welcome

Thank you for purchasing the MEAP edition of Vibe Engineering. We’re thrilled to have you join us on this journey into the new reality of AI-augmented software development.

The rapid adoption of AI coding assistants has changed how we build software—but not always for the better. Many developers are discovering that the apparent speed and creativity these tools provide often come with hidden costs, subtle risks, and difficult trade-offs. This book is your critical guide to navigating that landscape.

In Vibe Engineering, we explore the tension between speed and understanding, convenience and control. You’ll learn to identify the illusions of progress that arise from over-reliance on AI tools and how to design processes that preserve human judgment while amplifying productivity. We focus on practical techniques—frameworks for reasoning about cost versus accuracy, scientific methods for validating AI-generated code, and strategies for maintaining high engineering standards in an AI-augmented environment.

To get the most out of this book, you should have a basic familiarity with Java (and optionally Python) and feel comfortable using a modern IDE such as IntelliJ IDEA or Visual Studio Code. You’ll also need access to ChatGPT (a free account works fine) and, if you’d like to follow along with the examples, Cursor IDE or Visual Studio Code with the Cline extension.