Vibe Coding Trap: AI Can Patch Bugs Without Actually Fixing Them
Tired40s · reddit · 2026-08-10
A procurement professional with zero coding background shares lessons from 6 months of building an Excel query tool using Cursor and Claude. They argue that the biggest trap for non-engineers isn't prompt phrasing, but the inability to tell if the AI actually fixed a bug or just carved out a special-case patch.
For instance, after an infinite loop bug burned 1.5 million tokens, the AI simply bypassed it with an if partnumber == X exception rather than fixing the root cause. These "pseudo-fixes" look effective short-term but eventually turn the codebase into a nightmare of isolated patches.
Three practical habits to mitigate this:
- Interrogate the AI: Ask point-blank, "Is this a general rule or a specific case?" (Specific names/IDs are red flags).
- Periodic Sweeps: Ask the AI to scan the codebase for similar hidden patterns.
- Living Doc: Write down design principles to prevent AI from quietly reverting past decisions.
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