Vibe Coding Glossary
Every Term You Need to Know
Vibe coding introduced a new vocabulary — and understanding the terms makes you a significantly better builder. Collins Dictionary named 'vibe coding' its Word of the Year 2025. Here are all the terms non-developers encounter in the vibe coding process, explained without jargon.
Talk to an ExpertThe core vibe coding terms defined
These are the terms you will encounter most often in the vibe coding process. Each definition is written for a non-developer audience — no computer science background required. Vibe coding: Building software by describing what you want in plain language to an AI. Coined by Andrej Karpathy in February 2025. Prompt: The instruction you write to an AI tool describing what to build or change. LLM (Large Language Model): The AI system that reads your prompt and generates code. Examples: GPT-4, Claude, Gemini. Context window: The amount of text an LLM can consider at once. Longer prompts and longer conversations can exceed this limit, causing the AI to 'forget' earlier instructions. Hallucination: When an AI generates incorrect information stated with confidence — e.g., a code function that does not exist. Scaffolding: The initial code structure the AI generates for a new project or feature. Row Level Security (RLS): A Supabase feature that restricts which rows of a database table each user can read or write.
Prompt: the instruction you write to the AI — the quality of your prompt determines the quality of the output
LLM: the AI model that generates code (Claude, GPT-4, Gemini) — each has different strengths
Context window: the AI's 'working memory' — exceed it and the AI loses track of earlier instructions
Hallucination: when the AI invents functions or APIs that do not exist — always test generated code
RLS (Row Level Security): Supabase's data access control — essential for any app with multiple users
Scaffolding: the initial code structure the AI generates — usually needs iteration before it matches your needs
Why understanding vibe coding vocabulary makes you a better builder
Non-technical builders who do not understand these terms make avoidable mistakes. They write vague prompts because they do not know what specificity an LLM needs. They hit context window limits without understanding why the AI is 'forgetting' their earlier instructions. They ship code with hallucinated API calls because they do not know that hallucinations are a real risk. They skip Row Level Security because they have never heard the term. Andrej Karpathy and Andrew Ng both observed that the skill gap in vibe coding is not technical knowledge — it is vocabulary and mental models. Once you know the terms, you know what questions to ask and what to check.
Knowing what a context window is helps you structure conversations to avoid AI 'forgetting'
Knowing what hallucination is means you test generated code instead of assuming it is correct
Knowing what RLS is means you enable it before any real users join your app
Vocabulary is the foundation of effective prompting — better terms produce better output
Additional terms every vibe coder should know
These terms appear regularly across vibe coding tools and documentation:
API (Application Programming Interface): A way for two systems to communicate. Stripe's API lets your app send payment requests to Stripe
Environment variable: A secret value (like an API key) stored outside the code — never hardcode secrets in the application itself
Deployment: The process of making your application accessible on the internet via Vercel, Netlify, or similar
Schema: The structure of your database — which tables exist, which columns they contain, and how tables relate to each other
Webhook: A notification sent by one service to your application when an event occurs — Stripe sends a webhook when a payment succeeds
CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing): A browser security rule controlling which domains can make requests to your API — misconfigured CORS is a common security issue
Rate limiting: Restricting how many requests a user can make per minute — prevents brute-force attacks on login endpoints
Vibe coding terms used in real prompts
Seeing these terms in real prompt contexts makes them easier to use correctly.
Prompt example using schema: 'Create a Supabase schema with three tables: users (id, email, plan), projects (id, user_id, name, created_at), and tasks (id, project_id, title, status)'
Prompt example using RLS: 'Enable Row Level Security on the projects table. Users should only be able to read and write rows where user_id matches their own auth.uid()'
Prompt example using environment variable: 'The Stripe secret key should be read from an environment variable called STRIPE_SECRET_KEY — never hardcode it'
Prompt example addressing context window: 'Here is a summary of what we have built so far: [summary]. Now add the following feature:' — resetting context before complex additions
Terms most commonly misunderstood by non-developers
These terms are regularly misunderstood in ways that lead to specific, avoidable mistakes.
'Frontend' vs 'backend': Frontend is what users see (the browser). Backend is the server logic and database. Vibe coding typically generates both, but security configurations live in the backend
'Authentication' vs 'authorisation': Authentication is proving who you are (login). Authorisation is controlling what you are allowed to do (RLS, role-based access). Both are needed
'API key' vs 'password': API keys are machine credentials — they should be treated with the same security as passwords and stored in environment variables, never in code
'Staging' vs 'production': Staging is a test environment. Production is live with real users. Never test destructive operations (like migrations) directly on production
'Bug' vs 'feature request': When an AI generates incorrect behaviour, it is a bug — describe the exact incorrect behaviour and the expected correct behaviour in your fix prompt
How to build your vibe coding vocabulary over time
Vocabulary grows fastest through context — encountering terms in real build situations and looking them up immediately. Keep a personal glossary of terms you encounter that you do not understand. The Supabase documentation, Vercel documentation, and Stripe documentation are the three most important references for vibe coders — they are well-written, non-technical-friendly, and cover the most important concepts clearly. At Greta, we explain every technical decision we make in plain English — so clients understand their own product.
Keep a personal glossary — write down every unfamiliar term and its plain-English meaning
Read the Supabase, Vercel, and Stripe documentation — they are the three most important references
When an AI uses a term you do not understand, ask it to explain — 'What does Row Level Security mean in practice?'
Vocabulary compounds: each term you learn makes the next one easier to understand
Greta explains every technical decision in plain English — so you understand your own product
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