Who should you subject to your vibe-coding?
So, you just wrapped up a 10 hour session with Claude Code (after rigorously reviewing the code with OpenAI’s Codex), and you’re quite pleased with yourself that you were able to bring your unique idea into this world. It even looks professional even though you have zero front-end experience. What should you do next? Announce it to the world!
I made that mistake - which I share further down in the article - and I’ve since tried to reflect on whether that was the right move. This article is my attempt at rationalizing whether a vibe-coded invention is truly ready for the world.
Who this is article is directed at
If your invention requires no installation, takes zero money, and collects no sensitive information - this post isn’t directed at you. Interactive, unauthenticated web-apps fall into this category. Toys on the app store fall into this category.
This article is targeted mostly toward aspiring entrepreneurs and open-source contributors who are passionately sharing their vibe-coded inventions with the world, with very good intentions, but with just a touch of neglicence sprinkled in.
Your Understanding
Before answering whether you should share your invention with the world, I have some tiered questions below that help assess your understanding of your invention.
| Tiers | Questions |
|---|---|
| Tier 0 | 0. What problem does it solve? |
| Tier 1 | 1. How was it built? 2. How does it work? 3. Does it behave correctly & accurately? 4. Does it side-effect in the expected ways? |
| Tier 2 | 5. Is is safe/secure? 6. Does it respect user privacy? 8. Is it reliable/predictable? 9. Can it evolve reliably & safely? |
Guard Statement: If you cannot answer Tier 0, the answer to who you should share your invention with is nobody. Litmus test: If you cannot explain the problem without referencing your solution, you do not understand the problem.
Mapping Understanding to Levels
| Levels | Nickname | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Vibe-boxer | Cannot confidently answer Tier 1 or Tier 2 questions |
| Level 2 | Vibe-coder | Can confidently answer Tier 1 Cannot confidently answer Tier 2 |
| Level 3 | Vibe-engineer | Can confidently answer Tier 1 & Tier 2 questions |
Your Intentions
Next - let’s dig into why you want to share your invention with the world. I believe these roughly divide into two buckets: you desire adoption of your invention - or you don’t.
You desire adoption by users
- You are trying to make money
- You are trying to build a recurring business
- You are trying to gain traction & support
- You get joy out of knowing people are using something you built
You do not desire adoption by users
- You are trying to build up your resume/portfolio
- You seek validation for coming up with unique ideas
- You get joy out of impressing nerds on the internet
- You want to vet your idea with non-sychophantic humans
Your Long-Term Commitment
Finally, how committed are you to your invention. This one is easy - if you answer no to any of these questions, you are not fully committed:
- Will you respond to feedback?
- Will you continually update and support your invention?
- Can and will you ensure it remains secure and protects privacy?
Who should you subject to your vibe-coding?
Now that we’re fully aligned on the inputs to the equation, let’s break down who you should be sharing your invention with. I believe this may be hotly debated and there are going to be edge-cases, but that’s okay.
The Hopeful But Negligent
If you are at a Level 1 or 2 of understanding of your invention, do not share it with anybody. Again, noting my disclaimer at the beginning, I’m not including harmless interactive webapps or similar inventions. That said, I believe I could write a whole article on just this point. There’s two main issues with this category of inventions:
- You have no clue whether it’s safe or secure
- You cannot confidently create a reliable experience for your users.
You are too hopeful. Time to slow down and seek deeper understanding.
The Tinkerer
If you are at a Level 3 of understanding and you do not desire adoption, share with anybody you’d like. It would be a good idea to make your intentions known - particularly whether you are committed to the project or if it’s just a temporary curiosity. However, as you’ll read from my story below, The Tinkerer can quickly morph into The Irresponsible. A flash of interest from the world may lead you into wanting to drive adoption.
The Irresponsible
If you are at a Level 3 level of understanding, you desire adoption, but you are not committed long-term, do not share it with anybody. You’re maybe getting caught up in your excitement of having invented something without understanding the repercussions of thrusting something into the world that demands more time than you can give. If you seek adoption, you must be a good custodian, which means you must answer yes to all of the questions above.
The Legit
Finally, if you have a Level 3 understanding of your invention, you desire adoption, and you are committed long term, then absolutely share your invention with the world.
My Story
I wrote this piece because I feared I may be making the mistake of The Irresponsible (and to some degree The Hopeful But Negligent), so I wanted to create a system I could follow and hold myself accountable to.
I have released two apps to the world: Dorso and Pike. When I first shared Dorso with the world, I was squarely within the realm of not desiring adoption. If I’m being honest with myself, I was likely seeking validation and wanting to impress people. I didn’t expect Dorso to strike a nerve with folks. Seeing such strong interest, my intentions slowly transitioned to wanting to receive joy out of people using my invention. That’s adoption-seeking! The more people, the more joy! That then led to taking it a step further and releasing it to the app store to make money. Before I knew it I was tackling issue reports, merging pull requests, and developing marketing material for the app store.
It’s amazing how quickly your role as the inventor can shift in the world of vibe-coded apps. One minute you are The Tinkerer and then the next you are a full-fledged marketer or customer-service agent trying to be The Legit. You should think carefully and honestly ask yourself if that’s really what you want the next time you share your invention with the world. Are you really, truly ready for the time commitment.
Conclusion
Our ability to discern the quality of others’ invention is quickly becoming impossible. Polish is becoming automatic - we cannot separate the cream from the crop by simply observing how the invention appears from the outside. One way I know to combat this is to not be part of the problem. Before I announce my inventions out into the world, I want to be honest with myself about my understanding of it, my intentions around wanting to share it, and whether or not I’m truly committed to supporting it. I’m hoping you will too. Thanks, Tom.