Vibe Coding Glossary.
Stop getting confused when developers talk. Browse our A-Z dictionary of core terms you need to know when working with AI.
A
Artifacts
Standalone pieces of content generated by the AI - like a full HTML file, a React component, or a Markdown document. Useful because you can copy them whole instead of picking apart a chat response.
Agentic AI
AI systems that don't just answer questions, but can take actions, use tools (like writing files or searching the web), and follow a plan to achieve a goal autonomously.
C
Context Window
The maximum amount of text (tokens) an AI can process in one go. If your prompt is too long or you've been chatting too much, the AI 'forgets' earlier instructions and output quality drops drastically.
CSS Variables (Custom Properties)
Tokens defined in CSS (e.g., --forest: #1C3D2E) that allow you to change colors or spacing globally across an entire site simply by updating one value.
F
Few-Shot Prompting
Providing the AI with a few examples of what you want before asking it to do the task. For example, showing it a button design before asking it to build a full form. Always better than Zero-Shot.
H
Hallucination
When the AI confidently makes something up. In coding, this often looks like using CSS classes that don't exist in your framework, or calling functions that haven't been written.
P
Prompt Chaining
Breaking a complex task into smaller, sequential prompts. Instead of 'build a website', you ask it to 'build the HTML structure', then 'add CSS styles', then 'add interactions'.
T
Token Limit
Similar to context window, but specifically refers to the hard limit on the number of tokens (words/pieces of words) the AI can read or generate in a single request.
V
Vibe Coding
The act of using natural language to direct AI agents to build software for you. You provide the 'vibe' (the design intent, the logic flow), and the AI handles the syntax.
Z
Zero-Shot Prompting
Asking the AI to do a task without giving it any examples. It relies entirely on its pre-trained knowledge. Good for simple tasks, risky for complex designs.