𝗩𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗔 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗔𝗻 𝗔𝘅𝗶𝘀.
Karpathy defined vibe coding as a simple loop: see stuff, say stuff, run stuff, and copy-paste.
Most people treat this as a ladder of autonomy. They measure how much work you give to the AI.
The levels look like this:
- L0: No AI
- L1: AI as autocomplete
- L2: Intent-driven (you define what, AI defines how)
- L3: Collaborative pair-programming
- L4: Semi-autonomous
- L5: Fully autonomous
This ladder is useful but incomplete. It only measures one thing: delegation.
Two developers can both be at Level 4. One builds a clean codebase that grows stronger. The other builds a mess that decays.
The difference is not their skill. It is their operator discipline.
Operator discipline is how much of your work stays as inspectable state.
If you do not save your decisions, you must repeat them every session. I spent months arguing with AI about the same architecture. It would suggest the same wrong thing every time. I felt exhausted.
I fixed this by creating a simple store for decisions:
- Proposed
- Accepted
- Locked
Once a decision is locked, the AI cannot change it without permission. The work became calm. The codebase stopped wobbling.
Vibe coding is a two-axis map. Axis 1 is Autonomy (L0 to L5). Axis 2 is Operator Discipline (Low to High).
The math works like this: L1 + High Discipline > L5 + Low Discipline over long periods.
High autonomy with low discipline leads to maximum velocity and maximum mess. You move fast into a wall of technical debt.
To build with discipline, I use three things:
- A persona file: Identity, rules, and preferences for the model.
- Append-only stores: A place for locked decisions and active threads.
- A capture habit: Writing decisions down the moment they happen.
Do not rely on prompts alone. Build a state machine.
If more AI is not giving you more leverage, the problem is likely not the model. The problem is your second axis.
What do you capture as state? What do you rebuild from scratch every session?
Source: https://dev.to/jugeni/vibe-coding-is-not-a-level-its-an-axis-12gb
Optional learning community: https://t.me/GyaanSetuAi