vibe coding
AI Coding Culture Survey
Independent developers in China · July 2026
In July 2026 we surveyed 369 independent developers in China who use AI coding
tools. We wanted three things: where they use AI, what got them started, and where
they learn the craft. Respondents were 18–39, and all data is self-reported and
anonymous. The numbers on this page are demo data.
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Most-used AI coding tools (respondents)
Tick rows · one tick = 4 people · dot marks every fifth
12 things people most want AI to take over
Lollipop · one stem = one task · height = mentions · wheat = top pick
129
respondents say "write my tests" is their top reason to pay, ahead of any autocomplete.
What got you started with AI coding (respondents · sample of 100)
Hundred field · one dot = one person · 41 + 27 + 19 + 13 = 100
Where people learned the craft (respondents)
Rung bars · one rung = 8 people · amber = top source
69%
of respondents say agent workflows are the direction most worth betting on this year.
Tick rows · one tick = 4 people
218
people's first AI project was a tool built just for themselves , not a work task.
First tasks handed to AI (respondents · multi-select)
218 Writing / fixing tests
181 Reading other people's old code
155 Scripts and automation
114 Projects
110 Docs / API lookups
92 Refactoring
88 Commits & PR descriptions
Mosaic · area is illustrative, read the numbers · multi-select, totals can exceed 100%