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Vibe Code Basics

Free roadmap · ~6 hours of reading

Learn Vibe Coding: A Free Step-by-Step Roadmap

Never built software before? Or a developer who wants to work with AI agents properly? Read these guides in order. Each one builds on the last, and together they take you from “what is vibe coding?” to a deployed, reasonably secure full-stack app.

Stage 1: Understand the basics

Learn what vibe coding is and set yourself up with a safety net before writing a single prompt.

  1. 01What Is Vibe Coding? The Complete Beginner's Guide (2026)Vibe coding means building software by describing what you want to an AI agent. Learn where the term came from, how it works in 2026, the best tools, the risks, and how to start.6 min read
  2. 02Git for Vibe Coders: The Undo Button Every AI Builder NeedsGit is your safety net when AI agents break things. Learn the 10 Git commands vibe coders need: commits, diffs, undoing changes, branches, GitHub and worktrees for parallel agents, explained for beginners.4 min read

Stage 2: Choose your tools

Pick between AI app builders, AI IDEs and terminal agents based on your goals and budget.

  1. 03Best AI Coding Tools in 2026: Claude Code vs Cursor vs Copilot vs Codex & MoreAn honest 2026 comparison of the best AI coding tools: Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, OpenAI Codex, Google Antigravity, Devin Desktop, Tabnine and AI app builders. Pricing, strengths and who each is for.8 min read
  2. 04Lovable vs Bolt vs v0 vs Replit: Best AI App Builders for Non-Coders (2026)Compare the best AI app builders of 2026: Lovable, Bolt.new, v0 and Replit Agent. Pricing, free tiers, strengths, security pitfalls, and when to graduate to tools like Claude Code or Cursor.5 min read
  3. 05Claude Code for Beginners: How to Build Your First App with Anthropic's AI AgentA beginner-friendly Claude Code tutorial: what it is, pricing, installing it, plan mode, CLAUDE.md, permissions, slash commands, MCP, and a step-by-step first project, with tips to avoid common mistakes.6 min read
  4. 06Cursor AI Review & Guide (2026): Agents, Pricing and How to Use ItEverything you need to know about Cursor in 2026: agents, cloud agents, Composer models, rules, pricing (Hobby to Ultra), and practical tips for vibe coding with the most popular AI code editor.5 min read

Stage 3: Work with your agent

Write prompts that work, give the agent project context, and plan before you build.

  1. 07How to Prompt AI Coding Agents: The Vibe Coding Prompt Playbook (With Templates)Learn how to write prompts that make AI coding agents produce working code. The 5-part prompt formula, copy-paste templates for features, bugs, refactors and UI, and the mistakes that waste hours.4 min read
  2. 08AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md & Cursor Rules: How to Give Your AI Coding Agent Project ContextContext files tell AI coding agents how your project works. Learn what AGENTS.md is, how it compares to CLAUDE.md, Cursor rules and Copilot instructions, what to put in one, and a copy-paste template.4 min read
  3. 09Spec-Driven Development: Plan First, Then Let AI BuildSpec-driven development means writing a short spec and plan before your AI agent writes code. Learn the workflow, plan mode in Claude Code and Cursor, GitHub Spec Kit and Kiro, and a spec template you can copy.4 min read
  4. 10MCP Explained: How the Model Context Protocol Supercharges AI Coding AgentsMCP (Model Context Protocol) lets AI coding agents use external tools like GitHub, databases, browsers and docs. Learn how it works, the best MCP servers for vibe coding, how to install them, and how to stay safe.4 min read

Stage 4: Build something real

Ship a full-stack app, and learn the Next.js fundamentals your agent is writing.

  1. 11How to Build and Deploy a Full-Stack App with AI in a Weekend (Next.js + Supabase + Vercel)A step-by-step vibe coding walkthrough: plan, build and deploy a real full-stack app with an AI agent using Next.js, Supabase and Vercel, including auth, a database with Row Level Security, tests and a custom domain.5 min read
  2. 12Getting Started with Next.js 16: A Beginner's Guide for Vibe CodersLearn Next.js 16 from scratch: installing with create-next-app, the App Router, Server and Client Components, data fetching, AI agent setup with AGENTS.md, and deploying to Vercel.4 min read
  3. 13Next.js API Routes (Route Handlers): Build Backend Endpoints in Next.js 16Learn to build API endpoints in Next.js 16 with Route Handlers: GET/POST/PUT/DELETE, dynamic routes, validation with zod, authentication, error handling, CORS, and when to use Server Actions instead.2 min read
  4. 14Next.js SEO Guide: Metadata API, Sitemaps, Robots.txt & Open Graph ImagesA complete Next.js 16 SEO setup: metadataBase, title templates, canonical URLs, Open Graph and Twitter cards, generated OG images, sitemap.xml, robots.txt and JSON-LD structured data, with copy-paste code.3 min read

Stage 5: Fix it & ship it safely

Get unstuck when the AI loops, then lock things down before real users arrive.

  1. 15How to Debug AI-Generated Code: Breaking the Vibe Coding Doom LoopWhen your AI agent keeps 'fixing' the same bug, try this. A practical playbook for debugging AI-generated code: reproduce, diagnose before fixing, reset context, use Git bisect, add logs and tests, and know when to take over.5 min read
  2. 16Vibe Coding Security Checklist: 20 Things to Check Before You Ship AI-Generated CodeAI-generated apps often ship with exposed API keys, open databases and missing authorization checks. Use this 20-point vibe coding security checklist, with prompts you can give your agent, before you launch.6 min read
  3. 17Next.js Proxy (Formerly Middleware): Authentication, Redirects & Headers in Next.js 16In Next.js 16, middleware.ts was renamed to proxy.ts. Learn how proxy works, how to protect routes, handle redirects and rewrites, set headers, and why you must still check auth in your data layer.3 min read