Vibe Coding Checklist

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 20, 2026, 3:05 AM

Whether you're just starting out or already writing code that sings, this checklist is your go-to for spotting where your vibe got too chaotic—and gently guiding it back to clean, secure, maintainable bliss. It's broken down into checks, not rules. Because vibe coders check themselves before they wreck themselves. Each check is ranked by Vibe Level, based on the skill needed to identify and resolve it.This is the essentials list, basic checks that every coder can easily do to assess the state and... Check back for the Intermediate and Elite lists over the next few days. We’ve also included a Risk Score, so you know how many 😱 panic emojis out of 5 it might trigger if you ignore it.

Thanks for reading Digital Gert! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. If your code uses names that only or not even past-you understands, it’s time to make your vibe more readable. Why it matters:Descriptive names reduce cognitive load. Avoid abbreviations, keep naming consistent, and aim for clarity over cleverness. This checklist will answer your question: "Where do I start?".

Created for vibe coders by a old fashioned coder, who is digging his own grave...Many thanks to @NicolasZu, this checklist was based on his original GitHub repository. A way of life, defined by lazy people who like to tell the computer what to do, instead of doing it themselves. "With vibe coding, my job's 10% coding, 90% telling the AI what it did wrong." To start with vibe coding, you need two essential tools: Cursor with Claude Sonnet 3.7 Thinking and Grok 3 Thinking. These will assist in planning and implementing your project. Important: Plan everything carefully.

Letting the AI plan autonomously can lead to a disorganized mess. Take your time to think through your project for a solid outcome. Outline your project’s requirements clearly and let Grok recommend a suitable tech stack. Then, set up coding rules for Cursor to maintain consistency and efficiency. Whether you're just starting out or already writing code that sings, this checklist is your go-to for spotting where your vibe got too chaotic—and gently guiding it back to clean, secure, maintainable bliss. It's broken down into checks, not rules.

Because vibe coders check themselves before they wreck themselves. Each check is ranked by Vibe Level, based on the skill needed to identify and resolve it.This is the essentials list, basic checks that every coder can easily do to assess the state and... Check back for the Intermediate and Elite lists over the next few days. We’ve also included a Risk Score, so you know how many 😱 panic emojis out of 5 it might trigger if you ignore it. Continue reading on Substack at digitalgert.substack.com for the the full list. ✅ Check: Are variable and function names actually clear?

(Risk Score: 2✨) Descriptive names reduce cognitive load. Avoid abbreviations, keep naming consistent, and aim for clarity over cleverness. Hey everyone, I’m Patrick Udoh, a tech enthusiast who’s been recently diving headfirst into AI-assisted coding. Recently, I’ve been chatting with Grok (xAI’s super-smart AI) about “vibe coding” — that chill way of describing what you want in plain English and letting AI spit out the code. It’s like having a coding buddy who gets your vibe and handles the heavy lifting.

From brainstorming a simple to do list app to prepping my personal portfolio site, this process has been a game-changer. But let’s be real: without structure, vibe coding can turn into a chaotic mess. That’s why I created this ultimate checklist — a step-by-step standard procedure for any software project. It’s comprehensive, professional, and flexible, drawing from my convos with Grok on security (I’m paranoid about that), documentation (so I can pause and pick up later), and all the cool suggestions like notifications, analytics,... In this article, I’ll share the full checklist, explain how it works, and tie it to my projects. If you’re a beginner like me or a pro looking for AI shortcuts, this is your blueprint.

Let’s dive in! What is Vibe Coding, Anyway? Picture this: Instead of staring at a blank editor for hours, you just say, “Hey AI, build me a countdown timer that syncs across web, mobile, and desktop.” Boom — code appears. That’s vibe coding. It’s powered by tools like Codeium (free and awesome in VS Code) or GitHub Copilot, where natural language prompts generate code iteratively. But without a plan, it’s easy to end up with buggy, insecure slop.

That’s where my checklist comes in — it’s the structure I needed to turn vibes into viable apps. I built it based on real discussions: starting with a time management app idea (timers for speakers, passcode sync, AI drafting from PDFs), adding features like email invites and analytics, and ensuring security (no... It’s general enough for any project, like my upcoming portfolio site. A comprehensive, actionable security checklist designed specifically for apps rapidly created ("vibe-coded") with AI tools. 🔗 Visit: https://www.vibecodingchecklist.com/ With recent advancements in AI, anyone can turn ideas into functional apps with just a few prompts.

This rapid development can lead to apps missing essential security practices. This checklist helps ensure your vibe-coded apps stay secure and reliable. The checklist is organized into clear security categories: The checklist is stored in a structured, easily readable and editable format in: Contributions are highly encouraged! Security evolves rapidly, your expertise helps keep this checklist relevant.

Print it, pin it, or drop it into your repo as CHECKS.md. It’s the minimum to keep vibe-coded apps from biting you in production. Ask the agent for “2026 Vibe Coding checklist run”: Copy the checklist into your project, then wire the preset into CI. Vibe coding stays fun when production is boring. Things are frankly ridiculous right now with AI building—in the best possible way.

.css-19a5n3-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:var(--zds-text-link, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #2b2358);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:var(--zds-gray-warm-5, #a8a5a0);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);outline-color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']{color:var(--zds-text-link, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #2b2358);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:var(--zds-gray-warm-5, #a8a5a0);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);outline-color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;}Vibe coding tools like Lovable, Bolt, and Cursor are democratizing software development. And that means that you can more or less just jump in and start creating, experimenting all you want, with no constrictions. But if you want to build something sturdy, you'll need to go in with a plan, rather than expecting a complex finished project in a few prompts. To help you vibe, I've put together tips for starting a vibe coding project that has the potential to result in a usable final product. These are based on my own experiences and insights from other folks. .css-19a5n3-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:var(--zds-text-link, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #2b2358);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:var(--zds-gray-warm-5, #a8a5a0);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);outline-color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']{color:var(--zds-text-link, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #2b2358);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:var(--zds-gray-warm-5, #a8a5a0);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);outline-color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;}Don't expect magic

The CISO Vibe Coding Checklist draws on real-world experience and includes direct input and quotes from the CISOs of Lovable and Supabase, companies operating at the center of modern AI-driven development. Tools like Lovable, Copilot, and Cursor remove friction from development. The upside is speed. The downside is that long-standing security assumptions no longer hold. Vibe-coded applications often bypass the controls security teams depend on. Non-engineers paste secrets into prompts, work directly in production, and rely on insecure defaults.

Frontend code is treated as private when it is not. Authentication and access control are frequently misconfigured or skipped. As Lovable CISO Igor Andriushchenko notes, anything that runs in the browser can be manipulated, stolen, or abused. That single reality breaks many of the shortcuts people take when building with AI. It may seem like everyone is a vibe coder these days, and prompting seemed like it would become the new coding. But is this AI-generated code really deployable?

Bragging on social media about a clever script is one thing, but pushing a vibe coded app to prod comes with many security risks. With so many AI dev tools out there now, code reviews become more critical than ever. This article will explore what vibe coding means and how code reviews should adapt in the era of AI. How to Implement Vibe Coding in Practice

Vibe Coding Checklist

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