March 15, 2026

The Vibecoding Reality Check Every Indie Hacker Needs

If you have spent any time on Twitter lately, you have seen it: someone claiming they "vibecoded an app in 30 minutes." The hype is real. AI coding tools have exploded in capability. But here is what nobody is telling you.

Mac Budkowski spent 100 hours vibecoding a product called Cryptosaurus — and his findings are a must-read for anyone building with AI.

The 30-Minute Myth

After spending 100 hours on his vibecoding experiment, Mac came to a stark conclusion: "People who say they 'vibecoded an app in 30 minutes' are either building simple copies of existing projects, produce some buggy crap, or just farm engagement."

"I started by describing my idea to ChatGPT. We discussed it for a while, narrowed down the scope and I was ready to start. In the first hour I had my working prototype. Wow, I'm going to publish it soon, right? Not right."

— Mac Budkowski

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