The living lexicon
Words worth knowing.
The language of AI-assisted building, translated into useful, human terms.
63
Definitions across 12 territories
63 definitions
Core
BeginnerVibecoding
The practice of creating software using natural language intent ('The Vibe') as the primary input, while delegating the implementation syntax to AI models. Coined by Andrej Karpathy.
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IntermediateIntent-Based Engineering
A paradigm shift where the developer focuses on the 'What' and 'Why' (Architecture, UX, Outcomes) rather than the 'How' (Syntax, Boilerplate, Memory Management).
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BeginnerCode Literacy
The ability to read and understand code logic without necessarily being able to write the syntax from scratch. Essential for 'verifying' AI output.
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BeginnerFlow State
The mental state of rapid iteration achieved when the friction of typing syntax is removed, allowing ideas to be implemented at the speed of thought.
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IntermediateAgentic Workflow
A process where an AI system autonomously pursues a goal (e.g., 'Build a dashboard') by planning steps, executing tools, and correcting its own errors, rather than just answering a single question.
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BeginnerMVP
Minimum Viable Product. In Vibe Coding, this means shipping the roughest version that solves the core problem, often ignoring code aesthetics in favor of speed.
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BeginnerAGENTS.md
A machine-readable briefing packet placed at the root of a project. Unlike a README for humans, it provides AI agents with build steps, testing workflows, and project conventions.
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AdvancedA2A Protocol
Agent-to-Agent Protocol. A standard that allows different AI agents to negotiate communication formats (like Markdown) and discover each other's capabilities autonomously.
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IntermediateMCP
Model Context Protocol. An open standard that enables AI agents to securely connect to external tools, databases, and data sources to retrieve context.
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BeginnerContext Window
The 'Short-Term Memory' of an LLM. It is the limited amount of text (code, chat history, files) the AI can 'see' at one time to generate an answer. Managing this is 'Context Engineering'.
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IntermediateContext Hydration
The process of re-feeding project context (files, docs, history) into a new chat session to restore the AI's 'memory' after a session reset.
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IntermediateContext Caching
A feature in modern LLM APIs that allows you to pay once to upload a large codebase, and then query it cheaply multiple times without re-uploading tokens.
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BeginnerTokens
The basic unit of currency for LLMs. Roughly 0.75 words. Costs are calculated per million tokens. Efficient prompting saves tokens.
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IntermediateReasoning Model
A class of LLMs (like OpenAI o1) designed to 'think' before answering. They are slower and more expensive but excel at complex logic and architecture.
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BeginnerKnowledge Cutoff
The date when the AI's training data stopped. It does not know about libraries or frameworks released after this date unless you provide documentation.
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BeginnerHallucination
When an AI confidently generates incorrect or non-existent information (e.g., inventing a software library that doesn't exist). A key risk in 'Package Hallucination' attacks.
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AdvancedRAG
Retrieval Augmented Generation. A technique to expand an AI's knowledge by fetching relevant data from an external database and feeding it into the Context Window.
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IntermediateChain of Thought (CoT)
A prompting technique where you explicitly ask the AI to 'think step by step' or explain its reasoning before outputting the final answer, significantly improving logic.
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IntermediateTemperature
A setting that controls the randomness of AI output. High temperature (0.8+) is creative/chaotic; Low temperature (0.1) is deterministic/precise.
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BeginnerFeature Creep
The tendency to add too many features because AI makes it 'easy', resulting in a bloated, unmaintainable product that never launches.
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AdvancedBus Factor
A measure of risk: If the only person (or AI) who understands the code gets hit by a bus, does the project die? AI code often has a low Bus Factor (hard to read).
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IntermediateVendor Lock-in
Becoming dependent on a specific AI provider's proprietary features (e.g., OpenAI Assistants API), making it impossible to switch to competitors (Anthropic/Google).
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IntermediateMerchant of Record
A service (like LemonSqueezy) that handles global tax compliance and billing for you, acting as the reseller. Essential for solo vibe coders.
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BeginnerBaaS
Backend-as-a-Service (e.g., Supabase, Firebase). Platforms that provide Database, Auth, and Storage APIs out of the box, allowing vibecoders to focus on the frontend.
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BeginnerDNS
Domain Name System. The phonebook of the internet. You must configure A Records (IPs) and CNAMEs (Aliases) to connect your Vibe Coded app to a real URL.
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IntermediateEdge Network
A global network of servers (CDNs) that run your code closer to the user. Vercel and Netlify use this to make apps load instantly worldwide.
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BeginnerRuntime Error
An error that occurs while the app is running (often causing a 'White Screen'), as opposed to a build error which prevents the app from starting.
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AdvancedVibe Decay
The gradual degradation of an AI-generated project over time as dependencies update, APIs break, and the original prompt context is lost.
