Stories from the vibe code frontier
Insights, learnings, and playbooks for turning vibe-code & no-code applications into resilient products that scale.
Technical Co‑Founder: When You Need One (And What to Expect)
AI can build fast, but technical leadership still matters. Learn when to look for a technical co‑founder, what they bring, and realistic expectations for equity and roles.
Read storyCodebase Health Check: Know the State of Your AI‑Generated App
A health check shows whether your app is easy to change and safe to launch. Learn what to review, what good looks like, and how to improve without pausing delivery.
Read storyEmergency Technical Rescue: How to Fix Critical Issues Fast
When your app is down or data is at risk, you need a calm triage plan. Use this guide to stop the bleeding, restore stability, and prevent repeats.
Read storyMVP to Production Migration: How to Turn a Demo into a Dependable App
Your MVP works in a demo, but production asks for more. Use this step‑by‑step plan to harden an AI‑generated app without losing momentum.
Read storyRefactoring: When to Clean Up (And When to Rewrite)
Refactoring makes your AI‑generated app easier to change without altering what it does. Learn when to refactor, when to rewrite, and how to keep shipping while you improve.
Read storyCode Audit: What It Catches (And When to Get One)
A code audit gives you a clear picture of risks and opportunities in your AI‑generated or vibe‑coded app. Learn what a good audit covers and when it’s worth it.
Read storyTailwind CSS: Why AI Uses It (And How to Keep Your UI Readable)
Tailwind makes generated UIs fast to assemble, but it can get noisy. Learn how to use Tailwind in AI‑generated apps without sacrificing clarity or consistency.
Read storyVercel: Why AI‑Coded Apps Launch Here (And How to Avoid Deploy Surprises)
Vercel makes it easy to ship Next.js apps fast. Learn how to use it well with AI app generation, common deployment pitfalls, and a short checklist for a calm launch.
Read storySupabase: Why AI‑Generated Apps Often Choose It (And How to Use It Well)
Supabase offers auth, data, and storage with minimal setup. Learn how it helps vibe‑coding teams move fast, common pitfalls, and a few habits that keep your app stable.
Read storyNext.js: Why AI Tools Love It (And What Founders Should Know)
Next.js is the default choice for many AI app generators. Learn why, the gotchas to watch for, and how to keep your Next.js app reliable as you grow.
Read storybase44: Rapid AI Prototyping — When It Helps and When to Move On
base44 promises quick app generation and easy iteration. Learn when to use it to test ideas, where its limits show up, and how to graduate to a longer‑term setup.
Read storyWindsurf: When to Choose Codeium’s AI‑Native IDE
Windsurf blends an AI chat, multi‑file edits, and an IDE in one tool. Learn where it fits compared to Cursor, Copilot, and Claude Code for AI‑first development.
Read storyReplit: When a Browser‑Based Workspace Helps You Ship Faster
Replit makes it easy to build and share apps from a browser. Learn where it fits in a vibe‑coding toolkit and how to use it alongside AI app generation.
Read storyLovable (formerly GPT Engineer): How to Use It Well
Lovable can generate a full‑stack app from a prompt. Learn when to use it, the gaps to expect, and a simple plan to turn a Lovable draft into a product users trust.
Read storyOpenAI Codex: What It Started (And Where It Fits Now)
Codex ushered in code generation at scale. See how it influenced GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and today’s AI app generation tools—and what that means for founders building with vibe‑coding.
Read storyClaude Code: When a Terminal‑First AI Developer Makes Sense
Claude Code feels like a terminal‑first AI developer. Learn when to use it alongside Cursor and Copilot, and how it helps non‑technical teams ship dependable apps.
Read storyGitHub Copilot: Where It Helps (And Where It Doesn’t)
Copilot suggests code as you type. Learn when it accelerates AI‑first development and vibe‑coding, where it falls short, and how to pair it with other tools to ship faster.
Read storyBolt.new: What It Generates (And How to Make It Stick)
Bolt.new promises a full app from a prompt. See what it builds well, the gaps you should expect, and a simple plan to turn a Bolt prototype into a working product people can trust.
Read storyv0 by Vercel: What It Builds Best (And Where It Struggles)
v0 turns prompts into polished UI components fast. Learn the best uses for v0 in vibe‑coding and AI‑first development, its limits, and how to turn v0 output into a working product.
Read storyCursor: When to Use the AI‑First Editor (And When Not To)
Cursor is an AI‑first editor that helps you build by describing outcomes instead of wiring every detail. Learn when Cursor shines for vibe‑coding and no‑code founders, where it struggles, and how to ship reliable apps with it.
Read storyProduction Readiness Checklist: Is Your AI‑Generated App Ready to Launch?
A demo isn’t a launch. Use this short checklist to make sure your vibe‑coded or no‑code app is ready for real users.
Read storyScalability: When to Think About Scale for AI‑Generated Apps
Don’t optimize too early—optimize when growth demands it. Learn the signs your app needs to scale and the simple steps that prepare you without slowing MVP progress.
Read storyProduct‑Market Fit: Technical Decisions That Help You Find It
Speed matters before product‑market fit, but so does reliability. Make a few smart technical choices so you can iterate quickly without losing trust.
Read storyMVP (Minimum Viable Product): How to Scope and Ship with AI App Generation
An MVP should prove value fast, not do everything. Use AI app generation to build only what matters, launch earlier, and learn from users.
