I tried vibe-code a CSV to colored HTML table converter using this prompt.

  • Create a tool that can convert pasted tables into colored HTML tables.
  • Allow the user to paste a CSV or tab-delimited or pipe-delimited table.
  • …
  • Create an HTML table that has minimal styling.
  • …
  • Add a button to copy just the HTML to the clipboard.

Codex built this. Which is perfect.

AWS Partyrock built this. Which is a joke, because it didn’t write the code to do the conversion. It uses an LLM every time.

The good part, though, is that it builds UI components that you can edit and move around.

I think it builds a domain specific language with components with properties. You can edit the properties to change the app.

This is a good way to build robust apps using unreliable LLMs. But it has less flexibility and richness.

With LLMs becoming more and more reliable, I think generating code directly is better, and this approach will fade or be used in niches.