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Lesson 1 of 12

What is Vibe Coding?

Understand what vibe coding is, why it's changing how people build software, and what you'll have set up by the end of this course.

~5 min·Mac
01 / 12What is Vibe Coding?

What is vibe coding?

Vibe coding is a way of building software where you describe what you want in plain English and an AI helps you write, fix, and improve the code. You stay in charge of the direction; the AI handles a lot of the typing.

Tools like Claude Code make this possible. Instead of having to know every syntax and API from memory, you can say things like:

Claude Code Prompt
$claude

Add a search bar to this page that filters the list as the user types

and Claude will write the code for you — in the right file, following your project's conventions.

You still need to understand what's happening

Vibe coding doesn't mean you never learn to code. The best vibe coders understand what the AI is doing, can spot mistakes, and know how to guide it. This course will help you build that foundation.

Why does your environment matter?

Before you can vibe code, your Mac needs to be set up with the right tools. A well-configured environment means:

  • You can create and manage projects without friction
  • Git and GitHub back up your work automatically
  • Your terminal is fast and easy to use
  • Claude Code is installed and connected to your projects

What you'll install in this course

By the end, you'll have:

ToolWhat it does
HomebrewPackage manager — installs everything else
GitTracks every change you make to your code
GitHubCloud backup and sharing for your projects
GhosttyA fast, modern terminal app
BunJavaScript runtime and package manager
VS CodeCode editor
Claude CodeAI coding assistant that lives in your terminal

This course is for Mac users

All instructions are written for macOS. If you're on Windows or Linux, some steps will be different.

Let's get started. The first step is installing Homebrew — the tool that makes everything else easy.

Knowledge Check

Answer all questions to mark this lesson complete.

Q1What is vibe coding?

Q2What will you have by the end of this course?

Installing Homebrew & Core Tools