10 min
Security for Vibe Coders
If you're using Lovable to ship apps fast, security can feel like something to fix later. But launching without basic protection? That's how you lose users, leak data, and kill trust.
Here's a vibe-friendly checklist to help you lock down your MVP before it hits production.
✅ 1. Rate Limit Your API Endpoints
No limits = open invitation for bots and brute-force attacks. A flood of requests can:
- Crash your database
- Kill performance
- Trigger outages
What to do:
- Supabase: Use Edge Functions + rate limiter
- Vercel: Add Middleware-based rate limiting
- AWS/GCP: Use API Gateway throttling
✅ 2. Enable Row-Level Security (RLS)
If you're using Supabase, turn on RLS from day one. Without it, anyone who crafts a smart query can read all your data.
Do this:
- Go to Supabase → Auth → RLS
- Define policies based on
user_id
No RLS = no privacy.
✅ 3. Use CAPTCHA on Auth Forms
AI bots don’t sleep. Without CAPTCHA, your signup/login forms can get spammed with fake accounts in minutes.
Protect:
- Signups
- Logins
- Forgot password flows
Tools: Google reCAPTCHA or hCaptcha — both free and fast to integrate.
✅ 4. Turn On WAF Protection (for Vercel)
Vercel makes this easy. No code changes needed.
Steps:
- Go to Settings → Security → Web Application Firewall
- Enable Attack Challenge on all routes
Blocks sketchy traffic before it hits your app.
✅ 5. Never Expose API Keys
Frontend = public. Anything you put there can be seen and abused.
Checklist:
- Keep keys in
.env - Only use them server-side
- Audit AI-generated code for leaks
Once a key is out, it’s game over.
✅ 6. Validate Everything on the Server
Frontend validation is for UX. Backend validation is for security.
Always validate:
- Email addresses
- Inputs & file uploads
- API payloads
- Anything from the user
Even trusted users can mess up. Don’t trust the client.
✅ 7. Clean Your Dependencies
AI-generated code loves to bloat your project with random packages.
After every build:
- Run
npm auditoryarn audit - Remove what you don’t need
- Update outdated libraries
Fewer packages = fewer vulnerabilities.
✅ 8. Monitor & Log Activity
You can’t fix what you can’t see.
Tools to use:
- Supabase logs
- Vercel Analytics
- LogSnag or LogRocket
Track:
- Failed logins
- Request spikes
- Suspicious usage
Catch issues early, before users report them.
Bonus: Other Gotchas to Watch
- Auth: Use secure tokens, short lifetimes, and HTTP-only cookies
- Dev vs Prod: Don’t leave debug tools or logs exposed in production
- Sensitive Data: Mask, encrypt, or avoid storing it entirely
- SQL Injections: Always sanitize inputs or use ORM with query bindings
- DDOS Attacks: Cloudflare or built-in WAFs can help absorb traffic
- Cloud Misconfig: Disable public buckets, turn on encryption, review IAM roles
TL;DR: Build Fast. But Build Safe.
Before you launch, make sure you’ve handled the basics:
- ✅ Rate Limiting
- ✅ RLS
- ✅ CAPTCHA
- ✅ WAF
- ✅ Secrets secured
- ✅ Server-side validation
- ✅ Clean dependencies
- ✅ Logs & monitoring
Vibe coders move fast — but a secure MVP gives you the confidence to grow without fear.
Resources
N’s Blog Vibe Coding is a Dangerous Fantasy
Securing AI-Driven Vibe Coding in Production
namanyayg Vibe Coding is a Dangerous Fantasy
Mehul Gupta Don’t be a Vibe Coder
Checkmarx Team Learn about vibe coding and the new security risks it creates
