The Complete Vibe Coding Stack

Most vibe coders focus only on the AI tool. That’s half the equation. Here’s everything you need.

Code Generation

Primary: Claude Code

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# Install
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Use
cd your-project
claude

Why Claude Code: Best reasoning, understands full codebase, plan mode for complex features. The most capable option for developers.

When to switch to Cursor: Daily coding with autocomplete. Cursor’s speed for small edits beats Claude Code’s thoroughness.

Secondary: Cursor

The AI-powered IDE. Use for:

• Fast autocomplete while typing
• Quick edits and fixes
• Chat for explanations
• Composer for multi-file changes

Setup:

1. Download from cursor.sh
2. Import VS Code settings
3. Create .cursorrules with your patterns

For Non-Developers: Lovable

When you need an app without coding skills:

• Landing pages
• Internal tools
• MVPs for validation

Warning: Security review mandatory before production use.

Security Tools

Gitleaks (Secrets)

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# Install
brew install gitleaks

# Scan
gitleaks detect --source . --verbose

# Pre-commit hook
# .pre-commit-config.yaml
repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks
    rev: v8.18.0
    hooks:
      - id: gitleaks

Why essential: AI constantly hardcodes secrets. This catches them before commit.

Semgrep (Code Patterns)

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# Install
pip install semgrep

# Scan
semgrep --config auto .

# With AI-specific rules
semgrep --config p/security-audit --config .semgrep/ai-rules.yml

Why essential: Catches AI code patterns that lead to vulnerabilities. Write custom rules for your specific issues.

VibeEval (AI Code Security)

Purpose-built for vibe-coded applications. Catches:

• IDOR vulnerabilities
• Auth bypass patterns
• Prompt injection
• Lovable/Bolt-specific issues

Snyk (Dependencies)

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# Install
npm install -g snyk

# Authenticate
snyk auth

# Scan
snyk test

Why essential: AI suggests packages based on training data, not security. Many suggestions have known vulnerabilities.

Development Environment

Terminal: Warp or iTerm2

Both support AI features. Warp has AI command suggestions built-in.

Warp setup for vibe coding:

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# Enable AI
warp ai

# Use for command generation
# Type # followed by description
# database migration create users table

Shell Configuration

Add to your .zshrc or .bashrc:

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# Claude Code alias
alias cc="claude"

# Quick security scan
alias seccheck="gitleaks detect && semgrep --config auto"

# Git commit with security check
alias gc="seccheck && git commit"

VS Code / Cursor Extensions

Essential extensions for vibe coding:

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{
  "recommendations": [
    "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint",
    "esbenp.prettier-vscode",
    "bradlc.vscode-tailwindcss",
    "prisma.prisma",
    "github.copilot",
    "eamodio.gitlens"
  ]
}

Deployment

Vercel

Best for vibe-coded React/Next.js apps:

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# Install
npm i -g vercel

# Deploy
vercel

Why Vercel: One command deployment. Works with Lovable exports. Good security defaults.

Railway

For backend services and databases:

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# Install
npm i -g @railway/cli

# Deploy
railway up

Why Railway: Simple Postgres/Redis setup. Environment variables handled well.

Cloudflare

For static sites, workers, and security:

• Pages: Static site hosting
• Workers: Edge functions
• WAF: Security protection

Why Cloudflare: Free WAF protects against common attacks while you fix vulnerabilities.

Monitoring

Sentry (Errors)

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import * as Sentry from "@sentry/node";

Sentry.init({
  dsn: process.env.SENTRY_DSN,
  environment: process.env.NODE_ENV
});

Why essential: AI code has edge cases. Sentry shows what’s breaking in production.

Posthog or Mixpanel (Analytics)

Understand how users interact with your vibe-coded app. Critical for iteration.

Uptime Monitoring

Simple check that your app is running:

• Checkly
• UptimeRobot
• Better Uptime

Version Control

Git + GitHub

Standard. Nothing changes for vibe coding.

Add to .gitignore:

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.env*
*.pem
*.key
node_modules/
.cursor/

Branch protection for AI code:

• Require PR reviews
• Require security checks to pass
• No direct push to main

Documentation

README Generation

Use Claude Code to maintain documentation:

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Update the README to reflect the current state of the project.
Include setup instructions, environment variables needed,
and deployment steps.

CLAUDE.md

For Claude Code projects, maintain project context:

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# Project: MyApp

## Stack
- Next.js 14
- Supabase
- Tailwind CSS

## Security Requirements
- All endpoints require authentication
- Use parameterized queries
- Validate all input with Zod

## Patterns
- Use server components by default
- API routes in app/api/

The Minimal Stack

If you’re just starting, use these:

This covers 90% of needs. Add more as requirements grow.

FAQ

Conclusion