Intranets Today

The Vibe Coding Guide: My Hands-On Take (With Real Snippets)

I used the Vibe Coding Guide for six weeks on a small React + Node app at our studio. We were building a simple invoice tool for a local shop. Nothing fancy. But it had real users and lots of moving parts.

Short version? The guide made our code feel calm. Like a tidy room. Not perfect. But calmer.

If you're curious how other teams have put the same playbook through its paces, this hands-on deep dive with real code snippets mirrors a lot of what I discovered.

What this guide is (and what it’s not)

It’s a short playbook for how code should feel. Names, comments, folders, commits, and even tone in pull requests. Not a huge book. More like a coach with sticky notes.

It’s not a magic fix. It won’t write your code. It helps you write code that’s easy to read and easy to hand off.

You know what? That mattered for my team. We swap tasks a lot. If you're looking for more ways to keep a fast-moving team aligned, the playbooks over at Intranets Today are worth a skim.

How I used it on a real feature

My test case was one feature: export invoices to CSV. I followed the guide’s flow:

  • Start with a tiny “why” note at the top of the file.
  • Name things with verbs first.
  • Keep functions short.
  • Write the “happy path” first.
  • Use kind, clear commits.
  • Keep the PR simple and friendly.

Sounds basic. It stuck.

Real example: naming that tells a story

Before the guide, I had this:

// invoices.js (before)
function handleData(d) {
  let x = d.map((i) => i.t);
  return x.join(",");
}

After the guide, I changed it:

// invoices-export.js (after)
// Why: build a CSV string for downloaded invoices
function buildInvoiceCsv(invoices) {
  const titles = invoices.map((invoice) => invoice.title);
  return titles.join(",");
}

Short, clear, and a little kinder to future me.

Real example: “why” > “what” in comments

The guide says: comment the reason, not the obvious.

// Why: Stripe rounds to 2 decimals; we match it to avoid fee drifts
function toMoney(value) {
  return Math.round(value * 100) / 100;
}

That one line saved us from a weird bug later. We knew why the rounding was there.

Real example: one job per function

I had a chunky helper. It did three jobs. The guide nudged me to split it.

Before:

function exportInvoices(invoices, user) {
  // filter, format, and download
}

After:

function filterPaid(invoices) {
  return invoices.filter((inv) => inv.status === "paid");
}

function formatCsv(invoices) {
  const header = "id,title,totaln";
  const rows = invoices.map((i) => `${i.id},${i.title},${i.total}`).join("n");
  return header + rows;
}

function triggerDownload(csv, filename) {
  const blob = new Blob([csv], { type: "text/csv" });
  const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
  const a = document.createElement("a");
  a.href = url;
  a.download = filename;
  a.click();
}

function exportPaidInvoices(invoices) {
  const paid = filterPaid(invoices);
  const csv = formatCsv(paid);
  triggerDownload(csv, "paid-invoices.csv");
}

Feels longer. Reads faster.

Real example: CSS naming that won’t bite you later

I used their “noun__part–state” pattern. Simple BEM vibe.

.invoice-card {}
.invoice-card__title {}
.invoice-card__total {}
.invoice-card--highlighted {}

No more “card2” or “title-new”. Thank goodness.

Real example: commit messages that don’t sting

The guide asks for small, clear commits:

  • feat: export paid invoices as CSV
  • fix: round totals to 2 decimals in export
  • chore: add download helper and tests

We also used a short PR opener:

What: Add CSV export for paid invoices
Why: Shop owner needs quick bulk export
Notes: No changes to auth; tested on 50 invoices

Tone matters. People read this stuff after a long day.

Folder shape that fights chaos

The guide likes small islands:

/components
  /InvoiceCard
    InvoiceCard.jsx
    InvoiceCard.css
    InvoiceCard.test.jsx
/features
  /export
    exportPaidInvoices.js
    formatCsv.js
    triggerDownload.js

One idea per file. I felt less lost.

Tools I paired with it

While tweaking our approach, I kept a worn copy of Clean Code within reach, and I dipped back into Refactoring anytime our legacy bits felt brittle.

  • VS Code + Prettier (format on save)
  • ESLint with no-unused-vars on
  • Husky to check commits
  • A tiny PR template

If you’re looking for additional tactics that keep you in flow while you code, I got a lot from this write-up on what actually keeps developers in flow.

Nothing wild. Just steady.

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What I liked

  • Tiny rules, big lift. “Verb first names.” “Happy path first.” “Why comments.” They stick in your head.
  • Social guardrails. It even gives phrases for reviews. Like “Can we name this for the action?” instead of “this name is bad.”
  • It works with React and Node. My stack felt native with it.
  • It made handoffs less messy. Reviews felt shorter, and merges felt calmer.

What bugged me

  • Some rules felt too strict for tests. My test names got long. I bent the rules there.
  • TypeScript got light coverage. I used TS on another branch and had to fill gaps.
  • Parts felt like “we all know this.” But we don’t always do it. That’s the thing.

A small stumble that taught me a lot

I broke the “one job per function” rule on a rush. Shipped a blob of a function. Guess what? I had to change one small part later. It hurt. I split it the next day and sighed in relief. Lesson learned (again).

(For a very different experiment, I loved reading about someone who let Vibe’s AI “CEO” steer their coding week—wild ride captured here: I tried Vibe Coding AI CEO for a week.)

Who should use this

  • Small teams that pass code fast
  • Bootcamp grads who need simple rails
  • Freelancers who want happy handoffs
  • Folks who care about tone, not just syntax

If you write low-level drivers or heavy data stuff, you may want more strict rules and deeper patterns. This guide is about feel and clarity.

A tiny checklist I kept taped to my screen

  • One idea per file
  • Verb first names
  • Happy path first
  • Comment the “why”
  • Small, clear commits
  • Kind PR notes

It’s simple. It works.

My verdict

I’d keep using the Vibe Coding Guide. It made our code warmer and easier to share. Not perfect. But it nudged us to write like people who care about the next person.

And that, honestly, changed the mood of our team.

If you try it, start with one feature. Put a small “why” up top. Keep names honest. See how it feels by Friday. You might breathe a little easier. I did.

zielkeguptill