The 7-Step Vibe Coding Workflow
Most people fail at vibe coding because they skip steps 1-4 and jump straight to prompting AI. That's like trying to build a house by telling a contractor “make it nice” without blueprints.
Click any step to jump to that section.
Key insight: Vibe coding isn't about typing prompts faster. It's about thinking clearly before you prompt at all.
Why Most Vibe-Coded Apps Fail
Before we get into how to do this right, let's talk about why so many people fail. Understanding these traps will help you avoid them.
People open Cursor or Lovable and type something like:
“Build me a task management app with projects, tasks, due dates, and collaboration features”
The AI happily generates thousands of lines of code. It looks impressive. Then you try to use it and realize:
- The data is hard-coded in the frontend (it's not actually saving anything)
- The “collaboration” feature doesn't actually work
- There's no way to sign up or log in
- When you refresh the page, everything disappears
Why this happens: The AI gave you what looked like an app, but without clear instructions about data persistence, authentication, and state management, it just faked it.
Understand the Problem
This is the step everyone skips. They have an idea and immediately start prompting AI to build it. But if you don't understand the problem clearly, you'll build the wrong thing, and AI will help you do it faster.
The Questions You Must Answer
Before you touch any tool, write down answers to these questions:
Who is this for?
Not “everyone.” Be specific. A busy professional? A small business owner? A student? A parent? The more specific, the better your app will be.
"Anyone who needs to manage tasks"
"Freelance designers who juggle multiple client projects and lose track of deadlines"
What's the ONE core thing this solves?
Every successful app does ONE thing really well. What's yours? If you can't answer in one sentence, you're building too much.
"It helps with productivity and collaboration and project management and time tracking"
"It shows freelancers exactly which client work is due this week and what's overdue"
The Problem Statement Template
Write a single paragraph that captures your app:
[App Name] helps [specific audience] who struggle with [specific problem]. Currently, they [current manual process], which causes [pain/frustration]. [App Name] solves this by [core solution], which means they can [outcome/benefit].Example: Draper helps content creators who struggle with organizing research and turning it into content. Currently, they save links and notes in scattered Notion pages and Google Docs, then spend hours searching for things they know they saved. Draper solves this by creating a searchable knowledge base that automatically tags and connects their research, which means they can find exactly what they need in seconds and generate content drafts from their own material.
Red Flags to Watch For
If you can't clearly answer the questions above, you're not ready to build. Common warning signs:
- “It's like X but better”: Better how? For who? Be specific.
- “It does everything”: No app does everything well. Pick your core.
- “I'll figure it out as I build”: You'll figure out that you wasted time building the wrong thing.
- “The AI will know what I mean”: It won't. Garbage in, garbage out.
Visualize the Solution
Once you understand the problem, visualize the solution BEFORE writing any code or prompts. This step creates the “visual prompt” that guides everything else.
Why Visualization Comes Before Specs
- 1.You need to see it to know what you want. Abstract requirements like “user management” could mean a hundred different things. A sketch shows exactly what you mean.
- 2.AI works better with visual context. Describing a screen layout in words is hard. Showing a wireframe is easy.
- 3.You catch problems early. When you sketch flows, you notice missing steps, confusing navigation, and unnecessary complexity BEFORE you've written any code.
- 4.It forces prioritization. You can't sketch everything at once. You naturally focus on what matters most.
The Minimum Viable Sketch
You don't need to be a designer. You don't need Figma skills. You need enough visual clarity that you (and the AI) know what you're building.
For each key screen, sketch:
- • What elements are on the screen (buttons, lists, forms)
- • How they're roughly arranged (sidebar? tabs? cards?)
- • What happens when you interact with them
For the overall flow, map:
- • What's the first screen users see?
- • What can they click on that screen?
- • Where does each click take them?
- • How do they get back?
Example: Habit Tracker Screens
Screen 1: Home (Daily View)
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ [Today: Feb 3] [←] [→] │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ☐ Morning meditation (10 min) │
│ ☑ Exercise (done 7:30am) │
│ ☐ Read for 30 minutes │
│ ☐ No social media until noon │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│ [+ Add Habit] │
│ │
│ Streak: 🔥 12 days │
└─────────────────────────────────┘Screen 2: Add/Edit Habit
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ ← Back Add Habit │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Habit name: │
│ [________________________] │
│ │
│ Frequency: │
│ [Daily ▼] │
│ │
│ Reminder time: │
│ [8:00 AM ▼] │
│ │
│ [Save Habit] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────┘Flow:
Home → tap habit → mark complete (stays on home)
Home → [+ Add Habit] → Add Habit screen → [Save] → Home
Home → tap date arrows → navigate daysThat's it. These rough sketches take 10 minutes and give you (and AI) everything needed to start building.
