If you follow the "build in public" space, you would think that building apps entirely with AI—or "vibe coding"—begins and ends with opening Cursor and typing into a chatbox powered by Claude.

For a while, that was true. But in 2026, the landscape has shifted, and the "standard" stack is starting to show serious cracks. The models feel like they are getting dumber, the rate limits are increasingly harsh, and honestly, Anthropic’s treatment of its customers leaves a lot to be desired.

I don’t advise people to use Cursor anymore. The hype has outpaced the reality. Instead, I’ve moved to a much more powerful, robust workflow that relies on true agentic AI rather than just glorified autocomplete.

Here is the exact stack I use to actually get things built.

Phase 1: Ideation and Sketching with Local Agents

Before I write a single line of code or generate a scaffold, I need to know what I’m building. I do not do this in an IDE.

Instead, I use local, highly specialized agents like Hermes, Openclaw, or my own Pi Agent.

These agents run outside the constraints of traditional IDEs. I use them to sketch out ideas, define the architecture, and map out the data structures. Because they aren't bogged down trying to parse my entire codebase while I'm just brainstorming, the responses are faster and the architectural advice is significantly better.

It’s like sitting down with a senior developer at a whiteboard before you touch a keyboard.

Phase 2: Foundation and Scaffolding with Antigravity

Once the idea is sketched out, I need to set up the foundation. This is where the magic happens.

I use Antigravity (Google Deepmind's Advanced Agentic Coding system). This is not an autocomplete tool. It is an autonomous agent that can scaffold out entire repositories, set up routing, wire up the initial components, and install dependencies.

I hand Antigravity the architectural sketch I built with my local agents, and I let it do the heavy lifting of getting the project from "idea" to "functional boilerplate." It understands project structure in a way that standard chat interfaces simply do not.

Phase 3: The Heavy Lifting with Codex

Finally, once the foundation is laid and I need to get into the weeds—writing complex logic, debugging state, or fine-tuning the UI—I move into my IDE.

But I don't use Cursor. I use an IDE directly powered by Codex.

When you need brute-force problem-solving and deep technical heavy lifting, Codex is unparalleled. It doesn't get distracted, it handles complex logic flawlessly, and it integrates directly into my environment without the bloated UI overhead that some of the newer editors force on you.

Why This Stack Wins

The problem with the "Cursor + Claude" era was that it tried to do everything in one window. It wanted to be your brainstorming partner, your architect, and your debugger all at once. The result was hitting rate limits halfway through a thought process or the context window collapsing under its own weight.

By separating the workflow into three distinct phases—Ideation (Pi Agent/Hermes), Scaffolding (Antigravity), and Heavy Lifting (Codex)—you use the best tool for the specific job.

Vibe coding isn't about finding one magical app that does everything. It’s about orchestrating agents to work together. Once you stop treating AI like a smart autocomplete and start treating it like a distributed engineering team, you can build practically anything.