# Vibe coding vs software engineering

Concept · [Building with AI](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai)

Also called: writing code vs prompting, prompting vs coding, prompting code, AI-assisted programming, AI-assisted coding, AI-assisted engineering, vibe coding vs engineering

Two ways to build software with AI. In [vibe coding](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/vibe-coding), a term Andrej Karpathy coined in 2025, a person accepts the code the AI writes without reading it. In software engineering with AI help, a person reviews, tests and can explain the code. The [programmer](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/software-engineer) Simon Willison draws the line at that review.

**For example:** A [founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/founder) [prompts](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/prompt) an [app builder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/no-code) until a [demo](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/prototype) works and never opens the code. That is [vibe coding](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/vibe-coding). An [engineer](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/software-engineer) uses a [coding agent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/coding-agent), reads each change and runs the tests before [release](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/deployment). That is software engineering.

## Connects to (7)

- [Vibe coding](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/vibe-coding): Building software by describing what you want to an AI tool and accepting the code it writes, often without reading that code closely.
- [Software engineer](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/software-engineer): A person who designs, writes and maintains code for a living.
- [Coding agent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/coding-agent): An AI agent that writes and changes code.
- [Testing](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/testing): Checking that software does what it should, before your users find the problems for you.
- [Technical debt](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/technical-debt): Shortcuts taken while building software that save time now but make later changes slower and riskier until someone cleans them up.
- [Claude Code](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/claude-code): An AI coding agent made by Anthropic.
- [Codex](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/codex): OpenAI's AI coding agent.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/vibe-coding-vs-software-engineering