Visualization Tools
Low-fi (fastest)
- • Paper and pen (take a photo)
- • Excalidraw (free, simple)
- • Whimsical (great for flows)
Mid-fi (more polished)
- • Figma (industry standard)
- • Balsamiq (designed for wireframes)
AI-assisted
- • v0 by Vercel (describe UI, get React)
- • Galileo AI (text to design)
Document Requirements (The One-Page PRD)
Now that you can see what you're building, document how it should behave. This isn't corporate busywork. It's the script that tells AI exactly what to build.
What a PRD Is (and Isn't)
A PRD for vibe coding is NOT:
- • A 50-page enterprise specification
- • A legal document covering every edge case
- • Something you need stakeholder approval on
A PRD for vibe coding IS:
- • A one-page description of what your app does
- • Specific behaviors written as “when X, then Y”
- • A reference you can paste into AI prompts
The One-Page PRD Template
# [App Name] - Product Requirements
## Overview
[2-3 sentences: What is this? Who is it for? What problem does it solve?]
## Core User Flow
1. User [first action]
2. System [response]
3. User [next action]
4. [Continue for main happy path]
## Key Screens
### [Screen Name]
- Shows: [what's displayed]
- User can: [actions available]
- When user [action]: [what happens]
## Data Model
- [Entity 1]: [key fields]
- [Entity 2]: [key fields]
- [Relationship]: [how they connect]
## Must-Have vs Nice-to-Have
Must have (v1):
- [ ] [Feature]
- [ ] [Feature]
Nice to have (later):
- [ ] [Feature]
## Out of Scope
- [Thing you're NOT building]Writing Behaviors, Not Features
The most important part of your PRD is the “when X, then Y” statements. These tell AI exactly what should happen.
“The app should have user authentication”
“When user enters email and password and taps 'Sign Up':
- If email is valid and not already registered: Create account, send verification email, show 'Check your email' message
- If email is already registered: Show 'Email already in use. Did you mean to log in?'
- If password is less than 8 characters: Show 'Password must be at least 8 characters'”
The more specific you are, the less AI has to guess, and the fewer bugs you'll have.
Set Up Data Structure First
This is where most vibe-coded apps fail. People start building UI without telling AI how to handle data. The AI generates something that looks functional but is actually fake: hard-coded values that disappear when you refresh.
The Hard-Coded Data Problem
When you prompt AI with something like “build a task list app,” here's what often happens:
// AI generates this (FAKE - data is hard-coded)
const tasks = [
{ id: 1, title: "Buy groceries", done: false },
{ id: 2, title: "Call mom", done: true },
{ id: 3, title: "Finish report", done: false },
];This renders a task list. It even lets you check things off. But refresh the page → everything resets. The app is a movie set. It looks real from the front, but there's nothing behind it.
How to Prompt for Real Data
Before building any UI, explicitly tell AI to set up data persistence:
Before building any UI, set up the data layer for a habit tracking app:
1. Use Supabase as the database
2. Create these tables:
- users (id, email, created_at)
- habits (id, user_id, name, frequency, reminder_time, created_at)
- completions (id, habit_id, date, completed_at)
3. Set up row-level security so users can only see their own data
4. Create the API functions to:
- Get all habits for a user
- Create a new habit
- Mark a habit complete for a date
- Get completion history for a habit
Do not build any UI yet. Just the data layer and API.Choosing Your Data Backend
Supabase (Recommended)
- • Real PostgreSQL database
- • Authentication built-in
- • Row-level security
- • Free tier is generous
- • Works great with AI-generated code
Firebase
- • Good for real-time apps (chat, live updates)
- • NoSQL (different mental model)
- • Google ecosystem
- • Can get expensive at scale
The “No Backend” Trap
Some tools (like Lovable) can work without a backend initially. This is fine for prototypes but dangerous for real apps. Always ask: “Where is the data actually stored? What happens when I refresh?”
Build Incrementally
Now you're ready to actually build. But here's where discipline matters most: build ONE thing at a time, make sure it works, then move on.
The Vertical Slice Approach
Instead of building all the screens, then all the database, then all the features. Build complete “slices” through the app:
- Build all UI screens (nothing works yet)
- Add all database tables (still nothing works)
- Connect everything (hopefully it works?)
- Slice 1: User can sign up and log in (complete, works end-to-end)
- Slice 2: User can create a habit (complete, works end-to-end)
- Slice 3: User can mark a habit complete (complete, works end-to-end)
- Continue adding slices...
The Build-Test-Commit Cycle
Build
Make one small change
Test
Verify it works (click through it)
Commit
Save to version control
This cycle should take minutes, not hours. If you're going more than 30 minutes without committing, you're making too many changes at once.
Incremental Prompting Strategy
Don't ask AI to build everything at once. Use focused prompts:
"Build a complete habit tracking app with authentication, habit creation, daily tracking, streak calculation, statistics dashboard, and push notifications."
Prompt 1:
“Set up Supabase authentication with email/password. Create a simple login and signup page. After login, redirect to a placeholder home page that just says 'Welcome [user email]'.”
[Test it. Make sure login/signup works. Commit.]
Prompt 2:
“Add a habits table to the database. On the home page, show a form to create a new habit (just name for now). Display a list of the user's habits below the form.”
