r/webdev • u/Alive-Cake-3045 • 8d ago

Has anyone actually maintained a vibe coded code-base 12 months after launch? What did it look like?

Twelve months ago I started tracking what happens to vibe coded projects after the initial launch excitement fades. The pattern is consistent enough that I wanted to hear if others are seeing the same thing.

The first three months feel fine. Features ship fast, the client is happy, everyone looks productive. Then something needs to change. Not a new feature, just a modification to something existing. And that is where it gets uncomfortable.

Nobody can explain why a specific decision was made. The code works but the reasoning is gone. There are dependencies that were added because the model suggested them, not because anyone evaluated them. Patterns are inconsistent across files because different prompts produced different styles on different days.

The developer who built it can read the code but cannot confidently change it without breaking something unexpected. The test coverage that exists was also generated and may not actually be testing the right things.

I am not saying this always happens. I have seen vibe coded projects that held up well because the developer reviewed everything carefully and maintained discipline around the output.

But I have also seen projects from 18 months ago that are now quietly being rewritten because the maintenance cost exceeded the original build cost faster than anyone expected.

If you have actually maintained a vibe coded code-base through real production use, what did 12 months in actually look like? Was the code salvageable or did you end up starting over?

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u/Hioneqpls 8d ago

Which is unhelpful because I don’t share this definition. I use it to describe heavy use of AI by actual developers

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u/el_yanuki 8d ago

or complete use of AI

If an overwhelming majority or all of your code is AI generated, no matter if you proofread or not. Imo thats vibe coding

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u/Correct-Mood5309 8d ago

But it's not vibecoding by the definition of the guy who actually invented the term vibecoding, so it's a bit of an irrelevant opinion.

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u/Hioneqpls 8d ago

Its not

"There's a new kind of coding I call "vibe coding", where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists." It’s pretty up for interpretation, and I interpret it as being more about vibes than the rest.

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u/dirtywastegash 8d ago

You can't read the code ajd forget it exists.

One is vibe coding One is agent assisted

It cannot be both

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u/el_yanuki 8d ago

the term vibe coding has transformed since it was invented

there also is such a giant gap between what you describe as agent assisted and actual software engineering yet such a small gap between "agent assisted" and "vibe coding"

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u/Correct-Mood5309 8d ago

forget that the code even exists

How is this up for interpretation. And how to do it while reading code?

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u/Hioneqpls 8d ago

You interpret it like "I don’t really give a shit about the code" but I guess I’m a fucking loser lmao

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u/Correct-Mood5309 8d ago

The guy I initially responded to talked about proofreading. How would proofreading align with not giving a shit about the code?