2026: The Year the IDE Died

“If you’re using an IDE starting on… I’ll give you till January 1st. You’re a bad engineer.”

That’s a quote from Steve Yegge in his recent presentation with Gene Kim, “The Death of the IDE.” It’s provocative, sure. But after watching their presentation (their presentation is from 1:00:36 to 1:25:30), I fully agree with him.

They argue that we are in a transitional phase. AI tools are still a bit clunky, but a massive shift is imminent. And if we don’t pay attention, we might end up like Swiss watchmakers in the 70s.

From Power Tools to CNC Machines

Steve uses a nice analogy. Right now, using AI tools like Claude Code is like using a power drill. It’s better than a hand drill, but if you’re not careful, you can still cut your foot off.

But by next year? We’re moving to CNC Machines.

Instead of manually operating the drill, we will simply provide coordinates to a “giant grinding machine” that executes the work with precision. We won’t be the ones doing the manual labor anymore. We’ll be the ones overseeing the machine.

This is our “Swiss Watch Moment.” Remember the quartz crisis? Swiss mechanical watchmakers were craftsmen, proud of their intricate work. Then came quartz—cheaper, faster, more accurate. They were made obsolete almost overnight.

Steve argues that senior engineers refusing to use AI are facing the same fate. The productivity gap is already staggering—up to 10x for those using tools like Codex versus those who aren’t.

The Rise of “Vibe Coding”

Gene Kim introduces the concept of “Vibe Coding” (and refers to their book Vibe Coding). It’s the idea that coding is no longer about typing syntax by hand. It’s an iterative conversation that results in AI writing your code.

He uses the FAFO framework to explain why this is taking off:

• F (Faster): Obviously.
• A (Ambitious): The impossible becomes possible. Leaders are building apps themselves.
• F (Free/Fun): Tedious tasks become “free” and instant.
• O (Optionality): You can run more parallel experiments because the cost of trying is so low.

This is leading to a “NoDev” movement, similar to “NoOps.” We’re seeing support teams at Zapier shipping code and leaders at Fidelity “vibe coding” fixes in days that were estimated to take months.

My Take: Hop Aboard or Get Left Behind

I really like the CNC machine analogy. The idea that in a year and a half, all code will be written by machines? Whether it’s 100% correct, I’m not sure. But I do believe that we need to pick up the pace and hop aboard, because otherwise, you might be too late.

And seriously? It is fun using AI coding and seeing it work.

Steve thinks “Claude Code ain’t it”. CLI tools will be replaced by more potent tools where we manage our agents.

I think Anti Gravity from Google is already a step in that direction, but future tools will be even more powerful. We won’t use the CLI, but nice pleasant dashboards with good overview and easy to switch between agents.

The future is now and you need to hop aboard or get left behind. Are you ready to stop being a watchmaker and start running the factory?