Greetings, Programs!

If you want to solve your own problems, you can start vibe coding. Yes, YOU.

I’ve now vibe coded 180+ apps (fun, frivolous, & functional) - and all of ‘em are on GitHub as well. Every one is a single-file HTML app, designed for portability and manageability. The most recent 19 were created over these past two weeks!

And I’m not a software developer.

You have to start thinking about software differently. That’s imperative. Once you do, it’s a (personal and professional) game changer. Don’t believe me?

Vibe coding is easy for non-technical users who are looking to solve problems and be creative (sometimes, simultaneously). Doesn’t take much to start... apart from just jumping in. What are you scared of?

There’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. I’m here to help (especially fellow non-technical folks who know that using technology is unavoidable)! If you missed our starter guide, here’s a way to understand what vibe coding is all about!

📅 Upcoming Events

Stop building in isolation (or not doing anything at all). Join ‘ctrl+alt+create live’ for two upcoming “Vibe Coding” workshops where you’ll learn to build your own apps and software using nothing but plain English and AI.

We have the high-energy Virtual Vibe-a-thon on Saturday, January 31, at 6:00 PM (PT) for an all-virtual participation party from wherever you are. If you prefer a mix of local community and digital reach, mark your calendars for the Hybrid Workshop on Saturday, February 28, at Noon, happening both in-person in Seattle and online. Hosted by me and featuring a $100 Amazon Gift Card giveaway at each event, these sessions are the perfect, low-stakes way to learn. Don’t miss out - registration is free.

These interactive workshops are high-energy build sessions designed to take you from “I have an idea” to “I have an app” in record time. Come for the vibes, stay for the breakthrough moments. Presented by Every!

No coding experience required.

• January 31st: This Saturday! Virtual Vibe-a-thon (Register Free)

• February 28th: Hybrid Workshop: Seattle & Online (Register Free)

Remember that I also host casual vibe coding streams just about every Thursday evening at 6PM (PT). Come hang out, ask questions, and watch apps get built from scratch. I’m on YouTube & Twitch (and beyond).

📱 10 Webcam / Microphone App Ideas

You don’t need to be a developer to build custom tools anymore. By using “native” browser APIs (the stuff already built into Chrome or Safari), you can prompt an AI to build apps that “see” and “hear” without ever needing a paid API key.

To get the best results, start with this “Base Prompt” and then append one of the 10 ideas below:

“Act as an expert frontend developer. Build a single-page web app (SPA) using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The app should be self-contained in one file. It must use the browser’s native [Microphone/Webcam] API to create a high-vibe, interactive experience. Make the UI modern, glassmorphic, and playful. Include a clear ‘Start’ button to request permissions.”

1. The Focus Orb (Microphone)

• The Idea: A tool to help you monitor your environment’s noise level.

• The Prompt Add-on: “Create a glowing, central orb that changes size and color based on ambient noise. When it’s quiet, it should be a calm, pulsing blue; as noise increases, it should grow and shift into a vibrant orange or red to alert the user that the ‘vibe’ is getting too loud for deep work.”

2. The Privacy Pixelator (Webcam)

• The Idea: A quick-access “mirror” that hides your identity for aesthetic screenshots.

• The Prompt Add-on: “Build a webcam feed that applies a heavy, stylish pixelation or ASCII art filter in real-time. Add a ‘Capture’ button that lets the user download a snapshot of their pixelated self for use as a profile picture or ‘incognito’ social post.”

3. The Clap-to-Theme Switcher (Microphone)

• The Idea: A hands-free way to change your environment’s digital look.

• The Prompt Add-on: “Create a dashboard that monitors for ‘peak’ sounds (like a loud clap). Every time a clap is detected, the entire app’s color palette and background gradient should randomly cycle to a new ‘vibe’—from Neon Cyberpunk to Pastel Dream.”

4. The Statue Timer (Webcam)

• The Idea: A productivity challenge to see how long you can remain perfectly still.

• The Prompt Add-on: “Build a motion-detection app. Use the webcam to track movement; a timer starts when the user is still and resets the moment significant motion is detected. Use a minimalist, zen-like UI to help the user practice ‘stillness’ during breaks.”

5. The Aura Painter (Microphone)

• The Idea: Generative art driven by your voice.

• The Prompt Add-on: “Create a blank canvas where a particle system generates flowing lines. The frequency/pitch of the user’s voice should dictate the color of the lines, while the volume dictates the speed and thickness of the brush strokes.”

6. The “Smile to Save” Mirror (Webcam)

• The Idea: A positive-reinforcement tool that only lets you take a photo when you’re happy.

• The Prompt Add-on: “Create a webcam app with a simple brightness/contrast filter. Use basic pixel-change detection to sense when a user ‘moves’ (smiles/poses), and include a ‘Wait for it...’ timer that captures a photo only when the frame becomes perfectly still for 2 seconds.”

7. The Breath-Work Visualizer (Microphone)

• The Idea: A visual aid for regulating your breathing.

• The Prompt Add-on: “Build a breathing guide. Use the microphone to detect exhales (white noise). As the user exhales into the mic, a progress bar fills up or a ‘lung’ graphic expands, helping them hit specific timing goals for calm-down sessions.”

8. The Color-Picker Viewfinder (Webcam)

• The Idea: Grab real-world colors for your design projects.

• The Prompt Add-on: “Create a viewfinder app that samples the color of the center-most pixel of the webcam feed. Display the Hex and RGB codes in a large, bold font, and allow the user to ‘freeze’ the frame to copy a color they like from their physical environment.”

