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Brad Frost
Vibe code is legacy code | Val Town Blog
Vibe code is legacy code | Val Town Blog

Vibe code is legacy code. There's some great stuff in this article

When you vibe code, you are incurring tech debt as fast as the LLM can spit it out. Which is why vibe coding is perfect for prototypes and throwaway projects: It's only legacy code if you have to maintain it!

Like everything, there is nuance that needs to be considered. I love the comparison to giving a child a credit card.

The worst possible situation is to have a non-programmer vibe code a large project that they intend to maintain. This would be the equivalent of giving a credit card to a child without first explaining the concept of debt. As you can imagine, the first phase is ecstatic. I can wave this little piece of plastic in stores and take whatever I want! Which is a lot like AI can build anything now! Nobody needs to learn how to code! Look at what it just made for me! But if you wait a month, you'll get the credit card bill. Did I actually need to buy all those things? How will I get myself out of this hole?

Brad Frost Hey there! Brad Frost brad@bradfrost.com

I'm Brad Frost, an independent creator, web designer & developer, teacher, speaker, writer, musician, and artist based in Pittsburgh, PA.

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