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IntermediateRBAC
Role-Based Access Control. Restricting system access based on user roles (e.g., Admin vs. User) rather than individual identity.
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AdvancedRLS
Row Level Security. A database feature (Postgres) where security rules are enforced by the database engine itself, ensuring users can only query their own data.
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IntermediateHeadless CMS
A content management system (like Sanity) that provides data via API but has no built-in frontend, allowing total design freedom for vibecoders.
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IntermediateSeed Script
A script used to populate a database with initial data (like an Admin user or placeholder posts) to kickstart development.
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BeginnerSnapshot
A saved state of your codebase (usually a Git commit). Taking a snapshot before a complex AI prompt allows you to 'Rollback' if it fails.
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IntermediateDesign System
A collection of reusable components and standards (like Shadcn or Material UI) that ensures consistency. Vibecoders inject these docs into the AI to ensure good UI.
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BeginnerBento Grid
A modular layout style inspired by Japanese lunchboxes, dividing content into distinct, rounded rectangular cells. Mobile-responsive by default.
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IntermediateGlassmorphism
A UI trend utilizing frosted glass effects (background blur), transparency, and depth (Z-axis) to create spatial hierarchy. Popularized by Spatial Computing.
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IntermediateTactile Maximalism
A rejection of flat design, embracing texture, grain, 3D objects, and 'soulful' details that make digital objects feel physical.
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BeginnerNeo-Brutalism
An anti-corporate design style characterized by high contrast, stark outlines, default system fonts, and raw/unpolished visuals.
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AdvancedGenerative UI
User interfaces that are constructed in real-time by AI based on the user's specific intent, context, and history, rather than static pre-designed pages.
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BeginnerThe Thumb Zone
The bottom quadrant of a mobile screen where controls are easily reachable. Critical for mobile-first navigation design.
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BeginnerCmd+K Palette
A modal interface triggered by the keyboard shortcut Command+K, acting as a global search and command menu for power users.
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BeginnerCursor
An AI-native fork of VS Code. Features 'Composer' mode for multi-file edits and deep context indexing.
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BeginnerBolt.new
A browser-based AI environment that can scaffold, run, and deploy full-stack web applications from a single prompt.
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BeginnerReplit Agent
An autonomous agent living in the cloud that can plan, build, and deploy apps with zero local setup.
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IntermediateWindsurf
An AI IDE by Codeium featuring 'Cascade', a flow-state context engine that predicts user intent.
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Intermediate.cursorrules
A configuration file in the project root that acts as a persistent System Prompt, enforcing coding styles and rules for the AI.
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IntermediateSystem Prompt
The foundational instruction given to an AI (e.g., 'You are a Senior Architect') that sets its behavior, persona, and constraints.
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AdvancedMeta-Prompting
Using an AI to write prompts for another AI. For example, asking ChatGPT to generate an optimal .cursorrules file.
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BeginnerZero-Shot
Asking an AI to perform a task without providing any examples.
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IntermediateFew-Shot
Providing the AI with a few examples of 'input -> desired output' to significantly improve its performance on complex tasks.
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AdvancedReAct Pattern
Reason + Act. A prompting framework where the AI thinks about a problem, acts using a tool, observes the result, and repeats.
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BeginnerFrontend Facade
A cloned website that looks functionally complete but lacks the backend logic to actually work. The common result of pure visual vibe coding.
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IntermediateShadow AI
The unauthorized use of AI tools within an organization, leading to potential data leaks and compliance violations.
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AdvancedRed Teaming
The practice of adversarially attacking your own AI system to find vulnerabilities, hallucinations, or jailbreaks.
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AdvancedContext Architect
A new engineering role focused on curating the knowledge base, rules, and documentation fed into the AI to ensure high-quality output.
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IntermediateProduct Engineer
A developer who focuses on the end-user experience and product value, leveraging AI to handle the technical implementation details.
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IntermediatePackage Hallucination
A supply chain attack where hackers register names of fake libraries that AI models frequently 'hallucinate' or invent.
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IntermediateVertical Slice
Developing a feature from the database layer up to the UI in one go, rather than building all backend then all frontend.
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IntermediateAI-Driven TDD
Test Driven Development where the AI writes the test first, then writes the code to pass it, ensuring functional correctness.
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BeginnerAtomic Commits
Making small, single-purpose changes to the codebase. Essential for Vibecoding so you can easily revert if the AI makes a mistake.
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IntermediateFeature Branch
A temporary Git branch created for a specific AI coding session. If the AI output is bad, you delete the branch. If good, you merge.
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IntermediateSquash Merge
Combines multiple small, messy AI commits into a single clean commit on the main branch, keeping history tidy.
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BeginnerFuzzy Search
A search technique (like Fuse.js) that finds results matching a pattern approximately, allowing for typos and incomplete queries.
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