# What is vibe coding?

German title: Was ist Vibe Coding?

By [Manfred Sulzmann](/about), Munich Media · As of 24 October 2026

According to Merriam-Webster, vibe coding means generating program code with an AI system. The term presumably comes from a post by Andrej Karpathy on 2 February 2025. It is a way of working, not a framework. Whoever publishes the result remains responsible for the generated code.

Originpresumably Andrej Karpathy, 2 February 2025
Kinda way of working, not a framework
DictionaryMerriam-Webster, classified as slang
Recommendationreview the generated code, and keep a backup

“Vibe coding gives speed. Without a backup and without a look at the generated code, that speed is only a risk.”

Assessment by Manfred Sulzmann, founder, Munich Media

## Origin of the term

Merriam-Webster defines vibe coding as “the act or practice of using an artificial intelligence system to generate computer code in a given programming language” and dates the earliest documented use to 2025. The term presumably comes from a post by Andrej Karpathy on X on 2 February 2025, in which he describes a kind of programming where you rely entirely on the feel and barely look at the code. The dictionary classifies the entry as slang.

The Questera source quotes the post as “There's a new kind of coding I call 'vibe coding'” (wording at second hand; the original post was not retrieved directly).

## How to place it

Vibe coding is not a programming language and not a product. It describes how you work with an AI assistant: the goal is stated in natural language, the assistant generates code, and the person steers by the result.

## Responsibility and review (author’s recommendation)

- Set the goal: What should the page or the function do?

- Review: Read and test the generated code before it goes live. Whoever cannot read it cannot take responsibility for it.

- Backup: Save a fallback version before every change.

Whoever publishes the result remains responsible for the generated code. That is a practical recommendation, not evidence from a study.

## Not documented

The original post on X was not retrieved directly in this review; the date and the wording rest on two secondary sources, and Merriam-Webster phrases the authorship as “presumably”. No statements are made about how widespread vibe coding is or about its quality.

## Sources

- Merriam-Webster: vibe coding (secondary source)

- Questera: The History of Vibe Coding (quotes Karpathy’s post of 2 Feb 2025) (secondary source)

Checked on 24 October 2026.

## Questions

Is vibe coding a programming language?

No. It describes a way of working with an AI assistant, not a syntax.

Who coined the term?

Presumably Andrej Karpathy, in a post on X on 2 February 2025. That is documented through Merriam-Webster and a second secondary source; I did not retrieve the original post.

What should be checked before publishing?

The generated code should be read and tested, and there should be a fallback version. That is a practical recommendation of the author.

Who is responsible for the generated code?

Whoever publishes the result remains responsible for it. That is the author’s assessment; this report does not give a legal evaluation.

How widespread is vibe coding?

This report makes no statement on that; there are no checked figures.

## Questions

### Is vibe coding a programming language?

No. It describes a way of working with an AI assistant, not a syntax.

### Who coined the term?

Presumably Andrej Karpathy, in a post on X on 2 February 2025. That is documented through Merriam-Webster and a second secondary source; I did not retrieve the original post.

### What should be checked before publishing?

The generated code should be read and tested, and there should be a fallback version. That is a practical recommendation of the author.

### Who is responsible for the generated code?

Whoever publishes the result remains responsible for it. That is the author’s assessment; this report does not give a legal evaluation.

### How widespread is vibe coding?

This report makes no statement on that; there are no checked figures.

## Related

- [Core Web Vitals & performance](https://munichmedia.com/reports/core-web-vitals-performance.md)
- [Web engineering](https://munichmedia.com/glossary/web-engineering.md)

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