea Buried in Bloat
Recently, I used Bolt.new to build my first Chrome Extension. I’d already tried connecting GPT to Make.com for it, but the Make connection was fragile and glitchy. So I thought: let Bolt take over.
Initially, it felt promising. Bolt scaffolded the project and structured a decent first version.
But then… it suggested adding Supabase.
I didn’t ask for Supabase. I didn’t need a backend. I just needed a basic frontend JS extension that pinged a webhook. But now, because Bolt thought it was being helpful, I had a full Supabase integration that didn’t solve any of my problems — it just introduced new ones.
Project: dead in the water.
Same story with a retro 404 page generator I tried to build. I wanted a fun, stylised generator users could share. Bolt gave me a static page, and no matter how I prompted it, it refused to go further. That project’s still sitting in limbo.
Cursor.dev: Refactor Overload
After Bolt generated the initial version of my Chrome Extension, I thought: let me check the structure. Enter: Cursor.dev.
Cursor’s pitch is clean: AI-native IDE with code completion, refactor suggestions, project overview.
Sounds great, right?
Except it kept adding more files. And more suggestions. And rewriting perfectly functional logic. It was like handing your half-finished painting to someone who keeps repainting your brush strokes without asking.
Refactor suggestions were flying out of every orifice. My clean idea became a mess.
Claude.ai: 10 Minutes to Done
Out of sheer frustration, I moved over to Claude.ai. I’m on the free plan, so I expected limits.
And yet? Claude told me what I really needed: three or four simple files. It wrote them. Explained the structure. Helped me test. Done.
Same extension. Same goal. Less than 10 minutes.
Compared to hours of Bolt and Cursor, Claude just got out of the way. No extra frameworks. No unnecessary dependencies. No hallucinations.
It just vibed with the task.
When Flow Breaks Completely
There’s one project I keep returning to — and restarting: my SEO Agent.
I got it working. Uploaded to GitHub. Took a breather. Came back to continue building and… nothing worked anymore. Not because of any real bug, but because platform changes, file mismatches, and AI tools adding layers I never asked for made it unmaintainable.
It was easier to start from scratch than to fix what these tools had decided I needed.
That’s not vibe coding. That’s vibe killing.
Building Directories with AI: The New Shiny That Rarely Sticks
I’m also part of a wider community of directory builders — people building everything from local guides to niche marketplaces. Naturally, there’s always a buzz about the latest shiny AI tool that promises to make directory-building effortless.
There are some seriously cool options out there that claim to let you build full directories with AI in record time. And sure, some of them are genuinely impressive — at first. But what usually happens? Most people drop them and go back to WordPress.
Why? Because it’s just easier. It’s more flexible. And when it comes to SEO, WordPress still wins hands down. You can control your meta data, sitemaps, URL structures — all of it — without fighting the system. It works straight out of the box.
AI tools try to shortcut that, but often leave you with something that’s visually slick but a nightmare to maintain, grow, or rank in Google.
So the shiny new AI thing gets abandoned. Again.
The Truth About AI Coding Tools for Non-Coders
These platforms claim you don’t need to be a coder.
But honestly? You do.
You need to:
Understand file structure
Know what you actually want (and don’t want)
Recognise when a suggestion is wrong
Manually clean up the mess when tools hallucinate too much
If you don’t know how coding works, these tools will eat you alive.
They’ll promise to turn your idea into a product, but the reality is that you’ll:
Spend hours troubleshooting phantom issues
Watch AI introduce unnecessary complexity
Hit dead ends when tools won’t follow instructions
My Stack Now: Simpler Is Better
Right now, here’s what I use:
Roadmap with Perplexity.ai — To explore approaches, compare frameworks, and sanity-check ideas
Code with Claude.ai — Because it listens. It doesn’t jump the gun. It works with you.
Everything else? Honestly feels like overkill.
Are These Tools Killing Creativity?
Maybe.
The dream of “build anything with AI” has backfired for a lot of people.
People are giving up. They think their idea doesn’t work — but the truth is, the tools don’t know how to interpret the idea properly. And they certainly don’t explain why things break.
So what happens? You lose momentum. You lose trust. You stop creating.
That’s the death of vibe coding.
But There’s Hope: Learn First, Then Build
I think a new kind of community is emerging — one that’s learning how to use these tools properly, and pushing them to do better.
If you’re new, here’s my advice:
Forget the big flashy tools. Start with the basics.
Use Claude. Use Perplexity. Read the docs. Understand the core. Then decide what you really need to build — and don’t let AI overcomplicate it for you.
TL;DR — What I’ve Learned
Bolt.new: Useful for fast scaffolding, but often adds unnecessary tech that ruins flow
Cursor.dev: Great IDE, but too eager to refactor and rewrite without context
Lovable.dev: Promising, but can hide logic to the point that debugging becomes impossible
Claude.ai + Perplexity.ai: Best for clean, fast building if you know what you’re asking
Resources
Make.com – Great if you understand its quirks
Final Thought:
AI tools should amplify vibe coding — not sabotage it. The minute they stop being helpful and start inserting themselves into your creative process unnecessarily, it’s time to simplify.
Code with flow. Build with trust. Keep it simple.
