Vibe Coding vs Agentic Engineering
There are two ways to code with AI. One often leads to frustration, the other to results you can actually deploy. In this article we explain the difference, and when each approach is the right choice.
Quick recap: what is vibe coding?
Vibe coding is programming on feel with AI. You describe what you want, the AI generates code, and you accept the result without fully understanding it. Doesn't work? Paste the error message back and let the AI try again.
For a full explanation, read What is Vibe Coding?.
The core problem: AI builds perfectly fine code most of the time. But every now and then the AI chooses a solution that technically works but is structurally flawed. On the surface you don't notice; it looks good and it works. But in the code there's now an ugly workaround. That's a scar (scar tissue). The more scars, the harder your code becomes to maintain and extend.
What is agentic engineering?
Agentic engineering is structured coding with AI agents. The key difference: you stay in control, AI accelerates. You use AI tools not as a replacement for knowledge, but as an amplifier of it.
The principles:
- Architecture first: think about structure before you start building. What components do you need? How do they communicate with each other?
- Work step by step: small, controlled steps instead of everything at once. You validate each step before moving on.
- Understand what you're building: you don't have to write every line yourself, but you understand what's happening and why.
- AI as partner, not replacement: you make the decisions about architecture, technology choices and structure. AI helps you execute those decisions faster.
The comparison
| Vibe Coding | Agentic Engineering | |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Prompt → code → error → prompt | Plan → prompt → validate → iterate |
| Control | AI decides | You decide |
| Code quality | Uncontrolled, grows with workarounds | Structured and maintainable |
| Result | Works locally, fails in production | Production-ready |
| Learning effect | Minimal | You learn while building |
| Scalable | No | Yes |
The scar tissue problem in detail
Let's take a concrete example: you're building a webshop.
With vibe coding
Week 1. Everything goes well. You have product pages, a shopping cart and it looks great. The AI delivered fast and you're excited.
Week 2. You add a payment system. The AI builds it, and it works. But under the hood the AI has connected the shopping cart logic to the payment flow in a clumsy way. You don't see it; everything seems fine. Meanwhile there are already a few scars in your code.
Week 3. A customer reports that checkout doesn't work on mobile. You adjust a small thing. Suddenly the desktop version doesn't work either. The scars from week 2 come to light. You don't know where to start, because you never truly understood the code.
With agentic engineering
Week 1. You start with architecture. You define the components: product catalogue, shopping cart, checkout, payments. You determine how they communicate with each other. Then you build the first components with AI help.
Week 2. You integrate the payment system step by step. Because the architecture is clear, the AI knows exactly where the new code should go. You validate each step.
Week 3. The webshop runs in the cloud. Changes are manageable because you understand how everything fits together. You can confidently keep developing.
An entire industry around fixing vibe code
The webshop scenario above isn't hypothetical. The problem of stalled vibe-coded projects is so large that an entire market has emerged around it.
On Fiverr you'll find hundreds of programmers who specifically focus on repairing vibe code1. Dedicated platforms like VibeCodeFixers.com exist, where more than 300 experienced developers have signed up2. Established software companies have launched dedicated "vibe code cleanup" service pages.
The founder of VibeCodeFixers.com, Swatantra Sohni, describes the typical profile of his clients: "Most of these vibe coders, either they are product managers or they are sales guys, or they are small business owners, and they think that they can build something."2 They build something that works on their laptop, but get stuck as soon as it needs to go to production.
One of the most striking examples: Jason Lemkin, owner of SaaS community SaaStr, used Replit's AI to build an application. He initially called it "the most addictive app I've ever used". Until the AI system wiped his entire production database during a code freeze; 1,206 real users and all their data, gone3. The AI system then tried to cover up the mistake by creating fake data instead of reporting the problem4.
Stories like these show why the "vibe code fixer" is no longer a joke, but a serious profession.
When is vibe coding fine?
Let's be honest: vibe coding isn't always bad. There are situations where it's exactly the right approach:
- Quickly testing a prototype: you want to validate whether an idea works, without investing time in architecture
- One-off scripts: a script you run once and then throw away
- Learning and experimenting: discovering what's possible with AI tools
- Small, standalone tools: a simple calculator, converter or generator
The problem arises when you use vibe coding for something that grows beyond a prototype. As soon as your code needs to be maintainable, scalable or deployable, you need structure.
From vibe coder to agentic engineer
What do you need to learn to make the transition? More than you might think, but less than a traditional software degree:
- Architecture thinking: learning to plan first, then build
- Effective collaboration with AI agents: better prompts, better results
- Deployment: getting your code from your laptop to the cloud
- Databases: storing data safely and in a structured way
- Authentication: letting users log in securely
- Version control (Git): collaborating without chaos
- CI/CD: automated testing and deployment
It sounds like a lot, but with the right guidance you can learn this in a short time; especially if you already have experience with vibe coding. You already have a foundation; now you learn the structure you're missing.
Learn it hands-on
In our classroom training Agentic Engineering you'll learn in one intensive day how to build a complete webshop with AI agents, from initial architecture to live deployment in the cloud.