walking skeleton
A minimal working path connects the application’s essential layers.
Use this when The UI, backend, persistence, and deployment have never worked together.
without the term
“Before we build all the screens, can you get one tiny thing working all the way through, the page, the API, saving to the database, and deployed somewhere, so we know everything connects?”
with the term · How do you ask a model for walking skeleton?
Build a walking skeleton for creating and reopening one record. Verify the path through UI, API, storage, and the preview deployment.
What is walking skeleton?
The skeleton does one tiny thing end to end: screen, API, database, and a real deployment. Features are added to it only after the pieces are known to connect.
Why does walking skeleton matter when vibe coding?
Separately generated layers may have incompatible contracts.
How do you do walking skeleton?
Implement one small persistent action and deploy it to an isolated preview.
What goes wrong with walking skeleton?
Mocking away the integration the skeleton is supposed to establish.