‘Vibe coding’ your own apps with Al is easy! 7 tools and tricks to get started

Want to code your own scripts and apps using Al? Here’s some guidance to get you started off on the right foot.

- BY MATTHEW S. SMITH

Vibe coding is programming by gut feel. You have an idea for a tool, a website, or a repetitive task you want to automate... but instead of enrolling in a coding boot camp or slogging through YouTube tutorials, you fire up an artificial intelligence chatbot and have it write the code for you.

This Al-driven approach to creative coding has exploded in popularity over the past year or two—chiefly because it works. People are building genuinely useful stuff without even knowing what a variable is. I've been vibe coding my own apps with Al (fave. co/3TAXmSL) and I'm absolutely loving it, despite being a relative newbie to coding.

But most advice about Al-assisted programming still assumes you want to become a “real” programmer eventually. Because of that, the advice tends to steer you toward professional tools that are overkill for simple projects. You need a different—and easier—approach.

Here's what you really need to start vibe coding your own stuff right now, without any of the BS that only complicates matters.

An Al-driven code editor can be powerful, but it's overkill for an amateur vibe coder. This one starts at $15 per month after a two-week trial.

USE AN AI CHATBOT, NOT AN AI-ASSISTED IDE

Your first instinct might be to use an Al-assisted integrated development environment (IDE), one you've heard is good for vibe coding, like Windsurf, Cursor, or even Claude Code (which technically isn't an IDE, but that's besides the point). All of these tools are built for Al coding, so they're the best place to start, right?