coding is right here to remain. Instruments like Cursor, V0, and Lovable have dramatically lowered the barrier to entry — constructing dashboards, pipelines, or total apps can now be performed in a fraction of the time.
I exploit these instruments day by day, they usually’ve positively made me sooner. However because the codebase will get extra advanced, the tradeoffs grow to be clear: cryptic bugs, tangled logic, and hours misplaced debugging code I didn’t actually perceive.
AI instruments are nice — particularly for newbies — however they arrive with a quiet value. The extra you let AI carry the load, the less possibilities it’s important to sharpen your instincts that come from wrestling with complexity.
Sure, AI will velocity up your workflow, however you’ll additionally skip the formative steps the place technical knowledge is earned.
“Vibe coding” — shortly cobbling collectively code with minimal planning — is nice for demos or experiments. However for deeper technical progress or constructing methods with significant complexity, vibe coding isn’t sufficient. This trending Reddit submit sums it up completely: left unchecked, vibe coding creates extra issues than it solves.
On this piece, I’ll present you easy methods to use AI-assisted instruments extra properly — and why contributing to Open Source is likely to be essentially the most underrated strategy to actually degree up your technical abilities.
My expertise vibe coding with Cursor
Like many builders, I switched from VS Code (with GitHub Copilot) to Cursor and am presently subscribed to Cursor’s Professional plan ($20/month).
The characteristic I depend on most is Cursor’s built-in AI chat, which lets me instantly work together with my total codebase. Its agent can shortly grep by a number of information and even deal with photos - extraordinarily helpful when navigating giant, unfamiliar repos. It additionally spots linter errors and auto-corrects them whereas instantly enhancing information.
Initially, Cursor dramatically boosted my productiveness, particularly for easier duties. It felt highly effective, nearly magical. However as issues bought advanced, I observed some cracks. Cursor would generally generate spaghetti code, combine up equally named information throughout directories, and sometimes wrestle to comply with intricate logic flows.
Vibe coding can get you 1000’s of strains of code in minutes — however with no robust psychological mannequin of what you’re constructing, you danger ending up with bloated, over-engineered methods.
Cursor does a good job narrowing down the search area when debugging. However letting it make unchecked edits does introduce much more bugs than it solves.
Past the same old recommendation to “write higher prompts,” one technique I’ve discovered particularly useful is telling Cursor NOT to make direct edits. (It’s surprisingly obedient about this!)
As a substitute, I explicitly ask it to recommend adjustments first within the chat interface. Then, I’d assessment every suggestion, determine which edits made sense, and apply them selectively — both manually or by Cursor. Not like ChatGPT, Cursor’s largest power is its contextual consciousness of your entire codebase and its potential to parse by prolonged information (over 5k strains of code) by processing them in manageable chunks.
Contributing to open supply
So, how do you get technically stronger? Two methods stand out: aspect tasks and open supply contributions.
Facet tasks are nice for exploring new tech or diving deep into one thing you’re passionate or interested in. Marvel how AI brokers work or interested in MCP? Simply constructing a easy weekend undertaking teaches you excess of hours of tutorials or documentation. Due to open-source, instruments and assets are freely accessible, leveling the enjoying discipline for everybody.
However solo tasks have downsides. It’s straightforward to lose motivation — a lot of my very own aspect tasks by no means noticed the sunshine of day.
Plus, you’ll find your self in an echo chamber: your code works, however you’re undecided if it’s following greatest practices or trade requirements. If you happen to’re early in your profession and lack mentorship, how are you aware in the event you’re even heading in the right direction?
That is precisely the place open supply fills the hole. Open supply tasks aren’t only for coding wizards; they’re for everybody. Your favorite libraries like Pandas, Matplotlib, TensorFlow, and Keras rely closely on neighborhood involvement.
Why trouble contributing?
Open supply allows you to make an actual impression utilized by 1000’s of builders — not simply toy tasks no person sees. You’ll grow to be proficient with model management (howdy, GitHub!), sharpen your abilities navigating advanced codebases, choose up greatest practices, and construct a community of people that can vouch for you when it issues.
There are profession advantages too. It’ll add to your portfolio and private model, and also you’ll ramp up sooner when becoming a member of new groups.
However, contribute for the suitable causes. In case your solely motivation is touchdown a job, DON’T contribute! Open supply isn’t a ticket to get a job — it requires real curiosity and dedication. It reveals you’ve a ardour to construct, and for a lot of startups that start from open supply tasks, that’s how they discover their first hires.
Choosing an open supply undertaking that you simply care about
Beginning out can appear daunting. Many widespread repos have huge codebases, doubtlessly outdated documentation, or a whole bunch of unclear points. So how do you choose?
First up, choose a undertaking you genuinely care about. This would possibly sound apparent, however it’s essential — and underrated.
Select one thing you really use, whether or not at work or in a aspect undertaking. Leaping into an unfamiliar undertaking with unfamiliar tech is solely overwhelming, and also you’ll lose motivation quick.
Personally, I’m each a consumer and an enormous fan of PostHog — the product analytics platform constructed particularly for builders — so I began contributing there. Their docs had been complete and well-structured, which made it an superior place to begin. (And no, they didn’t pay me to say this!)
What to contribute?
There are a ton of issues you are able to do. Right here’s an method that I discovered useful.
- Discover a characteristic you want or enhance one thing you employ.
Narrowing down contributions to options you genuinely care about provides readability and motivation. One of the best code comes from fixing issues you personally face. - Arrange your native atmosphere.
Fork the undertaking, clone it domestically, and get it operating. Perceive the place logs are and easy methods to take a look at adjustments. Get a grasp on the undertaking’s fundamental construction and coding type. - Begin small and be taught by doing
Many repos tag beginner-friendly points (like “good-first-issue”). Decide these to begin. Perceive and replicate the bug; don’t hesitate to remark in the event you’re caught. While you open a PR, guarantee your adjustments cross all linting and checks.
Studying to navigate the codebase is important. You don’t must learn each line — that’s virtually unattainable. After greedy the high-level construction, dive in. Begin small to get snug with the construct, deployment, and PR assessment course of. Write clear commit messages and PR descriptions. Test just lately merged PRs to see profitable examples or insightful discussions.
Wrapping up
Contributing to open supply takes endurance — widespread repos are large, and studying takes time. Turning into a constant, worthwhile contributor takes no less than a couple of months, so don’t get discouraged by preliminary setbacks. In case your PR is rejected otherwise you get caught on a difficult bug, that’s completely regular — it’s all a part of the educational course of.
If you happen to’re new to open supply and need to chat, be happy to attach. Whereas I didn’t dive deeply into technical particulars right here (a fast Google or ChatGPT search can information you there), I hope this offers you the big-picture perspective to get began. Open supply has been rewarding for me — and I hope it is going to be for you too.
See you within the subsequent article 🙂
