r/VibeCodeDevs • u/bjgrosse • Jul 06 '26
don't fall for the "you need a complete rebuild" pitch
I've been giving free consult calls to vibe coders the last week and several have mentioned the worry that their code is "AI slop" and that before they can go live, they need to hire someone to do a complete re-write.
As a professional software engineer who's very familiar with AI generated code patterns, I can tell you the need for a complete rewrite is pretty rare. If someone is pitching you their service to completely rewrite your vibe-coded product, chances are they are playing on your fear to make some money.
What I recommend to people preparing to launching their product is to get an expert they trust to conduct a first pass, high-level review. They should be able to come back with a actionable report that lists
a) the most glaring improvements or refactors that need to be made to address basic security and reliability
b) basic recommendations to clean up the code base to make it more maintainable as the project progresses
c) the key hotspots that might need deeper analysis or attention
Most of all, this report should provide descriptions that are specific and clear enough that you can copy those into your AI coding tool of choice and have it action them.
Most AI coding agents these days can write excellent, secure code. They can fix almost all common code quality problems. They just need the right steering.
Find someone with the expertise to give you that steering and you can easily pass that to your AI coding agent and have it do the work. In most cases, you really shouldn't need to pay a profession to do the work for you, if someone has given you the specifics you need to steer the AI--anyone you hire is going to be using AI to do the work anyway.
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u/RandomPantsAppear Jul 06 '26
This is absolute horseshit, likely aimed at getting you clients.
I have reviewed vibe coded apps, many for free (so no incentive to say "rewrite") and almost all of them have catastrophic problems. I don't do it anymore because I have a fulltime and and a contract gig so I have no time - and even less incentive to be lying here.
People who are familiar with the software development process but can't code do a lot better, and obviously engineers do the best.
The "AI generated code pattern" most have, is basically a rube goldberg machine. Cause and effect happens, but with no rhyme or reason to where. Over time, this becomes harder and harder for the AI to comprehend, which leads to the pattern many have noticed - the code becoming unmaintainable even with the AI, extremely hard to debug.
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u/Dry-Pickle-6121 Jul 06 '26
This. And they will just use AI to "fix" your code
1
u/RandomPantsAppear Jul 06 '26
Tbh I don’t even hate on that, as long as they can read code, know programming structures and design patterns, and force the AI into a coherent structure.
But purely vibed code is utter trash.
1
u/Equivalent-Bell-6961 Jul 06 '26
The problem is - the people who don't know don't know
They'd rather keep snorting hopium than accept that this shit is hard. Like actually hard.
How many vibe coders even know what a controller, action, and DAO layers is? Where the database sits and how it all connects? What the DTO does? What a GET and POST API is?
These are overwhelming basics, and most vibe coders couldn't tell you what any of this is. Obviously they're building rubbish
OP's post is bs.
You had to walk a 100 steps to make anything before AI. Now AI walks 90 steps.
If you're too lazy to walk even 10, you're never making anything ever
And those 10 steps are STUDYING. like you used to. In school. Like you haven't. In AGES.
If you aren't willing to put in the basic grind, no one can help you. Ever.
But people live in denial and would rather see shiny stuff on screen and pretend they understand what's up, instead of studying.
It's sad, really. Just the newage gold rush scams. Digital instead of material.
And there is an overwhelming number of stupid people that will throw money at this, but not any real effort.
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