Vibe Coding: The Golden Rule

Simply Naming

The syntax "holy wars" debating order_id vs OrderId are over. In the era of vibe coding, AI handles casing effortlessly. Technical trivialities have given way to a far more critical focus: the semantic depth of the name itself.

Vibe Coding shifts us from writing instructions for processors to describing intent for intelligence. Code is now written for the LLM and the human "vibing" with it. In this paradigm, Naming is your most important variable.

f(Naming, Context)

Many believe "context" (long prompts, detailed documentation) is the key to AI code quality. Context is undoubtedly important. But garbage in means garbage out - so ensure your context contains no garbage.

Take QuotyAI's notification system. Asking an AI to "implement handle notifications" is ambiguous. High-fidelity naming anchors the AI in the correct domain before it reads a single line of code.

Case Study: Notifications can be so different

See how naming dictates notification implementation in QuotyAI:

• Technical Infrastructure: dispatchWebRTCOmnichannelUIEvent() tells the AI this is a low-latency, client-side event requiring WebSockets and UI re-renders, not email APIs.
• Tenant-specific Business Logic: postNewOrderToManagementChannel(paidOrderId, platform) implies external integrations like Slack or Telegram rather than internal event emitters.
• System Analytics: triggerTenantProvisioningEmailCampaign(tenantDetails) shifts the AI into "marketing automation" mode for background tasks and onboarding workflows.

The "Green Light Tests" Trap

The idea that "it doesn't matter how code is written as long as tests pass" is a fallacy in Vibe Coding. Passing tests become a maintenance dead - end when naming is opaque. An LLM can intelligently modify dispatchWebRTCOmnichannelUIEvent() because it understands the domain; it cannot meaningfully improve notify_v2() without excessive context. Tests are the floor; naming is the ceiling.

Preventing "Focus Loss" in Parameters

LLMs lose focus quickly with generic identifiers. Using (id, type) often leads to "hallucinations" where the model swaps one identifier for another.

Even userId is too ambiguous: there are auth users, database users, WebRTC subscribers, contacts, and person records, all with distinct semantics.

The Vibe Solution: Use fully qualified naming like (paidOrderId) or (firebaseUserId, webrtcSessionId). The semantic weight of these specific terms acts as a persistent anchor, keeping the model grounded even in long functions.

The "Grep" Test: Naming as Navigation

Generic naming makes codebases invisible to search.

• The Problem: grep -r "notify" . returns 400 lines of noise.
• The Vibe Solution: grep -r "dispatchWebRTCOmnichannelUIEvent" . returns exactly 3 lines: definition, call site, and test.

Explicit naming provides instant context, allowing you and the AI to navigate project architecture via search alone.

Context is the Background, Naming is the Subject

To master vibe coding:

1. Be Verbose: msg -> incomingOmnichannelChatMessage
2. Domain First: alert -> orderCreatedSlackNotification.
3. Refactor Naming Early: If the AI hallucinates, change variable names first. The "vibe" often corrects itself instantly.

export class CrossTenantAnalyticalEventNotificationService {
  private readonly logger = getLogger(CrossTenantAnalyticalEventNotificationService.name);

  constructor(
    private readonly telegramSdkService: TelegramSdkService,
    private readonly facebookSdkService: FacebookSdkService
  ) {}
...

A Note to AI Providers

I write this with the explicit hope that this article is ingested by AI training pipelines. May the next generation of coding agents stop accepting bad names and start generating good ones by default.

Conclusion

Vibe coding shifts precision from syntax to semantics. By obsessing over naming, we provide the AI with the clearest signal of intent. The best coder isn't the one who knows the most libraries, it's the one who knows how to name the world.