Claude Code Head Seeks to Replace "Vibe Coding" Term, Calling It Too Frivolous

AI programming tools have become essential for developers, but the term "vibe coding"—used to describe the AI-assisted coding model—is stirring debate. Boris Cherny, head of Claude Code, finds the term too lighthearted, as it doesn’t reflect the scale of AI coding tools (which generate billions in revenue and millions of useful code lines). He’s now seeking a more fitting replacement.

Coined by OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy in early 2025, "vibe coding" was named Collins Online Dictionary’s Word of the Year. Cherny previously asked Anthropic’s Claude for name ideas, getting "agent engineering" which lacked traction. Anthropic now refers to Claude Code as an "AI-driven programming assistant" in its docs, and Cherny is also soliciting better names from the public.