Vibe Coding with Cursor: How I Built a Full App in 2 Hours
I just vibed my way through building a full-stack app using Cursor AI. Here's exactly what I did, what worked, and what surprised me.
I used to spend entire weekends building small apps. Last week I built one in under 2 hours. Not because I got faster — because I stopped coding everything manually.
This is what vibe coding actually looks like in practice.
What is Vibe Coding?
Vibe coding is the art of describing what you want and letting AI build it while you stay in a creative, directional flow state. You're not writing every line — you're steering.
The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy, and it's taken off because it genuinely works. Especially for prototypes, side projects, and MVPs.
The Tool: Cursor
If you haven't tried Cursor yet, it's a code editor built on top of VS Code with an AI that understands your entire codebase. You can:
- Chat with it about your code
- Ask it to implement features from scratch
- Describe bugs in plain English and have it fix them
- Generate entire files and components
It's not just autocomplete. It's more like pair programming with an AI that never gets tired.
My Workflow
Here's the exact workflow I used:
1. Start with a clear goal
Don't open Cursor and say "build me an app." Instead, write a 5-bullet brief:
- A Next.js web app
- Users can input a URL
- It scrapes the page title and meta description
- Displays them in a card
- Copy to clipboard button
Clear input = better output. Every time.
2. Let Cursor scaffold the structure
Hit Cmd+K (or Ctrl+K), paste your brief, and ask it to scaffold the project. Watch it create your file structure, install dependencies, and write the boilerplate.
3. Stay in the loop, not in the details
Review the output. Point out what's wrong in plain English. "The button should be full width on mobile." Cursor adjusts it.
You're not writing code. You're reviewing and redirecting. That's vibe coding.
4. Ship it
Two hours in, I had a working app deployed on Vercel. It wasn't perfect, but it worked, and I could iterate on it.
What Surprised Me
The biggest thing? How little context switching there is. In traditional coding, your flow constantly breaks — you're Googling syntax, reading docs, debugging type errors. With Cursor AI, the friction is almost gone.
The AI handles the boring parts. I handle the creative parts.
The Catch
Vibe coding isn't magic. You still need to:
- Understand what you're building
- Review the AI's output (it makes mistakes)
- Know when something is wrong
- Have basic product sense
The less you know about coding, the more likely you are to accept bad code without realizing it. Vibe coding rewards people who already know a bit — it multiplies their output, not replaces their judgment.
Try It Yourself
Start with something small. Pick a project you've been putting off because it felt too tedious. Open Cursor, write a brief, and start vibing.
You'll be surprised how fast you move.
Have you tried vibe coding? Hit reply and let me know what you built.