Read your code

Summary

If you’d told me 2–3 years ago that in 2025, one of my top pieces of advice for the new generation of developers would be “read your code” (we’re not even talking about re-reading it)… I’m not sure I would’ve believed you. What This Article Covers I’m not here to lecture anyone, but if you’re aiming to build serious projects these days, it might be worth learning how to approach AI coding tools the right way. This post covers: Three critical risks of poor vibe-coding practices Two effective approaches for production-grade AI-assisted development Practical tips to maintain code quality while leveraging AI speed Vibe-Coding Refresh Maybe it’s time we take a fresh look at what vibe-coding actually is. It’s more than just hobby prompting to get code — it’s a practice that serious developers should learn to master. What it means to me: Vibe-Coding is a dialogue-based coding process between a human and an AI where the human guides and the AI implements. It’s possible to ship code without ever reading it. Since Claude Code and Windsurf arrived, it’s now totally possible to get working results without reading a single line of code. You can vibe-code without ever leaving your chat window and just operate based on outcomes - I’ve tried that, out of curiosity. Even if it doesn’t work on the first try (though it often does), you just explain what’s wrong, and voilà — working result incoming. But This Comes With Three Critical Issues 1. A Weakened Architecture Not reviewing AI-generated code will lead to serious problems. First up: the slow but sure breakdown of your architecture… assuming you even took the time to plan one in the first place. From experience, even with well-crafted prompts and clearly defined plans for a new feature, Claude Code (which I love, by the way) still sometimes goes off-script. Make sure to properly configure your @CLAUDE.md files to avoid this as much as possible. Example of architectural drift: // Your established pattern: services handle business l...