Structure is Hard, Pretty is Easy: My Notes from Line’s Session on Vibe Coding

Sitting here listening to Line talk about "vibe coding," and honestly, it’s a reality check for anyone thinking AI is just a "magic button" for building products.

The big takeaway? Structure is hard, but making it pretty is easy.

Here’s the breakdown of how she’s approaching building right now:

Phase 0: Don't start with the "Vibe"

Line calls the PRD (Product Requirements Document) your "source of truth." It’s basically a business plan for your product. Before you prompt anything, you need to know:

• The Happy Path: What are the 1–2 core journeys that actually matter?
• The Roles: Who is logging in? What can they read, and what can they write?
• The Stack: She often uses Supabase because it’s the standard for tools like Lovable, but she prefers it because it’s open-source. It gives her the flexibility to pull the project out of the ecosystem and build on her own whenever she wants.

The "House" Analogy

I love how she frames the build process. Most people start with the "paint" (the UI), but Line says that’s the last step. (As a product designer, it's really hard not to start with the UX).

"It’s easy to change a door or paint a wall. Moving the piping? Not so much. Moving a bathroom? Forget it."

In code, the "piping" is your data model. You need to define your boxes: Customers, Products, Orders and how they link together. If you get the data model wrong and try to fix it later with AI, things get messy fast.

The System: ShadCN & Tailwind

She pointed out why everything in the vibe-coding world looks a bit similar right now: it's all using ShadCN.

• The Win: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Hover states, click states, and error handling are built-in.
• The Strategy: Use the system to build the logic first. You can "skin" it with your own brand identity at the very end.

Real-World Connections (The "Secret" Keys)

Line walked through the stuff people usually forget:

• Zero States: What does the dashboard look like when it's empty? Don't just show a blank screen; show the benefitof adding data. Build trust through hand-holding.
• APIs & Secrets: She’s been building her own OS for her smart ring data lately. The key is just getting the API keys and 'secrets' from the service (like Google or Stripe) and letting the AI handle the connection, just don't paste your 'secrets' in the chat!
• Internal Tools: She’s actually finding it easier to build her own CMS (Content Management System) than setting up WordPress or Sanity. Since you have direct access to the database, you can just build a toggle to edit text directly on the page.

The vibe in the room: It’s clearly about moving from "playing with AI" to "systematic building." Start with the structure, nail the data model, and paint the house once the plumbing works.

I’m definitely going to try to map out my next project using this "Phase 0" approach.

Kind Regards

Andreas Melvær