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technical debt
A shortcut with interest. Write down the principal, the interest, and the due date.
What is technical debt?
Technical debt is a deliberate or accidental shortcut that makes the next change more expensive. Debt without a note is just rot. Debt with a ticket is a loan.
Why does technical debt matter when vibe coding?
Models ship the shortcut and the apology in the same turn, then forget. Next session they build on the shortcut. Name the debt or it becomes the architecture.
How do you do technical debt?
If you accept a shortcut, file it: what is wrong, what it costs, when to pay. Do not let the model “clean it up later” without a file in the repo.
How do you ask a model for technical debt?
This shortcut is technical debt. Do the small version. Add a comment and a TODO naming the cost. Do not also build the “proper” version in the same turn.
What goes wrong with technical debt?
Calling every dislike debt. Debt is a future cost, not a taste complaint.