Vibe Coding 101

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Vibe Coding 101Directed Study: Vibe Coding — Building Software with AI

Build real software with AI, on a $0 budget. A hands-on University of Idaho course that takes people who have never coded to shipping a deployed web app by directing AI tools, and teaches the habits that make that software trustworthy. 3 credits · eight accelerated weeks · two 3-hour studios a week.

Start here (first hour)
Read the syllabus
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Very hands-on

Two 3-hour studios a week. Studio A is a short talk (20 minutes at most) and a lab; Studio B is a workshop with practice, project time and help. You ship five projects.

See the projects

Free tools only

Every required tool has a free tier, and every layer has two tested fallbacks for when free limits run out.

The tool handout

One workflow, every tool

The Safe Loop — describe, plan, step, test, read, commit — works in a chat window in week 1 and with an AI agent in week 8.

The Safe Loop

Graded on understanding, with support

Labs and timed builds are graded on effort, not polish or speed, and exit tickets aren't graded on correctness. Three short, friendly walkthroughs, with the questions published in advance, let you show what you understand. Walkthroughs 1 and 2 can be retaken.

What to expect

Safety built in

Nine plain-English safety rules, each taught when you need it, and a week 7 lab where you test your own database the way an attacker would, then lock it down.

The safety contract

Based on evidence

Designed from a review of 2025–26 university and industry courses, education research and real security incidents, updated in October 2026.

Why it looks like this

The eight weeks ​

WeekTitleYou build
0Pre-workAccounts, privacy settings and a first AI-built page, before Studio 1
1Hello, Vibe CodingA personal home page, live on the web, and your own AI-use rules
2Prompting & Save PointsA browser game in one hour, with git save points
3Spec FirstProject 1 from your own one-page spec
4Read It, Debug It, Own ItThe Debug Clinic (AI off), your first automated test, Project 1 final
5APIs, Secrets & ServersAn AI-powered micro-app with a hidden API key
6How Agents Work"Be the Agent"; your capstone's first agent-built feature and pull request
7Security, Data & ReviewThe RLS Attack Lab; a database for your capstone
8Ship ItCapstone polish and the Project Fair

The Safe Loop ​

#StepWhat you do
1DescribeGoal, context, constraints, "done when". Write the check first
2PlanAsk for a plan, and edit it before any code is written
3StepOne small change at a time
4TestRun your check, the normal case and an edge case
5ReadRead the diff, and write a short teach-back of what changed and why
6CommitA git save point with a clear message

If two fixes in a row fail, stop, start a fresh chat and rewrite the prompt: the two-strikes rule. Printable card.

How to use this site ​

  • Students: start with the first-hour quick start before Studio 1. Each week, open the week's overview and read This week at a glance first: it lists what to do before Studio A, what each studio covers, what's due and the minimum to keep up. Keep troubleshooting and the glossary handy.
  • Self-paced learners: follow the self-paced path, which says what replaces each studio activity when you're working alone. When you're stuck, use tutor mode.
  • Screen reader or keyboard users: the accessibility guide covers every tool the course uses.
  • Instructors: instructor notes, answer keys and the instructor guide are in the GitHub repository.

Tools change often

Every price, limit and model name lives on one page, Tools, which carries the date it was last checked.

Course materials: CC BY 4.0 · Code: MIT

Materials CC BY 4.0 · Code MIT

Vibe Coding 101 · Boyu Zhang and contributors