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Your First Conversation with AI: Vibecoding 101

Welcome to the AI Coding Club! Your journey begins not with complex algorithms, but with a simple conversation. This post introduces you to vibecoding: the art of using an AI assistant as a brainstorming partner to explore ideas and sketch out solutions without the pressure of writing perfect code.

What is Vibecoding?​

Vibecoding is about finding a "vibe" for your project before you dive into the details. It helps you overcome the "blank page" problem and encourages exploration. With an AI, you can ask "what if" questions and get instant feedback, making it a fast and fun way to start any project.

Choosing Your AI Tool​

There are many great AI coding assistants. Here are a few popular choices:

  • ChatGPT: A powerful, general-purpose AI that is excellent for coding and explaining concepts.
  • Claude: Known for its large context window, making it great for long conversations and large codebases.
  • GitHub Copilot: Integrates directly into your code editor, providing inline suggestions as you type.

For vibecoding, a chat-based tool like ChatGPT or Claude is a great place to start.

Your First Prompt: The Anatomy of a Good Prompt​

A good prompt provides context and clearly states your goal. Let's start a conversation to build a simple to-do list app.

Bad Prompt: "Make a to-do app."

This is too vague. The AI has to make too many assumptions.

Good Prompt:

I want to build a simple to-do list web app using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I'm a beginner. The app should have an input field to add new tasks, a list to display them, and a button to mark tasks as complete. Can you give me the basic HTML structure to start?

This prompt is good because it specifies:

  • The Goal: A to-do list web app.
  • The Technology: HTML, CSS, JavaScript.
  • Your Skill Level: Beginner.
  • The Features: Input field, list, and a button.

Reading the AI's Output​

The AI will respond with a block of code. Don't just copy and paste it! Read through it. Try to understand what each part does. If you see something you don't recognize, ask the AI to explain it.

"You used a <ul> element. What is that and why did you choose it?"

This is the most important part of the process. You are not just getting code; you are getting a personalized lesson. By having this conversation, you are learning actively and building a mental model of how the code works.

In our next post, we'll take the code from this conversation and actually build and run it, creating our very first program.