Read storyRegression Testing: Prevent New Bugs When You Update Your App
Fix one thing, break another? Regression tests catch those surprises so updates don’t undo what already works.
Read storyIntegration Testing: Make Features Work Together in Your AI‑Coded App
It’s not enough for pages to work alone—they must work together. Integration tests confirm real user journeys keep working as you ship new features.
Read storyTest Coverage: How Much Testing Your AI‑Coded App Needs
You don’t need tests for everything, but you do need enough to catch bugs before users do. Here’s how much coverage makes sense for AI‑generated apps.
Read storyCode Review: Why Human Review Still Matters for AI‑Generated Apps
AI builds fast, but a quick human pass catches what models miss. Learn what a good review looks for and how to add it without slowing momentum.
Read storySpaghetti Code: Why Tangled Logic Slows Features (And How to Clean It Up)
If you can’t follow how a feature works, you probably have spaghetti code. Untangle it with a few practical steps so adding features stops feeling risky.
Read storyCode Smell: Signs Your AI‑Generated Code Needs Attention
Your app works, but something feels off. Learn the early warning signs—‘code smells’—that suggest it’s time to tidy up before bugs and delays hit users.
Read storyTechnical Debt: Why Your AI‑Generated App Gets Harder to Change
Quick wins pile up until changes slow down. Learn what technical debt is, why AI‑generated apps collect it faster, and how to pay it down without stopping feature work.
Read storyApp State Gone Wild: Why Data Disappears (And How to Stabilize Your App)
If data disappears, duplicates, or behaves unpredictably, your app state is drifting. Learn how to make screens consistent so users trust what they see.
Read storyLogin System That Almost Works: Fix Auth in Vibe‑Coded and No‑Code Apps
If sign‑in succeeds once and fails later, or password reset and social login behave inconsistently, use this approach to make authentication reliable for real users.
Read storyThird‑Party Integration Won’t Connect: A Founder’s Guide to Fixing Stripe, Email, and Auth
When Stripe, SendGrid, Auth0, or a custom API won’t connect, your app stalls. Use this checklist to get integrations working in vibe‑coded and no‑code apps without guesswork.
Read storyFeature Breaks Everything: Why One Change Broke Your App (And How to Fix It)
Added a feature and three others stopped working? Learn why this happens in vibe‑coded and no‑code apps and how to add updates without breaking what users already rely on.
Read storyCORS Errors: Blocked by Browser? How to Let Your App Talk to Your API
If your browser blocks your vibe‑coded app from talking to its backend, you’re seeing a CORS error. Here’s what that means and how to fix it.
Read storyDatabase Out of Sync: Why Your App and Data Don’t Match
If your live app expects data that isn’t there, or a page breaks for new users only, your database is out of sync. Here’s a plain‑English way to spot the issue and bring your app and data back together.
Read storyBuild Errors: Why Your App Fails to Build (And What to Do Next)
When a vibe‑coded or no‑code project won’t build, you can still make progress. Learn what build errors mean and how to get back to a working, shareable app.
Read storyMismatched Configs: Dev Works, Production Breaks — How to Fix It
When your vibe‑coded or no‑code app works on your laptop but behaves differently online, you’re likely dealing with mismatched configs. Use this simple approach to align settings and keep user flows working.
Read storyDeployment Failure: Why Your AI‑Coded App Won’t Go Live (And How to Fix It)
Your app works locally but refuses to go live. Learn the common causes of deployment failure in vibe‑coded and no‑code projects, plus a simple checklist to get from ‘it runs here’ to a working, shareable link.
Read storyBreaking Changes: How to Add Features Without Breaking What Works
New features should not break old ones. Learn how vibe‑coding and AI app generation can introduce breaking changes—and how to keep your app stable while you ship.
Read storyZombie Code: Why Deleted Features Keep Coming Back
Removed a feature only to see it reappear later? That’s zombie code. Learn why it happens in vibe‑coded and no‑code projects and how to keep old ideas from haunting your app.
Read storyCopy‑Paste Hell: Fix Repeated Screens Before They Bite
Seeing the same screen copied in three places? That’s copy‑paste hell. Learn how to spot repetition in vibe‑coded and no‑code apps, reduce bugs, and make future changes easier to ship.
Read storyPrompt Drift: When Your AI Forgets the Plan
If your vibe‑coded or no‑code app keeps changing direction, you’re dealing with prompt drift. Learn how to restate goals, anchor decisions, and keep AI app generation moving toward a working product.
Read storyAI Coding Loop: How to Stop Spinning and Ship
Stuck in an AI coding loop where changes pile up but your no‑code or vibe‑coded app isn’t getting closer to launch? Learn the signs, the causes, and simple steps to break the cycle and ship a working product.
Read storyAI‑First Development: Build Faster with Vibe‑Coding and No‑Code Tools
AI‑first development uses AI app generation to ship MVPs quickly. Learn when to apply it, which tools to use, and how to turn drafts into dependable software.
Read storyWhat Is Vibe‑Coding? AI‑Generated Apps for No‑Code Founders
Vibe‑coding uses AI app generation to turn plain‑language prompts into working apps. See how tools like Cursor, Claude Code, and Lovable help non‑technical founders ship real MVPs fast.
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