The Clean Vibe Manifesto

The Core Belief

AI is a power tool. Like a chainsaw.

Used correctly: Amplifies your ability. 10x productivity. Sustainable velocity.

Used incorrectly: Catastrophic damage. Technical bankruptcy. Unusable codebase.

The difference: Intentional use vs blind delegation.

The Ten Principles

1. Humans Design. AI Implements.

We decide the architecture. We choose the technologies. We define the patterns. AI generates code following OUR design.

We refuse to abdicate architectural decisions to machines.

2. We Understand Before We Ship.

Every line of code we merge, we must be able to explain. If we cannot explain it, we do not merge it.

We refuse to own code we do not comprehend.

3. AI Proposes. Humans Approve.

AI generates code. We review thoroughly. Agents suggest changes. We approve each step. No auto-commit. No background mode. No unsupervised execution.

We refuse to let automation run unsupervised.

4. Boundaries Are Mandatory.

AI has explicit scope, explicit permissions, explicit constraints.

We refuse to grant unbounded authority.

5. Debt Is Taken Consciously.

Every debt item has clear articulation, specific reason, concrete payback plan, and deadline.

We refuse accidental debt.

6. Knowledge Is Preserved.

Decisions are documented. Rationale is recorded. Prompts are saved. Explanations are required.

We refuse to lose institutional knowledge.

7. Teams Coordinate.

Shared AI standards. Common practices. Deliberate coordination.

We refuse to fragment.

8. Security Is Non-Negotiable.

AI-generated code receives security review. No shortcuts on security. Ever.

We refuse to compromise security for speed.

9. IP Is Protected.

We maintain substantial human creative contribution. We preserve our ability to patent and copyright.

We refuse to build unownable code.

10. Velocity Is Sustainable.

Speed without understanding is not velocity. It's accumulating debt. True velocity = sustainable pace + low debt + high understanding.

We refuse to optimize for short-term speed at expense of long-term viability.

The Commitment

I commit to:

• ✋ Understanding — I will understand code before I ship it.
• ✋ Ownership — I will own what I merge, not blame AI.
• ✋ Supervision — I will not let AI work unsupervised.
• ✋ Documentation — I will document decisions and rationale.
• ✋ Consciousness — I will take debt deliberately, not accidentally.
• ✋ Coordination — I will follow team standards.
• ✋ Security — I will never compromise security for speed.
• ✋ Learning — I will continuously improve my AI practices.