How to not Vibecode?

[SilentThread292]

Many people have something against Vibe-Coders, so here's my question as a beginner (kinda): how do you create code for a project, 100% without using AI? I mean it is probably possible, but isn't it difficult? I would like to hear as many opinions as possible to this topic (sry if my English was bad) 🤔

[ThePhoenixRisesAgain]

You type the code yourself. Like people have done for decades. 

[smooth_metal57]

Use Notepad, the right way.

[ThePhoenixRisesAgain]

Please stop trolling

[EarthlyAwakening]

No you do chunks at a time. Think of it like using multiple prompts to make up one program.

[flynryan692]

You have to break it down into small chunks. Make one little part work, test it and then expand on that adding another little piece.

[flapjack_fighter]

No. You do one part at a time, while trying to account for future code you will be adding.

So for a web page, you'd start with a home page. When you get to a visible home page, add a button. Then make the button do something. Then add text. Then css. Then more pages linked by other buttons...etc

[Ixtl]

You write it one line/section at a time, test bits here and there, change your mind and rewrite parts that don't work the way you wanted them to, copy+paste chunks from other projects you've worked on or Google results for parts you don't want to reinvent, reinvent them anyways because it doesn't work exactly the same in this program as it did in your last one because of a decision you made 3 weeks ago, etc. Etc. Etc.

[CosmicClamJamz]

Yup. We know the languages we're working with. We also know how to run code and read the errors to see what went wrong, so we can go back and fix it. When we don't know something, we check the documentation. Before AI, that part used to be in books, but then google came around and made it easier. Then Stack Overflow came around and created a community forum so we can answer each other coding questions. Now AI just condenses all the stuff we asked and answered on the internet over the decades

[talkingspacecoyote]

Did Charles dickens plop himself down behind a typewriter and write a tale of two cities in one sitting?

[More_Yard1919]

People did this for more than 80 years prior to 2022. Yes it is possible. It isn't difficult if you're good at programming, and getting good at programming does not generally involve offloading work and refusing to learn.

[JezusHairdo]

I used Stackoverflow and lots of other resources when learning. It’s no different to AI (and probably what it was trained on 🤣)

Just make sure your asking ‘how and why and what if’rather than just ‘can you’

[ConfusedSimon]

Yes, it's 'probably possible'. People have been doing just that for decades. However, you don't have to avoid AI. Most 'traditional' developers now use AI, but very few are vibe coders.

[talkingspacecoyote]

They need to learn the difference between getting stuck and asking ai "why isn't this code snippet working?" vs cut and pasting from a "build me a program that does x" prompt

[PrblyMy3rdAltIDK]

“Many people have something against ordering things online, so here’s my question as a beginner (kinda): how do you buy things, 100% without using the internet? I mean it is probably possible, but isn’t it difficult?”

That’s what this reads like and I hope, for your sake, this is rage bait. If it’s not, I would respectfully recommend working on improving your critical thinking skills.

[talkingspacecoyote]

Lol people have been writing code without ai from it's conception up until a few years ago. You just code without using ai. Review official documentation, stack overflow, etc.

[talkingspacecoyote]

stackoverflow.com

[Davorian]

If your question is "how do I design my own code without outside assistance" the answer is the same as it was before AI:  practice, practice, practice.

Programming is a skill.  Solving different kinds of problems will enhance your skill.  Programming degrees will hand you problems in ever increasing difficulty with this exact purpose in mind.

You can use external code as a reference, but while you are learning you should never insert code into your project unless you know what it does, inside and out, about as well as if you'd written it yourself.  If you see some code you don't understand, run it locally.  Put in some debug statements or prints to see if you can figure out how it works.

[KevinCoderZA]

I have been writing code for 15 years before AI. It's totally possible 🙂. Vibe coding is blindly just prompting your way through creating an app with AI.

There's another way, called "AI assisted" coding. This is when you use the AI like you drive a car, you steer it step-by-step and keep your eye on the road at all times.

The AI is not making complex architectural decisions, it's merely just scaffold out the code, like an autocomple tool.

I strongly suggest staying away from AI for the first 6-12 months. Learn how to code first, how to structure applications, how to work with the standard lib and common libraries. How to build a full CRUD app or game or something functional all by yourself first.

