Turns experiments with coding agents into explanations of what to build, how to inspect the result and how to keep learning from code a model wrote.
Why read Simon Willison?
Willison is a useful first stop when a generated application appears to work and you want to understand what comes next. His writing separates prompt-driven experiments from the responsibilities of maintaining software, with specific attention to reviewing code, testing behavior and explaining how a system works.
Follow the essays with his Agentic Engineering Patterns guide. The linear walkthrough example shows how to ask an agent for a tour of a codebase, using commands and captured output to support the explanation. It gives a practical next step for turning a quick prototype into something you can understand and improve.
Start with the original
Selected work
Essay ·
Not all AI-assisted programming is vibe coding (but vibe coding rocks)
When is a quick AI-built experiment enough? Willison explains the original meaning of vibe coding, why it is useful for exploration and what changes when other people depend on your software.
Essay ·
Vibe engineering
What skills matter when agents write the code? A concrete account of planning, documentation, tests, review and preview environments as part of an engineer's work with agents.
Guide
Linear walkthroughs
How do you learn what your generated app does? Willison walks through asking an agent to explain a SwiftUI project, with source excerpts and command output recorded using his Showboat tool.
Projects & roles
Community rating
Sources & further reading
- His own current biography and disclosures describe his independent development work and link @simonw.
- The LLM project's documentation links Willison's original announcements and explains what the software does.
- His maintained guide connects the essays to practical chapters on testing, agents and understanding code.