9. The Lo-Fi Frequency Bars (Microphone)

• The Idea: A classic audio visualizer for your desk.

• The Prompt Add-on: “Build a retro-style audio frequency visualizer (FFT). Use a ‘lo-fi’ aesthetic with grainy textures and soft shadows. The bars should dance to any music or voices picked up by the microphone, turning the laptop into a piece of digital desk art.”

10. The Proximity Dimmer (Webcam)

• The Idea: An experimental UI that reacts to how close you are to the screen.

• The Prompt Add-on: “Create a reading app where the background brightness or font size changes based on how much of the frame the user’s face takes up. If they lean in close, the text should get smaller and the ‘vibe’ should get darker; if they lean back, it should brighten and the text should enlarge.”

Are any of them going to change the world? Not likely. Will any of them help kickstart another idea? Most likely.

🚀 My New Vibe Coded Apps

My so-called “arcade” is expanding rapidly! Check out the latest batch of games, visualizations, and tools built entirely with vibe coding in Gemini:

• Carrot Critter is where you dodge falling garden rakes and pull ripe carrots in Carrot Critter, a fast-paced retro arcade game. Test your reflexes as a nimble bunny in this high-score challenge.

• Cell Soul is an immersive, real-time procedural simulator of Mammatus clouds. Explore organic atmospheric formations through cellular noise, domain warping, and dynamic lighting controls directly in your browser.

• Column Cascade, a high-performance neural geometry visualizer. Explore infinite fractal columns, procedural distortions, and real-time WebGL art.

• Computer Outerface is a generative interactive art installation and digital face engine. Create unique, stylized computer personalities with customizable eyes, pupils, eyebrows, and mouths. Features real-time microphone reactivity, breathing animations, and 4K wallpaper export capabilities.

• Crow’s Cache is what I built at the last in-person event atch falling oranges dropped by a mischievous crow in this pixel-art browser game. Test your reflexes and save the loot!

• Dot Matrix is an interactive 5x7 bitmap generative typography engine. Create custom digital art with adjustable geometry, aesthetics, and real-time effects.

• Everline Forest, an immersive procedural art engine. Explore an infinite, atmospheric generative landscape with customizable recursive depth, snowfall density, and shifting color palettes. Built for high-performance visual relaxation.

• Geosplash is an immersive kinetic grid generator that creates hypnotic, algorithmically-driven visual patterns. Customize geometry, physics, and color palettes to generate unique digital art or 4K wallpapers.

• Linky Dinks is another visualization app. Create, customize, and export stunning recursive geometry patterns and 4K fractal wallpapers in real-time. I mean, I think they look like links!

• Maze Craze is an immersive procedural raymarching visualization featuring generative Truchet tiling. Experience real-time WebGL geometry with customizable tunnel height, wall thickness, and glow intensity.

• Panic Command was my take on a procedural terminal hacking simulator. Experience a retro-futuristic CRT interface with real-time code generation, kernel panic simulations, and interactive security bypass sequences.

• Printfarmville is where you can manage a high-stakes 3D printing farm in Printfarmville. Monitor printers, fix nozzle clogs, and handle alerts in this optimized arcade simulation.

• Solar Juggler is a high-fidelity browser-based AR game. Use real-time hand-tracking to juggle a dynamic, physics-based solar orb. Features Simplex noise shaders and fluid gesture controls. Turn on your webcam and toss!

• Spire Recursion is an immersive, real-time fractal explorer utilizing advanced raymarching to simulate infinite recursive nebulae. Manipulate cosmic parameters, complexity, and chromatic variance in this interactive mathematical visualization.

• Sprite Converter is a way to efficiently transform images into pixel-perfect code arrays. Features smart transparency detection, automated color palette mapping, and multiple export formats including binary and color maps for game development.

• Stepfinity is a real-time generative fractal explorer. Dive into infinite algorithmic patterns with customizable sub-loops, scale divisors, and dynamic color scaling. An immersive mathematical art experience designed for high-performance web environments.

• StreamReady is a professional-grade pre-flight checklist application designed for live streamers and digital creators. Helps to remind streamers to optimize audio, video, system, and social media settings to ensure high-quality broadcasts and audience engagement.

• Sun Spots is a high-performance interactive WebGL simulation of solar plasma and nebula artifacts. Explore procedural solar surfaces with real-time controls for turbulence, chaos, and solar flares.

• Waves Wash is an interactive, generative art arcade experience. Manipulate neural fractal flows, fluid dynamics, and geometry in real-time in your browser.

I wonder what I’ll build next?

Cool Creative Collabs Come from Vibe Coding!

I’ve been invited to “perform” at The Triple Door in Seattle next week (and they’re taking reservations now)!

My girlfriend - world-renowned cellist, Gretchen Yanover - is the evening’s featured artist on Wednesday, February 4th. She asked if I’d be willing to collaborate with her in the live performance. Of course I said “yes!”

Gretchen thought it would be amazing to have some of my AI / vibe coded visualizations animate behind her as she plays.

Organic Artistry + AI Wizardry = An Evening for Your Entire Family!

🤝 Let’s Vibe Code Together (1:1)

I’m opening up slots to vibe code with YOU in a public one-on-one format…

We tested this yesterday with Eden Liu from Reincubate, and it was a massive success. We went from “I don’t know where to start” to building a fully functional ISP Network Monitor and a Streamer Checklist in under two hours - live on stream.

Watch the replay here to see how it works. If you have an idea, a problem you want to solve, or just want to learn how to prompt your way to a working app, let’s make it happen. Reply to this email if you’re interested!

Yours Digitally,

Chris Pirillo