Episode 46: Software Composition Is the New Vibe Coding

What if building software felt more like composing than coding?In this episode, Hugo and Greg explore how LLMs are reshaping the way we think about software development—from deterministic programming to a more flexible, prompt-driven, and collaborative style of building. It’s not just hype or grift—it’s a real shift in how we express intent, reason about systems, and collaborate across roles.Hugo speaks with Greg Ceccarelli—co-founder of SpecStory, former CPO at Pluralsight, and Director of Data Science at GitHub—about the rise of software composition and how it changes the way individuals and teams create with LLMs.We dive into:- Why software composition is emerging as a serious alternative to traditional coding- The real difference between vibe coding and production-minded prototyping- How LLMs are expanding who gets to build software—and how- What changes when you focus on intent, not just code- What Greg is building with SpecStory to support collaborative, traceable AI-native workflows- The challenges (and joys) of debugging and exploring with agentic tools like Cursor and ClaudeWe’ve removed the visual demos from the audio—but you can catch our live-coded Chrome extension and JFK document explorer on YouTube. Links below.JFK Docs Vibe Coding Demo (YouTube) (https://youtu.be/JpXCkuV58QE) Chrome Extension Vibe Coding Demo (YouTube) (https://youtu.be/ESVKp37jDwc) Meditations on Tech (Greg’s Substack) (https://www.meditationsontech.com/) Simon Willison on Vibe Coding (https://simonwillison.net/2025/Mar/19/vibe-coding/) Johnno Whitaker: On Vibe Coding (https://johnowhitaker.dev/essays/vibe_coding.html) Tim O’Reilly – The End of Programming (https://www.oreilly.com/radar/the-end-of-programming-as-we-know-it/) Vanishing Gradients YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NafIo-Ku2loOLrzm45ABA) Upcoming Events on Luma (https://lu.ma/calendar/cal-8ImWFDQ3IEIxNWk) Greg Ceccarelli on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregceccarelli/) Greg’s Hacker News Post on GOOD (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43557698) SpecStory: GOOD – Git Companion for AI Workflows (https://github.com/specstoryai/getspecstory/blob/main/GOOD.md)🎓 Want to go deeper?Check out my course: Building LLM Applications for Data Scientists and Software Engineers.Learn how to design, test, and deploy production-grade LLM systems — with observability, feedback loops, and structure built in.This isn’t about vibes or fragile agents. It’s about making LLMs reliable, testable, and actually useful.Includes over $2,500 in compute credits and guest lectures from experts at DeepMind, Moderna, and more.Cohort starts April 7 — Use this link for a 10% discount (https://maven.com/hugo-stefan/building-llm-apps-ds-and-swe-from-first-principles?promoCode=LLM10)🔍 Want to help shape the future of SpecStory?Greg and the team are looking for design partners for their new SpecStory Teams product—built for collaborative, AI-native software development.If you're working with LLMs in a team setting and want to influence the next wave of developer tools, you can apply here: 👉 specstory.com/teams (https://specstory.com/teams) Get full access to Vanishing Gradients at hugobowne.substack.com/subscribe