Tips, patterns & FAQ
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Tips, patterns & FAQ
App-wide advice that doesn't belong to any single page — workflows, shortcuts, and the questions people ask most. · Optional
If you've read a few section guides and want the bigger picture, this is the page for you.
Required vs. optional — the cheat sheet
You can build a great project by doing only the required spine and skipping everything else. Here's the whole app sorted by how much you need it. (Full context: The Progression Map.)
| Do this | Because |
|---|---|
| Required: Features → User stories → Acceptance criteria → Pages → Schema → Prepare for Dev | This is what makes a project buildable. Skipping any of these leaves a gap your coding agent will have to guess at. |
| Recommended: Project summary, Personas, Tests, Hand off to your IDE | Most projects are noticeably better with these. |
| Optional: Business case, Financial analysis, Templates, Sprint planning, Codebase sync, App Builder, the Graph/Blueprint/Financial visual views (Jira export is coming soon) | Reach for these when your workflow calls for them. None are needed to produce a build-ready spec. |
Common workflows
Pick the pattern that matches how you're starting.
Validate first, then spec (a new idea you're unsure about). Business case → Financial analysis → then the spine. Kill or reshape the idea before you invest in specifying it.
Move fast (you know the idea).
Start from a template or a tight prompt → Features → let /guide walk you down the spine → Prepare for Dev → hand off.
Existing codebase (you're adding to real software). Connect your IDE agent → sync your codebase so generation is grounded in your actual code → spec new features → watch for drift.
Team handoff (you'll build in Jira). (Coming soon — Jira export isn't switched on yet.) Spec the spine → export to Jira → your team works the board, with status flowing back.
Try one piece before you sign up. Tools in the site's top nav opens /tools — five standalone generators (database schema, business case, user story, acceptance criteria, persona) that run in the browser without an account. Each does one step of the spine in isolation; the app is what wires those steps together into a project.
⚡ Power-user hints
- Describe the size of the change. VibeMap chooses the model for you, and once size-based routing reaches your workspace it reads how big an agent instruction is. Heavier models reason better on ambiguous specs, so well-described, scoped requests route to lighter models while sweeping or vague ones go stronger, up to your plan's ceiling. See How VibeMap picks a model.
- The agent vs. the buttons. Use the conversational agent for surgical edits ("rename X", "add a story to Y"); use section-page Generate buttons for bulk creation. Both flow through the same pipelines, billing, and version control.
- Everything is revertable. Agent edits are wrapped in changesets — if a generation goes sideways, revert it in one click.
- Entity codes are your friend. Reference things by code (F-002, US-014) in chat so the agent never guesses which entity you mean — see Entity codes.
↔ The traditional way, summarised
| Traditional | VibeMap |
|---|---|
| PM writes a PRD in a doc | The spec is a connected model, not prose |
| Designer maps screens separately | Pages derive from features and stories |
| Architect draws an ERD by hand | Schema is inferred from pages + features |
| Lead files tickets manually | One-click export to Jira (coming soon) |
| "Are we ready?" is a meeting | Readiness is computed |
FAQ
Do I have to use the AI agent? No. Every step has section-page buttons and direct editing. The agent is a faster path, not a required one.
What if I don't like a generation? Regenerate it, edit it directly, ask the agent to fix specifics, or revert to before it ran.
Which features need a paid plan? Starter unlocks pages, the database schema, and the conversational agent. Pro adds the business case, financial analysis, Prepare for Dev, sprint planning, opt-in --ask pre-flight interviews, blueprint narration and the App Builder. Team adds shared team workspaces. Everything else runs on Free — project summary, personas, features, user stories, acceptance criteria, codebase sync, Jira export (coming soon), and connecting your IDE agent over MCP. See Account and billing for exactly what each plan unlocks.
How do I know I'm done? Run the readiness checklist — or just watch the coverage check go green on Prepare for Dev.
Can I see the intro tour again? Yes — add ?tour=1 to any project URL and it replays from the start, however long ago you dismissed it. The tour itself only ever appears once, on your first project, and it's tied to your account rather than your browser, so a new device or a cleared cache won't bring it back on its own. What each of the six steps covers → Creating your first project.
Can VibeMap build the app for me? Yes — the App Builder compiles your spec into a deployable Next.js + Supabase app. Or hand the spec to your own IDE agent.
I'm working in an existing repo — will it respect my code? Sync your codebase and generation is grounded in your real structure, with drift detection when spec and code diverge.
What's next
- See every step ranked, with its badge and plan → The Progression Map.
- Find the right view for the question you're asking → Visualizations & views.
- Check exactly what your plan unlocks → Account and billing.
Need more help?
- Email: [email protected]
- In-app: ask the conversational agent, or use the feedback form (bottom-right).