A systematic approach to prevent the 3 core problems that kill vibe coding projects

🚨 Before You Start Any AI-Assisted Project

Project Setup Essentials

• [ ] Create a dedicated project folder with clear naming
• [ ] Initialize version control (git) from day one
• [ ] Set up a .env file for all secrets and API keys
• [ ] Create a basic instruction file for AI consistency
• [ ] Choose your framework stack and stick to it

🔐 Security Management Checklist

Prevent the security vulnerabilities that slip through AI-generated code

Authentication & Authorization

• [ ] User passwords are hashed with bcrypt or similar (never stored as plaintext)
• [ ] API endpoints require proper authentication tokens
• [ ] User permissions are validated server-side, not client-side
• [ ] Sessions expire after reasonable timeouts (30 minutes for sensitive apps)
• [ ] Logout functionality actually clears sessions

Data Protection

• [ ] All user inputs are validated and sanitized server-side
• [ ] Database queries use parameterized statements (no string concatenation)