Do you still write code “from scratch” or mostly remix and adapt now?
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I’ve noticed that my workflow has changed completely over the last year. I rarely start a new project with a blank file anymore. Instead, I pick a template, reuse snippets, or let an AI helper suggest the structure and then I just vibe my way through the build.
It’s faster, but sometimes I miss the old “blank screen energy,” when every line felt handcrafted.
I’m curious how others here approach it:
– Do you still prefer to build from scratch?
– Or has remixing and fast iteration become your new normal?
– Do you think this shift is making coding more creative, or less intentional?
I’d love to hear how your process has evolved and what “vibe coding” means for you right now
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My workflow has completely changed using multi-agent Claude Code to build. I can zoom out and start with brush strokes product vision, rapidly prototype, refine or pivot quickly. I can zoom into a feature and run multiple variations before deciding where to fork the product next. I can think as a user of the product (human-in-loop evaluations) at a granular feature level or product as a whole. I can also think as an evangelist writing about the product or the workflow used to build it rapidly. I am not spending time learning syntax or deciphering long lines of code. Instead I am using my years of software engineering knowhow to build "smell tests" along the code generation journey. This could be in the form of evaluations, tests, fake features audit, and static code quality reporting. This keeps "AI slop" in check. Ultimately the speed of releasing products and features is resulting in exploring more ideas, learning more domains, loving it! So I do not miss the blank screen energy :-)
I think it’s more about building quickly and discarding. Even if you start from scratch, the code isn’t meant to be final, it’s useful for rapidly deciding your ideas, conceptualizing them, and communicating your thoughts.
I draft with Claude Code (or Copilot/Cursor), open a PR, and let an AI reviewer like CodeRabbit do the first pass.
CI runs tests and scans.
I repeat until everything’s green and the PR is ready to merge.
It’s fast, but it’s still disciplined.
more detailed notes in my latest FCC blog here - https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-use-vibe-coding-effectively-as-a-dev/
I’ve mostly shifted to remixing and using templates or AI suggestions too. It’s definitely faster and helps iterate quickly, but I sometimes miss the focus and creativity that comes with a blank file. “Vibe coding” for me now is about balancing speed with small handcrafted touches.
I start from scratch less, but think from scratch more.
I feel like the more complex project the more you should invest time in actually writing yourself because going through everything AI wrote and fixing it will take 10x more time than writing code yourself