Vibe coding: what enterprises need to know

A new approach to software development has rapidly gained attention across the tech industry. "Vibe coding" promises to democratize software creation by allowing anyone to build applications using natural language prompts, with AI handling all the technical complexity behind the scenes.

While this represents an exciting shift in how software can be created, enterprises considering vibe coding for business-critical applications should understand both the opportunities and the fundamental limitations of this approach.

What is vibe coding?

Vibe coding refers to creating software purely through natural language prompts, where large language models (LLMs) generate all the code. The key characteristic is that users typically accept what the AI generates without fully understanding the underlying code structure.

The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy, a former research scientist and founding member of OpenAI, in February 2025. In his description, vibe coding represents the far right of what he calls the "autonomy slider" in AI-assisted development—where AI is essentially given full freedom to develop as it sees fit with limited human oversight.

As Karpathy explained: "It's not really coding - I just see stuff, say stuff, run stuff, and copy paste stuff, and it mostly works."

This approach differs from AI-powered coding assistants that help developers understand large codebases and write code faster. Instead, vibe coding targets users who wouldn't typically be considered developers—often called citizen developers—who want to create something they wouldn't otherwise have the means to build.

Who is vibe coding for?

Vibe coding primarily appeals to non-technical users who want to quickly create functional applications without learning traditional programming. This includes business users, entrepreneurs, and anyone with an idea for an app but no coding background.

The natural language interface makes software creation accessible to a much broader audience. Instead of learning programming syntax, users can describe what they want in plain English and watch their ideas come to life.

Technical users also leverage vibe coding, particularly for rapid prototyping or working in programming languages they're less familiar with. The speed of iteration can be compelling for quick experiments or proof-of-concept projects.

Where can I do vibe coding?

Vibe coding tools fall into two main categories:

Web-based platforms like Lovable, Bolt.new, Replit, and Databutton are designed for quickly creating new projects from scratch. These platforms are oriented around natural language prompts and can generate fully-functional web applications with databases, user interfaces, and basic business logic.

Code editors like Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and Claude Code integrate AI assistance into traditional development environments. While primarily focused on developer productivity, these tools also enable vibe coding through their agent-based implementations.

The web-based tools target non-developers and simple use cases, while code editors focus on enhancing existing developer workflows but can support vibe coding approaches.

What are the benefits of vibe coding?

Vibe coding offers several compelling advantages that explain its rapid adoption:

Speed of initial development - Creating a working prototype can happen in minutes rather than weeks. For simple applications like basic CRUD interfaces or straightforward business tools, vibe coding can deliver functional results almost immediately.

Accessibility - The natural language interface removes the barrier of learning programming languages, opening software creation to business users, entrepreneurs, and domain experts who understand their needs but lack technical skills.

Rapid iteration - Testing ideas and making changes can be as simple as describing modifications in plain language, enabling quick experimentation and validation.

Low initial cost - Getting started requires minimal investment compared to hiring developers or learning to code, making it attractive for small projects and proof-of-concept work.

These benefits make vibe coding particularly appealing for weekend projects, simple business tools, and initial prototypes where speed and accessibility matter more than long-term maintainability.

What are the challenges with vibe coding for enterprises?

While vibe coding excels at rapid prototyping, several fundamental challenges limit its viability for enterprise software development.

Accountability and governance gaps

When code is generated without human understanding, critical questions arise: Who is responsible when the application fails? Who ensures compliance with organizational or regulatory frameworks? Who validates that security requirements are met?

In enterprises, clear accountability chains are non-negotiable, especially for business-critical processes. Generated code creates a gap between the business user who requested the functionality and the technical implementation they cannot evaluate or maintain.

Hidden technical debt and unknown unknowns

Generated code often contains inefficiencies, security vulnerabilities, and architectural anti-patterns that compound over time. Without understanding the code structure, users cannot refactor, optimize, or secure it effectively.

What starts as a quick win becomes an unmaintainable liability that eventually requires a complete rebuild. The hidden nature of this technical debt means problems only surface when applications move from prototype to production use, often at the worst possible time.

Maintenance and evolution challenges

When business requirements change—as they always do—modifying vibe-coded applications becomes exponentially difficult. Without understanding the original code structure, even simple changes risk breaking existing functionality or requiring extensive rewrites.

This leads to a pattern of abandoning and rebuilding rather than iterating and improving. For enterprises that need applications to evolve over years, this approach becomes unsustainable.

