Build Faster with Vibe Coding Tools

Look, building your MVP doesn't have to be a six-month death march. What if I told you there's a whole ecosystem of tools that'll help you ship faster than you thought possible?

This isn't about cutting corners or shipping garbage. It's about working smarter.

Call it "vibe coding" if you want—that's what the indie hacker community's been calling it anyway. It's this approach where you sync up your workflow with AI assistants, no-code platforms, and deployment services that actually make sense.

Why Vibe Coding Actually Works

Here's the thing: most developers still think they need to build everything from scratch. Noble? Sure. Efficient? Not really.

Vibe coding is different. Instead of wrestling with complex setups for hours (we've all been there), you focus on the stuff that actually matters—solving real problems for real people.

Think about it this way: if you can get an AI to handle the boilerplate while you focus on the unique parts of your app, why wouldn't you?

Mission 1: Pick Your Tools (The Fun Part)

Okay, here's where it gets interesting. I've compiled 30 of the best vibe coding tools that indie hackers are actually using to build and ship their MVPs.

Not some theoretical list—these are battle-tested by people making real money.

Don't try to use all of these at once (trust me, I learned this the hard way). Pick 2-3 that match your stack and style. You can always add more later.

Mission 2: Get Your Dev Environment Dialed In

This part's pretty straightforward, but people mess it up all the time.

First things first—pick your AI coding buddy. I'm partial to GitHub Copilot, but Cursor has been making waves lately. If you're feeling adventurous, Claude Code in your terminal is surprisingly good.

Here's what you need to do:

• Install whatever AI assistant you picked (don't overthink it)
• Set up accounts on Supabase or Firebase for your backend
• Make sure your editor's actually talking to your AI tools (sounds obvious, but...)
• Get GitHub or GitLab sorted for version control

Pro tip: Try this prompt if you're going the React + Supabase route:

"Help me set up a React project with Supabase backend and GitHub Copilot enabled. I want authentication and a simple database setup."

Mission 3: Build the Thing (Finally)

Now we're cooking. This is where vibe coding really shines.

The secret? Don't build everything yourself. Let the AI handle the boring stuff while you focus on what makes your app special.

Here's my approach:

• Use AI to spit out boilerplate and basic components
• Lean on tools like v0 for UI components (seriously, this thing's magic)
• Connect to backend services instead of rolling your own (Supabase auth beats writing your own every time)
• Test as you go with Cypress or Jest—don't be that person who ships without tests

Want a login form? Try this:

"Generate React code for a user login form connected to Supabase auth. Include error handling and validation."

The AI will give you something that works. Then you make it yours.

Mission 4: Test, Break, Fix (Repeat)

Testing isn't glamorous, but it's what separates the pros from the wannabes.

Write tests for the critical stuff—login, payment flows, core features. Use Sentry to catch errors in production (because they will happen). And actually talk to your users. Revolutionary, I know.

Here's something I do: I ask AI to help improve my code. Like this:

"Here's my login form code. How can I make the error handling better and improve accessibility?"

You'd be surprised how much low-hanging fruit there is.

Mission 5: Ship It (The Scary Part)

Time to put your baby out into the world.

Pick a deployment platform and stick with it. Vercel is dead simple for React apps. Netlify works great too. Railway or Render if you need more control.

Connect your GitHub repo, set up your environment variables (don't commit secrets, please), and hit deploy. Then share it everywhere. Twitter, Reddit, wherever your people hang out.

Deployment checklist prompt:

"Write a deployment checklist for a React app using Vercel and Supabase. Include environment variables and security considerations."

What I Learned (The Hard Way)

After shipping a few MVPs with this approach, here's what actually matters:

Speed beats perfection. Always. Get something working and in front of users before you polish every pixel.

The right tools can 10x your productivity. But the wrong ones will slow you down. Don't use something just because it's trendy.

AI assistants are incredible for boilerplate and basic logic. They're less good at understanding your specific business logic. Know the difference.

Test early, test often. Deploy early, deploy often. Get feedback early... you get the idea.

Resources That Don't Suck

• GitHub Copilot Docs — Actually well-written
• Supabase Quickstart — Gets you up and running fast
• Vercel Deployment Guide — Simple and clear
• IndieHackers Forum — Where the real discussions happen

What's Next?

Once your MVP is live (congrats!), the real work starts. Marketing, user acquisition, figuring out monetization. But that's a whole other post.

The important thing is you shipped something. Most people never get that far.

Want a Co-Pilot for Your Journey?

Look, building a profitable indie business is hard. There's a lot more to it than just shipping code.

That's why I built Indie10k. Think of it as having a business coach who actually understands the technical side. We break down everything—from choosing the right tools to pricing strategies—into weekly missions with real checklists and examples.

No fluff, no theoretical nonsense. Just practical guidance from someone who's been there.

Ready to turn this vibe coding thing into a real business? Let's do it together