As AI becomes more and more adept at writing code (I’m looking at you, Claude Code), it begs the question: can it be used for more than just proof of concepts?
Taking this idea to the extreme, a non-developer can prompt their way and build a project. This is possible today.
Now, the question is, what kind of quality will be the code? Will it follow best practices and coding patterns? Probably not. But will it be good enough? Perhaps.
When working on any client project, you often need to decide between writing custom code and using established products. And there are a number of non-official plugins available. But not all of them are well supported and continuously upgraded.
The same logic applies when building a package. Sure, it’s technically possible to build one as a single non-developer. But should you?
As mom always said, “It’s not the buying, it’s the upkeep”. A vibe-coded project or package may work sufficiently well today, but are you ready and able to maintain it over the long run?
The takeaway
The line between vibe-coded projects and manual written projects is blurring. Before you jump on the vibe train, be sure you understand the consequences.