The vibe coding stack of August 2025

THIS WEEK’S STORY

Why Vibe Matters More Than Tech

In the past, building an app started with a painful question: what tech stack should I use? Languages, frameworks, databases, endless debates. You could waste months before writing a single useful line of code.

But things have changed. You don’t need a tech stack anymore. You need a vibe stack.

A vibe stack is not about syntax or frameworks. It is about flow. It is the set of tools that keeps you moving from idea to prototype to launch without friction. Tools that feel natural, keep your momentum, and let you stay in creation mode instead of decision paralysis.

The old world was about limitations. The new world is about energy. If the tools match your vibe, you will ship. If they don’t, you will stall.

That’s why this week I’m sharing my own vibe stack in the tip below. And if you want to learn exactly how to build apps with the perfect vibe stack, join my free aiOS App Builders community

THIS WEEK’S TIP

This week I want to share with you the AI coding vibe stack that I use to code web and mobile apps quickly while keeping a solid structure. Let’s get straight into it.

Coding Environment

Cursor – an AI coding interface that lets you build apps directly with an AI agent. You open the chat tab and interact with the AI to write code for you.

Tips: keep a PRD.md file where you detail your project requirements, tech stack, and UX/UI. Always commit and push your code to GitHub for version control so you avoid AI chaos. For larger or more complex tasks, use Sonnet 4 or Opus 4.1. For smaller, isolated tasks, Gemini 2.5 Pro is cheaper and works just fine.

Claude Code – a very powerful coding agent that runs in the terminal. I recommend installing the Claude Code extension inside Cursor so you can use it in a more user-friendly environment.

Run /init to set up your codebase and use “plan” mode (Shift + Tab) when you want it to develop new features. Claude Code is amazing for bigger, more intelligent tasks where it needs to plan and execute. For small tweaks or isolated fixes, Cursor is actually better.

Frameworks

For web: Next.js + React + Typescript + Shadcn UI components. This combination is fast, scalable, and simple to understand. It’s also the stack behind many of today’s most popular applications.

For mobile: React Native + Expo. This lets you build universal mobile apps for both iOS and Android in one go, without having to deal with complicated native languages.

MVP Starters

v0 – great for web applications in Next.js. You can iterate directly in v0 until you are happy, then export the code and continue working locally. It follows the Next.js architecture so it’s easy to continue building on top.

Bolt – perfect for mobile apps in React Native. It gives you a clean project structure and folder setup that speeds up development right away.

Tip: for both v0 and Bolt, I recommend iterating in the platform until you have a functional template. Then export the code, open it in Cursor, and continue building with AI agents.

UX/UI Design

Dribbble – my go-to for design inspiration. I always start here to get ideas flowing.

Mobbin – a great resource to study what makes UX successful in apps that already work at scale.

Tweakcn – useful for previewing different styles, color schemes, fonts, and themes for web projects. Since it follows Shadcn components, you can copy the stylesheet directly into your project and ask Cursor to implement it.

Superdesign – a powerful AI design plugin for Cursor. It generates production-ready screens, components, and layouts that actually feel like they came from a designer rather than generic AI output.

21st.dev – a UI component library with AI prompts attached. You can recreate components directly inside Cursor just by copying prompts.

Midjourney – for all the graphic assets in your app and marketing, from icons to visuals.

Enable AI Functionalities

Vercel AI SDK (web) – the simplest way to connect your app to any LLM. With just a few lines of code, you can add chats, analysis, and interactions. It also gives you a secure server-side route to protect your API keys.

OpenRouter – excellent for development. It lets you switch between different AI providers with just one line of code. For production, you’ll want to secure calls with a proxy.

Expo API Routes (mobile) – the equivalent of Vercel AI SDK, but for mobile development.

Code Review and Versioning

GitHub – always commit and push your codebase. Cursor makes this easy inside the version control tab. You just click “commit” and then “push” without needing to touch the terminal.

Tip: if you’re unsure, toggle the “ask” option in Cursor and explain what you’re trying to do with GitHub.

CodeRabbit – a Cursor extension that runs every time you commit. It reviews your code with AI, points out vulnerabilities, and suggests improvements. You can then fix issues with Cursor, let CodeRabbit do it automatically, or ignore them.

AI Automations

n8n – an automation builder with a simple drag-and-drop interface. It’s great for creating lightweight backends and powerful AI workflows without writing custom code.

Deployment

Vercel (web) – the fastest and most reliable way to deploy web applications. Many of the biggest sites in the world use it.

Expo (mobile) – Expo also gives you a platform to deploy apps directly to iOS and Android with minimal friction.

This is the stack that keeps me in flow. Instead of fighting with code and setup, I can stay focused on building apps that work.

QUICK HITS

• Meta & Google’s $10B AI Cloud Deal – Google will power Meta’s AI projects with a six-year, $10B cloud partnership. (TechCrunch)

  Adobe Unveils Acrobat Studio – AI meets PDFs: summarize, query, and create content inside Adobe’s new platform. (Forbes)

  Breakthrough in Ultra-Low-Power AI Chips – Scientists unlock a method to boost AI chip efficiency using spintronic energy recovery. (Nature)

  Huawei Cloud Shifts Focus to AI – Huawei restructures to prioritize AI-driven cloud solutions across Asia-Pacific. (CNBC)

  Saudi Arabia Doubles Down on AI – OmniOps partners with Groq to fast-track Saudi Arabia’s AI innovation push. (ZDNet)

And That is all for this week!

See you next Saturday!

Filippo

Filippo Pietrantonio

Find me on X, or Book a 1:1 Call