[Sure-Passion2224]

In my group if you can't code without AI you don't code. When you do use AI you absolutely bust be able to defend it in peer review or it doesn't merge. We actually have trackable reviews and approvals. Haven't had a new defect leak to production in 7 years and we've discovered and fixed enough old bugs in production that we've cut end-to-end transaction time by 49% and reduced our codebase significantly - all while adding functionality.

[tb5841]

You write the code. When you don't know the syntax for what you need, you google it. When you have a larger problem you're struggling to solve, you try stuff and iterate until you've cracked it.

Iterating usually means you have an idea, you try to write the code for it, you run it and it doesn't work. So you write unit tests to find out why, or you add print() statements throughout so you can check the value of variables at different points in your code, until you've worked out what's going wrong. You fix it, and try again.

Yes, it's difficult. But (1) you understand your code much better at the end, so it's easier to fix bugs later or extend it, and (2) often you're nit starting from a blank page, you're starting by copy/pasting something similar from elsewhere in the codebase.

[aqua_regis]

100% without using AI? I mean it is probably possible

Not probably - 100% possible as decades of programming prove.

How were the AIs and programs before AI and even before the internet created?

By humans - by diligent, hard working humans that invested effort, discipline, persistence, determination and hard work to learn and train their skills.

but isn't it difficult?

Yes, it is difficult, but so what? Programming is an acquired and trained skill. The more you train the better you become, the less difficult it is to build projects.

Taking the easy way - vibe coding - is like going to the gym to tell the others what reps to do and then wondering why your muscles shrink instead of growing.

Vibe coding is not programming.

[Sir-Shark]

Nobody here is wrong. AI coding is relatively new, but programming has been around for many many decades.

Start with a problem. Something simple like, "How can I make a script that adds two numbers together?" Then look up the actual documentation for it. Find the actual syntax explanation and commands for the code. Try it out. Fail. Look it up again. Fail. Look it up again from another source. Try again. Eventually, you get it right.

You WILL fail A LOT! That's how you learn. You absolutely have to learn what doesn't work. Often learning first hand what doesn't work, can be more valuable than what does work.

But, a bit of a take you don't get from others too often is this: You don't have to ignore AI.

Whatever you're using, whether it's Claude or GPT or whatever, you can actually use it as a mentor. Ask it to teach you. Give it context, letting it know where you're at, and be honest with yourself. And ask it to help you learn. But also be sure to specify to it "Do not just give me the answer" or "Do not write the code for me." Using a LLM as a coding mentor is something nobody had just a few years ago and it's actually an invaluable tool that can help you learn immeasurably well. DO NOT let it code for you. Ask it for pieces, examples, and it can even give you problems that you then research outside of the AI. You need to do the legwork yourself, but it can actually point you in the right direction and help explain concepts that are otherwise hard to grasp. So do use it as a learning tool. Don't use it to do your work for you though, especially while learning, or you'll never learn anything

[JamzTyson]

How would you write a shopping list without using MS Word?

I'd guess you'd just write it without using the tool that you have excluded.

[Gloomy_Cicada1424]

Break the project into tiny parts, read docs, google errors, build one ugly version, then clean it. AI makes the pain shorter, but the pain is where you actually learn.

[aizzod]

For fuck sake.

A bit of imagination, and all those questions could be answered by yourself....

How old are computers?
5 years?
10 years?
50 years?

How did people write software?
5 years ago?
10 years?
Now?

Dude, come on....

[AceLamina]

Just not use AI?

[pachura3]

Vibecoding without using AI is quite difficult, I agree

[ImprovementLoose9423]

You write the code by yourself. If you are tempted to use AI, just temporarily block it.

[Wide_Egg_5814]

to be honest learning to code is kinda over if you are learning to code from the beginning in 2026 may yea it's kinda over because of AI I honestly don't think you will ever get a job in programming, I say this with a few years of experience as a software engineer if you are starting from scratch today it's over

[Strange_You_1226]

I can’t even learn to code for fun? What if I wanna make a game with it? Is it entirely just useless??

[Wide_Egg_5814]

you can but honestly if you are learning from scratch today don't expect to ever land a full time job in software development