What makes a good prompt in vibe coding? - Github Copilot Tutorial

- You've seen how system prompts shape behavior. Now let's move on to the next layer, crafting task-level prompts that actually work. We'll cover some real-world strategies, common traps and practical habits that can lead to cleaner results. Try doing a single goal per request, especially in the early stages of a feature. The best results are often going to come from narrowing your focus and letting the AI build from there. Think of it as setting the vibe. You give it a direction, not a rigid footprint. Stay open to what it suggests. That's why it's called vibe coding. Sometimes the output is actually going to surprise you in a good way. You can say something like, "Create a simple dashboard layout with space for a few visual elements. Choose whatever types of charts of summaries you think work best for this data." That gives the AI a little bit of room to make decisions. You can say something like, "Here's a CSV with my recent YouTube shorts performance. Analyze the trends and suggest what kind of data widgets would go on a dashboard." That gives the AI full creative space to propose what matters most. It might suggest things you hadn't considered, like identifying top-performing formats or viewer retention patterns. Here's another example. "Refactor this charge component to be reusable with some additional metrics like clicks or watch time." This is a great follow-up prompt once you've got an initial design. Keep the tone exploratory. When something looks off or you need more detail, ask something like, "Can you simplify this? Make this chart a little more mobile friendly. Add a tooltip that shows the percentage change from the previous day. Is there anything you'd flag as unusual or worth tracking?"` Remember that although these are coding assistants, they're still full chatbots, so you can have a conversation with them and ask questions. Now, one of the common missteps is writing prompts that are either too vague or too dense. Try to hit the middle, clear intent, light structure and a focus on outcome over process. Sometimes the best work comes from your creative second or third iteration of the problem. Here's a few general do's and don'ts. Number one, ask for one thing at a time. Don't mix feature request, bug fixes and style updates in the same prompt. If you're not sure what you want, start with a goal, something like, "Give me a few different layout directions for this component." Do tell the AI how you want the response structured, as a React component, as a JavaScript component. Don't leave it open-ended and expect it to guess your format. You can also say things like, "Make sure that you're using modules for these different components." In terms of security and safety, you can ask the AI to check that the data coming in is valid and handled safely. Now, don't assume that the AI will automatically write secure code, unless you tell it to. You can say things like, "What should I double-check for safety here? Can you add a check in case something goes wrong with the input?" Do leave room for improvisation and surprise. Prompts like, "Give me your take on the most insightful chart to show here," often will lead to better, more creative ideas, especially when working with data. Now, prompting is where vibe coding really takes shape. It's not about being perfect, it's about being clear enough to get started and flexible enough to adjust along the way.