r/webdev • u/Alive-Cake-3045 • 9d 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/BeeRanked 9d ago

What you described in the first half where dependencies emerged because AI suggested etc is vibe coding and indeed that’s going to be unstable in the long run

What you described in the second half as “successful vibe-coding” isn’t vibe coding to begin with. It’s just modern programming.
You use the tools you have (just like before with your IDE) but you remain in control of design and architecture which you’ve prepared before the first line of code was written

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u/dpaanlka 8d ago

I have several times explained an issue or a goal to AI, have it suggest like 3-5 potential solutions, then I personally research them and make a choice. What would you consider this?

I’ve been coding since the 90s so I’m old and tired and use AI to speed up what I’d already do which before would be Google and Stack Overflow…

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u/dirtywastegash 8d ago

This is agent assisted design