The Stack Overflow Podcast Vibe code anything in a Hanselminute
27 snips
Jan 13, 2026 
Scott Hanselman, VP of Developer Community at Microsoft and host of several tech podcasts, joins Ryan to dive into vibe coding. They explore the importance of human judgment in software development, discussing how AI can assist—but not replace—creative coding. Scott shares insights from a live demo where he coded a Windows ring light app over lunch. The duo emphasizes the differences between prototypes and production-level code, and the necessity of mentoring juniors to cultivate a robust developer community.
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Goals Determine Vibe Coding Suitability
- Vibe coding speeds prototyping but can't replace deep understanding for critical systems.
- Scott Hanselman warns that goals determine how much rigor and ownership you need in code.
One-Hour Ring Light Hack
- Scott built a Windows ring-light app in about an hour using Copilot and dictation.
- He iterated ~40 times with the AI before seeing a usable UI in 15 minutes.
Be Specific About Environment Details
- Tell the AI specific domain terms like "use the primary monitor" and "DPI" to avoid narrow, machine-only solutions.
- Non-technical vibers risk creating code that only works on their machine without those specifics.