Enterprise requirements

Enterprise applications must handle complex requirements that vibe coding struggles to address:

Complex business logic - Multi-step approval processes, conditional workflows, and nuanced business rules are difficult to express through natural language alone. Vibe coding tools often produce oversimplified solutions that don't capture enterprise process requirements.

Integration complexity - Enterprise applications rarely exist in isolation. They must integrate with existing systems, respect established data schemas, and handle complex authentication scenarios. Generated integration code often works for simple scenarios but breaks under real-world conditions.

Performance at scale - Code generated without consideration for performance often fails under production loads. Database queries may be inefficient, API calls might lack proper caching, and resource usage can spiral out of control.

Security and compliance - Enterprise applications must implement role-based access controls, maintain audit trails, and handle sensitive data appropriately. Vibe coding tools typically generate code without these considerations, creating significant security risks.

Predictable development lifecycle - Enterprises need separate development, testing, and production environments with controlled deployment processes, monitoring capabilities, and support structures. Most vibe coding tools provide simplified workflows designed for individual developers, not enterprise development processes.

How is vibe coding different from no-code?

While both vibe coding and no-code platforms aim to democratize software development, they take fundamentally different approaches:

Code generation vs. visual development - Vibe coding generates traditional code that users typically don't read or understand. No-code platforms use visual development environments where all logic, data models, and workflows remain visible and modifiable.

Transparency - In no-code platforms, you can see and understand every component of your application. With vibe coding, the underlying implementation is hidden, making debugging and modification challenging.

Long-term maintainability - No-code applications can be evolved, debugged, and enhanced over time because all components remain visible and editable. Vibe-coded applications often require rebuilding when significant changes are needed.

Enterprise capabilities - Established no-code platforms include the infrastructure enterprises need: multi-environment management, role-based access controls, audit trails, backup procedures, and professional support structures.

Governance - No-code platforms provide clear governance models with defined user roles, change tracking, and accountability. Vibe coding creates governance gaps when AI-generated code requires maintenance or troubleshooting.

The Appfarm approach: conversational development with enterprise control

At Appfarm, we believe the future lies in combining the speed and accessibility of conversational development with the transparency, control, and enterprise capabilities that business-critical applications require.

Our approach delivers both the natural language interface that makes vibe coding appealing and the visual transparency that makes applications governable and maintainable.

Get notified when Appfarm AI launches on October 9 →

Build applications by describing them - With Appfarm AI's Agent mode, you can build applications using natural language, just like vibe coding tools. Describe your business process in plain English and watch a working application appear.

See and control everything you create - Unlike vibe coding tools that generate mysterious code, Appfarm creates transparent visual models. When you describe a workflow, you see the visual components, data models, and business logic that get generated. Everything remains editable, understandable, and governable.

Enterprise-ready from day one - Appfarm provides the complete enterprise development lifecycle that vibe coding tools struggle to deliver: multi-environment management, role-based permissions, audit trails, enterprise integrations, and professional support.

Conversational speed with visual control - You get the accessibility that makes vibe coding compelling without sacrificing the control and accountability that enterprises require. It's conversational development with enterprise governance intact.

Core workflow:

1. Describe - Tell Appfarm what you need in natural language
2. See - AI generates transparent visual models you can understand
3. Refine - Make changes directly in the visual environment
4. Deploy - Deploy with enterprise governance and monitoring

Predictable scaling - As your applications grow in complexity and usage, Appfarm's architecture supports that growth with dedicated infrastructure options, performance optimization, and enterprise SLAs—capabilities that vibe coding tools struggle to provide.

This approach gives you the speed and accessibility that makes vibe coding appealing, while addressing the accountability, governance, and long-term viability challenges that enterprises face.

What enterprises should consider

When evaluating vibe coding versus platforms like Appfarm for business-critical applications, consider these key questions:

Accountability: Who will be responsible when the application needs maintenance, debugging, or enhancement? Can you understand and modify what gets built?

Governance: How will you ensure compliance, security, and audit requirements are met throughout the application lifecycle?

Evolution: How will the application adapt when business requirements change—which they always do?

Integration: How will the application connect with your existing systems, data, and authentication providers?

Support: What happens when you need help, encounter issues, or require performance optimization?

Total cost: What are the long-term costs of maintenance, rebuilding, and scaling versus building on an enterprise platform?

Vibe coding represents an important step in democratizing software development, but enterprise applications require more than rapid prototyping capabilities. They need the foundation for long-term success: transparency, accountability, and the infrastructure to evolve with your business needs.

The most powerful approach combines conversational development with enterprise-grade platforms—giving you both the speed of natural language development and the control your business demands.