Vibe Coding in Practice: Motivations, Challenges, and a Future Outlook — a Grey Literature Review

Ever struggled to move fast in coding without sacrificing long-term quality?

Key Takeaways

• Leverage vibe coding to speed up prototyping and quickly test ideas.
• Measure tradeoffs between rapid development and future maintainability.
• Avoid overlooking quality issues that may cause technical debt later.
• Build awareness around when vibe coding fits your project goals.

Lessons from the Field

This review draws on many practitioner reports showing a common pattern: teams use vibe coding to move quickly, especially early in projects. It helps get features out fast and gather feedback. However, many also report challenges with reliability and maintainability as the codebase grows. This “speed vs quality” paradox means that while vibe coding is great for rapid iteration, it often requires refactoring or rewriting later to keep the software healthy.

Why It Matters

Understanding vibe coding’s strengths and limits helps developers make better choices about when to use it. In practice, this means balancing the need for speed with the risk of accumulating technical debt. Teams that recognize these tradeoffs can plan more effectively, improving both short-term delivery and long-term software health. For developers and teams aiming to scale projects without sacrificing quality, this insight is key to sustainable coding practices.