"Vibe coding" isn't a formal term in programming, but it's often used informally in tech circles or social media to describe a relaxed, flowy, or creative style of writing code. Here's a breakdown of what people usually mean by it:
Vibe coding refers to a casual, intuitive, and sometimes spontaneous way of coding where you're deeply in the zone (or "in the vibe"). It’s when you're:
Not following a strict plan.
Just letting ideas flow freely.
Experimenting with code, UI, design, logic—whatever sparks your interest.
Enjoying the process, not stressing the structure.
You’re coding with music in the background (lo-fi, synthwave, chill beats are popular).
You might not be following best practices strictly — and that’s okay for now.
You’re exploring an idea, a prototype, or a design.
You’re often driven by inspiration or a problem you want to solve.
It’s about creativity over correctness (at least at first).
Helps get into the flow state.
Encourages exploration and creativity.
Great for prototyping or starting a project.
Makes coding feel less like work and more like play.
A front-end dev redesigning a homepage layout with Tailwind and just trying out what looks good.
A backend dev spinning up a quick Flask or FastAPI app to test an idea.
A data scientist just jamming in a Jupyter notebook with some fun datasets.
Vibe coding = You + code + creativity + chill energy. No rules, just flow.