Vibe Coding: Building a DevOps Portfolio in Under 5 Minutes with AI

Introduction: What is Vibe Coding?

Recently, I stumbled upon an interesting concept called "vibe coding" through a post by Fran Moreno. The idea resonated with me immediately: instead of meticulously planning every detail upfront, you capture the essence—the "vibe"—of what you want to create and let AI help you bring it to life.

As a DevOps engineer who's always exploring new tools and methodologies, I couldn't resist giving it a try. What happened next exceeded my expectations and taught me valuable lessons about the evolution of software development.

The Experiment: Flipping the PRD Process

Traditionally, we write Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) to guide development. But I wondered: what if I flipped this process? Instead of me writing a PRD for a developer, what if I asked ChatGPT to write the PRD for me—and then build it?

I opened ChatGPT and typed a simple prompt:

"Can you write me a Product Requirements Document for a personal website page to 'sell' myself as a DevOps engineer? It must be professional yet modern."

That's it. No detailed specifications. No wireframes. No technical constraints. Just the vibe I was going for.

The Magic Unfolds

Within minutes, ChatGPT didn't just draft a comprehensive PRD—it went further. Using its Canvas feature, it generated actual working code for the website. The entire process, from initial prompt to working prototype, took less than 5 minutes.

What ChatGPT Delivered:

1. A Complete PRD including:

   • Target audience analysis
   • Key features and sections
   • Design principles
   • Technical considerations
   • Success metrics

2. Working Code with:

   • Modern, responsive design
   • Professional layout
   • DevOps-focused content structure
   • Clean, maintainable code

3. Immediate Results:

   • A functional MVP ready to deploy
   • Professional appearance
   • Mobile-responsive design
   • All in under 5 minutes

The Irony: Time is Relative

Here's the kicker: writing this blog post took me longer than building the actual website prototype. Let that sink in. The time I spent crafting this LinkedIn post, editing it, and making sure it conveyed my experience properly exceeded the time it took to go from idea to working product.

This isn't just about speed—it's about a fundamental shift in how we approach development.

The Real Power: Prompt Engineering

What impressed me most wasn't just the speed—it was how much the quality of my prompt mattered. With a simple, well-crafted prompt that captured the essence of what I wanted, ChatGPT understood:

• The Context: A DevOps engineer's portfolio site
• The Tone: Professional yet modern
• The Purpose: To "sell" my skills effectively
• The Audience: Potential employers or clients

Key Lessons in Prompt Engineering:

1. Be Clear on the Vibe: Don't get lost in technical details; focus on the feeling and purpose
2. Trust the AI: Let it make reasonable assumptions based on context
3. Iterate Quickly: If the first result isn't perfect, refine and try again
4. Focus on Essence: Capture what matters, not every minor detail

Practical Applications for DevOps Engineers

As DevOps engineers, we're always looking for ways to automate and optimize. Vibe coding opens up new possibilities:

Infrastructure as Code

# Instead of writing detailed Terraform from scratch
Prompt: "Create a Terraform configuration for a secure, 
production-ready AKS cluster with monitoring and logging"

CI/CD Pipelines

# Let AI handle the boilerplate
Prompt: "Build a GitHub Actions workflow for a Next.js app 
that deploys to Azure with proper testing and security checks"

Documentation

# Generate comprehensive docs
Prompt: "Create detailed runbook documentation for our 
Kubernetes monitoring stack including troubleshooting steps"

Configuration Management

# Quickly prototype configurations
Prompt: "Generate Ansible playbooks for setting up a secure 
web server with fail2ban, SSL, and monitoring agents"

The Evolution of Software Engineering

Fran Moreno made an excellent point in the comments: "AI can only get better—and it highlights the importance of software engineers as creative workers."

This is the key insight. We're not being replaced; we're being elevated. Instead of spending hours on boilerplate code and repetitive tasks, we can focus on:

• Creative Problem Solving: Designing innovative solutions
• Strategic Thinking: Making architectural decisions
• Domain Expertise: Applying deep knowledge to complex problems
• Prompt Engineering: Becoming masters at communicating with AI

Vibe Coding vs Traditional Development

Let me be clear: vibe coding isn't a replacement for traditional development—it's a complementary approach. Here's when to use each:

Use Vibe Coding When:

• ✅ Prototyping quickly
• ✅ Exploring new ideas
• ✅ Creating MVPs
• ✅ Generating boilerplate
• ✅ Learning new technologies

Use Traditional Development When:

• ✅ Building production systems
• ✅ Implementing complex business logic
• ✅ Ensuring security and compliance
• ✅ Optimizing performance
• ✅ Maintaining existing codebases

The Future: Prompt Engineering as a Core Skill

As one commenter noted, "Prompt engineering is evolving from technical skill to design thinking." This resonates deeply with my experience. The most powerful prompts don't just list technical specs—they capture the essence of what we're trying to create.

Skills for the AI-Assisted Future:

1. Clear Communication: Articulating ideas concisely
2. Design Thinking: Understanding user needs and business goals
3. Domain Expertise: Knowing your field deeply
4. Creative Vision: Imagining possibilities
5. Critical Evaluation: Assessing AI-generated solutions

My DevOps Journey with AI

This experiment with vibe coding is part of my broader exploration of AI in DevOps workflows. I've been documenting my experiences with tools like Cursor AI and ChatGPT, and the results have been consistently impressive.

The key is understanding that AI tools are powerful assistants, not replacements. They amplify our capabilities, allowing us to work at a higher level of abstraction while maintaining the critical thinking and expertise that only humans can provide.

Practical Tips to Get Started

Ready to try vibe coding yourself? Here's how to start:

1. Start Simple

Begin with small, well-defined projects. A landing page, a simple API, or a configuration file.

2. Focus on the Vibe

Think about the feeling and purpose rather than technical details. What should it accomplish? Who's it for?

3. Be Specific About Context

Provide relevant context: "As a DevOps engineer..." or "For a production environment..."

4. Iterate and Refine

Don't expect perfection on the first try. Refine your prompts based on results.

5. Validate and Test

Always review, test, and validate AI-generated code. Your expertise is crucial here.

The Time Paradox

Let's return to that fascinating observation: this post took longer to write than building the prototype. What does this tell us?

It tells us that in 2024, the bottleneck in software development is increasingly shifting from implementation to communication. Writing clear documentation, explaining decisions, and sharing knowledge—these are becoming the time-intensive parts of our work.

And you know what? That's exactly where we should be spending our time. These are uniquely human skills that create lasting value.

Conclusion: Embracing the Vibe

Vibe coding represents a fundamental shift in how we approach development. It's not about writing less code or being lazy—it's about working at a higher level of abstraction, focusing on creativity and strategy rather than syntax and boilerplate.

As DevOps engineers, we're uniquely positioned to benefit from this approach. Our work involves constant automation, optimization, and tool evaluation. AI-assisted development is just another tool in our toolkit—albeit a remarkably powerful one.

The future of DevOps isn't about choosing between human expertise and AI assistance. It's about combining both to achieve results that neither could accomplish alone. It's about capturing the vibe of what we want to create and letting AI help us bring that vision to life, while we focus on the strategic thinking, domain expertise, and creative problem-solving that make us invaluable.

So go ahead—try vibe coding. Spend 5 minutes building something that might have taken hours before. Then spend the time you saved doing what you do best: thinking creatively, solving complex problems, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible.

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Interested in exploring AI-assisted DevOps workflows? Check out my other post on Cursor AI and Its Role in DevOps for more insights into AI-powered development tools.

Connect with me on LinkedIn to discuss vibe coding, DevOps, and the future of AI-assisted development!