Dohyun Jung - Principal Consultant, ROBOCO

These days there is a sharp increase in developers posting about their vibe coding experiences on developer social media and community sites, talking about how convenient and enjoyable coding alongside AI is. But when you actually look at what they describe, the level of experience packed under the single term “vibe coding” varies enormously. Some are amazed by simple autocomplete; others have gone all the way to designing and operating an entire service together with AI. From here on, I will lay out a maturity scale for vibe coding based on my own criteria.

TL;DR

  • Vibe coding is not a single level; it spans several stages, from autocomplete all the way to business-goal-driven automation.
  • The higher the stage, the more developers focus on requirements, design, review, and decision-making rather than writing code themselves.
  • Think of this scale as a reference point for checking where you are now and moving to the next stage.

Level 1 - Simple Assistant (Code Prediction)

Level 1 is the “simple assistant” level. Tools such as GitHub Copilot are the representative example. This is autocompletion of the code you are about to write next, at roughly the function level. It is convenient, but the flow and design of the code are still entirely up to the developer. In truth, even this much, used well, can bring an enormous productivity gain to an experienced developer.

Level 2 - File-Level Completion (Script Automation)

Level 2 is the “file-level completion” level. AI does a fairly convincing job of finishing simple scripts or utility-type work. This is the level where repetitive work or simple automation scripts can be handled quickly with AI’s help. At this stage, the developer looks over the whole of the code and only needs to make small corrections.

Level 3 - Modular Integration

From Level 3, things change noticeably. This is “modular integration.” AI now proposes independent features or modules spanning multiple files, taking design patterns and principles into account to some degree. The user then integrates and maintains the resulting module in the project. You get output that reflects basic software design principles such as SOLID or clean architecture to a reasonable extent.

Level 4 - Project-Level Orchestration

Level 4 is “project-level orchestration.” At this level, AI broadly supports the whole flow of a project — not just coding, but design, architecture, refactoring, testing, deployment automation, and more. The developer’s work simplifies down to conveying requirements clearly, reviewing the output, and selecting and managing the code the AI produces. Because AI understands complex context to a reasonable degree, this is the stage where the developer’s role gradually shifts toward management and oversight.

Level 5 - Business Goal-Driven Automation

The final level, Level 5, is “business goal-driven automation.” Once you reach this level, AI understands not just the technical implementation but the service’s business goals and operating environment as well. The developer focuses on setting requirements and business goals rather than on technical implementation. AI handles a substantial share of operational management — performance optimization, incident response — automatically, in addition to technical implementation and deployment. The developer only needs to focus on business strategy and key decisions.

Conclusion

The higher the level, the less technical ground the developer has to manage and the more business ground they take on. Problem definition, problem-solving, and decision-making in the business domain also become more efficient with AI’s help. Within the next few years, cases where developers touch code directly will shrink dramatically or nearly disappear. What senior developers do today will become the norm.

Vibe coding is no longer merely a tool; it has become a major current that is changing the way we develop software itself. Not everyone, however, uses vibe coding in the same way or at the same level. I hope this piece serves as a small signpost for gauging your own maturity and moving on to the next stage.