Vibe Coding Tools and Resources

During the summer, I like to take seminars and workshops to learn new AI skills. Last month, I wrote about OSINT verification tools in two newsletters. Then I took Jeremy Caplan’s excellent Wonder Tools session on vibe coding.

“Vibe coding is the practice of describing what you want to build in plain language — and letting AI create it for you. No syntax. No debugging. You describe the vibe of what you want, and the AI handles the code.” – Jeremy Caplan, CUNY

The phrase “vibe coding” was coined by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy in 2025, who described it as a state where you “give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists,” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary

How It Works

Instead of typing code line-by-line, a vibe coder interacts with AI-powered development environments like ChatGPT, Claude Artifacts, Gemini Canvas (watch rate limits), Lovable, Bolt (good for getting started), Cursor (good for applications), Replit (good for games) and many others to build an application or tool. It can be as simple as a countdown timer or as complex as a data visualization tool.

These small apps, when built specifically for newsrooms, can save hours of time for reporters, editors and others.

Pros and Cons

One of the big advantages of vibe coding is that it democratizes software development, allowing non-programmers me to build functional apps. It drastically speeds up prototyping and removes tedious syntax work. One of the biggest drawbacks: it can lead to “slop” or unstable apps. Because the developer often doesn’t understand the underlying code, it can be difficult to fix complex glitches, etc.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be launching some new tools with Journalist’s Toolbox that I vibe code, including one that will replace the soon-to-be-discontinued (thanks Open AI!) Custom GPT for finding specific tools for tasks. I’ll be sharing these tools in future newsletters.

In the meantime, here are some cool vibe-coded tools from Caplan and others:

Vibe Coder Pro
Caplan built this tool that helps you transform rough thoughts into master-class platform prompts. Scribble down your rough thought, and it crafts it into instructions an AI builder will adore.

Wonder Tools Data Visualizer
Upload your dataset and ask it to design a chart. Built by Caplan.

Note-Taking Tool Finder
Take a quiz to find the right type of tool for you.

Zen Focus
A customizable Pomodoro timer that works on desktop and mobile browsers. This app aims to help you focus on any task you are working on.

QuotePop
This app will turn any text or quote into an image file.

Montana EV Charging Network
Built by AlignSimple’s Kyle Rickhoff

Globe Visualization: US Troops
Displays U.S. deployed troops around the world, pulls from a CSV. Made by Syracuse professor Dan Pacheco.

Find more coding and vibe coding tools on the Journalist’s Toolbox

Sponsor

Be sure to check out the incredible production tools suite with our new sponsor at HeyNota.com

Journalism Expert Safety Support
An AI-powered tool designed to give journalists, editors and news organizations working across the United States greater access to essential safety information and guidance.

So You Still Think You Can Google?
Henk van Ess on Google shift to search agents in spring 2026.

Downr
Fast, free online media downloader that lets you paste a link and instantly save videos, audio, or images from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and many other platforms without requiring sign-ups or annoying ads.

FlowSpeech
A context-aware AI text-to-speech tool for creators, educators, marketers, and product teams. It supports emotion control, pause control, and more than 30 voices to generate more natural voiceovers, narration, and spoken-content assets.

Data + Journalism, 2nd Edition

Samantha Sunne and I co-authored the 2nd Edition of the textbook, “Data + Journalism: A Story-Driven Approach to Learning Data Reporting” that will be available in August through Routledge and other booksellers (pre-order here). It’s an introductory- to intermediate-level guide to learning data storytelling from A to Z. The second edition features new tools, datasets, exercises and AI tools.

The Journalist’s Toolbox

My book, “The Journalist’s Toolbox A Guide to Digital Reporting and AI” was published by Routledge in 2023 and focuses on concepts and tools still used today. You can order it here.

“AI is not just about replicating human intelligence; it’s about creating intelligent systems that can surpass human limitations” — Yann LeCun, French-American computer scientist

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