'Vibe coding' your own apps with AI is easy! 7 tools and tricks to get started

Your first instinct might be to use an AI-assisted integrated development environment (IDE), one that you've heard is good for vibe coding, like Windsurf, Cursor, or even Claude Code (which technically isn't an IDE, but that's besides the point). All of these tools are built for AI coding, so they're the best place to start, right? These tools are designed to make highly productive programmers even more productive, and that means they assume a level of knowledge that amateur coders--like you and me--lack. Diving into these programs straight away is likely to leave you confused and discouraged. Not to mention that AI-powered IDEs are pretty darn expensive, too.