Start building · Practical AI guide

Vibe coding workflow: build, test and review small changes

Describe, build, run, inspect. Repeat in small slices.

By AgentBoards · Published October 15, 2026 · Editorial guidance with an illustrative example; no product benchmark or guaranteed outcome.

Keep each request small enough to inspect. Before asking for a feature, run the current app and save a working checkpoint. Describe one behavior, let the agent implement it, and try it yourself. A green build helps, but it does not show whether someone can use the result in a browser or on a phone.

Start with these three steps

Save a working checkpoint in version control.
Ask for one visible behavior and run it.
Review the changed files before the next feature.

Illustrative example

Make the request concrete

Your task-list app works, but users need to hide completed tasks. Adding filtering, teams, reminders and a redesign together would make a regression hard to trace.

Add a “Hide completed” toggle above the existing task list. Default it to off. Keep the current styling and storage format. Do not change login or add dependencies. List the files changed, run the existing checks, and explain how to verify that toggling does not delete tasks.

What to check afterward

With two open tasks and one completed task, enabling the toggle shows two rows; disabling it restores all three.
Reloading follows the agreed behavior for the toggle, and the stored task records are unchanged.
The toggle has a visible label, works with a keyboard, and fits on the smallest screen you support.

A prompt you can adapt

Replace the [brackets] with your task and use only information appropriate for your tool.

Implement only [behavior]. First identify the files you expect to change. Keep existing conventions. Afterward explain the diff in plain language, run relevant checks, and give me a manual test. Flag anything you could not verify.

Watch for this failure

Stacking new features on top of a broken version.

If the new version breaks the original journey, stop adding features. Compare the diff with your working checkpoint and isolate the failing behavior. Avoid asking the agent to rewrite unrelated components while you are still locating the regression.

You’re done when: You can explain what changed and restore the previous working version.