Lesson 987 of 1455
Vibe-Checking AI Code Before You Run It
A 30-second skim of AI code for obvious red flags catches more bugs than running it would.
Builders · AI-Assisted Coding · ~4 min read
The big idea
Whether the code came from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or Copilot, you should never run it without a vibe check first. A vibe check is a 30-second skim asking: does this make sense? Does it match my style? Are the variable names real things? Did it invent a library? It's not a full review — it's a smell test.
Some examples
- You skim and notice `import requests` in JavaScript — Claude hallucinated a Python import.
- ChatGPT used a function called `fetchUserData()` that doesn't exist in your codebase — vibe-check catches it.
- Cursor used 4-space indents in a 2-space file — small but fixable before commit.
- Copilot wrote `password === 'admin123'` as a placeholder — you'd hate to ship that.
Try it!
Set a personal rule for one week: every AI-generated block gets a 30-second skim before execution. Count how many red flags you catch.
Key terms in this lesson
End-of-lesson quiz
Check what stuck
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