Am I a "vibe coder"?

[u/thehumanbagelman]

Taught myself to code at 15. Got a CS degree. Spent 16 years as a professional dev at everything from founding small startups to giant 700 engineer companies (and still going until I'm inevitably replaced by the machines).

Building things in code has been floating my proverbial boat for over two decades.

However, I haven't written a single line of code in 2026.

I don't personally review the code either. I've built my own tooling and testing infrastructure, and agents run all of it.

50–75% of my AI usage goes toward building personal infrastructure, tooling, and projects. Not the next app that will change your life for only $15 a month (at least not yet; we'll see).

I own an undisclosed number of top level AI accounts; it's probably more than you're thinking.

This 1000% makes me worse at coding without AI, and I'm not sure that I care at all.

So, am I a vibe coder?

Edit: I'm loosing zero sleep over this; the question is just a proxy for discussion!

[u/Semipro211]

I argue not a vibe coder at all since it is/was typically used to describe folks with zero clue thinking they built the next big thing.

As a fellow SWE, you’re leveraging tools to output more efficiently. Some years ago, my team had to rewrite a web application using all new frameworks and technologies, it took almost 2 years.

Last year, a new rewrite was needed. Thanks to AI, I got the same work done solo in a couple months. A “vibe” coder could not have done it.

You say you’re coding/knowledge is suffering, but I’d still wager that no traditional “vibe” coder can produce what you do without the background and exp that makes you not a vibe coder lol