[Test it. Make sure habits save and display. Commit.]
Prompt 3:
“Add a completions table. For each habit in the list, show a checkbox. When checked, save a completion for today's date...”
[Test it. Make sure completions work. Commit.]
Test Each Piece
Testing is the part nobody wants to do, but it's where most of your time will actually go. AI can generate code fast, but it can't test whether the code actually does what you want.
The Testing Mindset
Don't just click the happy path once. Try to break things:
- • What happens if I enter nothing?
- • What happens if I enter really long text?
- • What happens if I enter special characters?
- • What happens if I click really fast?
- • What happens if I'm on a slow connection?
- • What happens on mobile?
- • What happens if I refresh in the middle?
- • What happens if I open the app in two tabs?
Manual Testing Checklist
For each feature, before you consider it “done”:
Harden for Real Use
Your app works on your machine. But is it ready for other people to use? This step is about catching the things that work in development but fail in the real world.
Security Basics
You don't need to be a security expert, but you need to avoid obvious mistakes:
API Keys and Secrets
- • Never put API keys in frontend code (anyone can see them)
- • Use environment variables on the server
- • If you've accidentally exposed a key, rotate it immediately
Check: Search your codebase for “sk-”, “api_key”, “secret”, “password”. None should be in frontend code.
Authentication
- • Don't build your own auth. Use Supabase Auth, Clerk, Auth0
- • Make sure logged-out users can't access logged-in features
- • Session tokens should be httpOnly cookies, not localStorage
Check: Log out, then try to access a protected page directly by URL. You should be redirected to login.
Input Validation
- • Never trust user input
- • Validate on the frontend (for UX) AND backend (for security)
- • Be especially careful with anything that becomes a database query
Check: Try entering <script>alert('XSS')</script> in a text field. It should display as text, not execute.
The Launch Checklist
Before showing your app to real users:
The Tools and When to Use Them
Different tools excel at different things. Here's when to use what:
Excalidraw
Quick sketches, diagrams
Whimsical
User flows, wireframes
Figma
Detailed designs, components
Framer
Design + code export
Lovable
Quick MVPs, simple apps
Bolt
Fast prototypes
Replit
Learning, simple deployments
Cursor
Serious building, complex apps
Claude Code
Terminal-based AI coding
Windsurf
AI-first IDE
Supabase
RecommendedMost apps, auth included
Firebase
Real-time apps, mobile-first
Planetscale
Scaled MySQL
Railway
Custom backends
Vercel
Next.js apps, frontend
Netlify
Static sites, simple apps
Railway
Custom backends
Render
Full-stack apps
Prompts That Actually Work
Copy-paste prompt templates for common situations:
I'm building [app description].
Target user: [who is this for]
Core problem: [what problem does this solve]
Core action: [what's the main thing users do]
Tech stack:
- Frontend: Next.js with TypeScript
- Database: Supabase
- Styling: Tailwind CSS
- Deployment: Vercel
Before writing any code:
1. Confirm you understand the requirements
2. Outline the data model you'd recommend
3. List the screens/pages needed
4. Propose a build order (what to build first)
Then wait for my approval before proceeding.Set up the data layer for [app name] using Supabase.
Tables needed:
- [table]: [fields]
- [table]: [fields]
Requirements:
1. Create all tables with appropriate types
2. Set up row-level security (users can only access their own data)
3. Create TypeScript types for each table
4. Create helper functions for CRUD operations
Do NOT build any UI yet. Just the data layer.
After setup, show me how to test that it works.Build the [feature name] feature.
User flow:
1. User [action]
2. System [response]
3. User [next action]
Behaviors:
- When [X happens], then [Y should occur]
- When [edge case], then [handle gracefully]
UI requirements:
- [Screen element]: [description]
- [Screen element]: [description]
Connect to existing:
- Use the [table] table we already set up
- Follow the existing code patterns in [file]
After building, tell me how to test it.I'm having an issue with [feature].
Expected behavior:
[What should happen]
Actual behavior:
[What's actually happening]
Steps to reproduce:
1. [Step]
2. [Step]
3. [Step]
Error messages (if any):
[Paste error]
Relevant code is in:
[File names]
Please:
1. Explain what you think is causing this
2. Propose a fix
3. Explain why the fix works
Don't make changes to other parts of the code.Review this code for:
1. Potential bugs or edge cases
2. Security issues
3. Performance problems
4. Code organization
Be specific about what you find and why it's a problem.
Prioritize issues by severity.
Suggest fixes but don't implement them yet.
[Paste code or file path]Common Questions
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What's Next
This guide gives you the foundation. But vibe coding is best learned by doing.
Your next steps:
- Pick one simple app idea: Something you actually want to use
- Follow the steps: Problem → Visualize → PRD → Data → Build → Test → Harden
- Build in public: Share what you learn, ask questions, connect with others building
Resources:
- Questions? DM me on Instagram or Twitter
- Weekly insights: Be Superpowered Newsletter
- Full AI setup guides: Blue Orchid