Best Practices Guide

Vibe Coding Security Best Practices

8 essential security practices for vibe coding. Protect your AI-generated applications without slowing down your development speed.

Check Your Security Now

See which practices you're missing.

Quick Wins (Do These First)

Enable RLS on all Supabase tables

Prevents complete database exposure

Move API keys to environment variables

Prevents credential theft

Add auth check to API routes

Prevents unauthorized access

Add security headers in hosting config

Prevents client-side attacks

Enable email verification

Prevents fake account abuse

The 8 Security Best Practices

1Enable Database Security From Day One

critical

Configure Row Level Security (Supabase) or Security Rules (Firebase) before adding any data to your database.

Why This Matters

AI creates tables without security by default. Once you have data, it's exposed until you add protection.

How to Implement:

Enable RLS on every Supabase table: ALTER TABLE table_name ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY
Create policies that restrict access to authenticated users' own data
Test by querying the database without authentication—it should return nothing
For Firebase, deploy security rules before any client interaction

Code Example

-- Supabase RLS Example
ALTER TABLE user_profiles ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;

CREATE POLICY "Users can view own profile"
  ON user_profiles FOR SELECT
  TO authenticated
  USING ((select auth.uid()) = user_id);

CREATE POLICY "Users can update own profile"
  ON user_profiles FOR UPDATE
  TO authenticated
  USING ((select auth.uid()) = user_id);

Common Mistake

Creating tables and adding data before configuring RLS policies

2Move All Secrets to Environment Variables

critical

Never hardcode API keys, database passwords, or any credentials in your source code.

Why This Matters

AI often hardcodes keys for quick functionality. These get committed to git and exposed publicly.

How to Implement:

Create a .env.local file for local development secrets
Add .env* to your .gitignore file
Reference secrets via process.env.SECRET_NAME
Set production secrets in your hosting platform's dashboard

Code Example

// ❌ Don't do this
const stripe = new Stripe('sk_live_abc123...');

// ✅ Do this instead
const stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY!);

// .env.local (never commit this file)
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_live_abc123...

Common Mistake

Committing .env files or hardcoded keys to git repositories

3Implement Server-Side Authentication Checks

critical

Verify authentication on every API endpoint, not just in the frontend UI.

Why This Matters

AI generates client-side checks that hide features but don't actually protect the underlying APIs.

How to Implement:

Check session/token validity on every API route
Return 401 for unauthenticated requests
Return 403 for unauthorized access attempts
Never trust client-side state for authorization decisions

Code Example

// Next.js API Route Example
import { createClient } from '@/lib/supabase/server';

export async function GET(request: Request) {
  const supabase = await createClient();
  const { data: { user } } = await supabase.auth.getUser();

  if (!user) {
    return Response.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 });
  }

  // Now safe to fetch user's data
  const { data } = await supabase
    .from('profiles')
    .select()
    .eq('user_id', user.id);

  return Response.json(data);
}

Common Mistake

Only checking authentication in React components, not API routes

4Validate and Sanitize All User Input

high

Never trust data from users. Validate format, sanitize content, and use parameterized queries.

Why This Matters

AI often skips input validation for simplicity, leaving apps vulnerable to injection attacks.

How to Implement:

Use Zod or similar libraries for input validation
Sanitize HTML input to prevent XSS
Use parameterized queries for all database operations
Validate on both client (UX) and server (security)

Code Example

import { z } from 'zod';

// Define expected input schema
const UserInputSchema = z.object({
  email: z.string().email(),
  name: z.string().min(1).max(100),
  age: z.number().int().positive().max(150),
});

// Validate before processing
export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const body = await request.json();
  const result = UserInputSchema.safeParse(body);

  if (!result.success) {
    return Response.json({ error: result.error }, { status: 400 });
  }

  // result.data is now typed and validated
  await db.insert(users).values(result.data);
}

Common Mistake

Directly inserting user input into database queries without validation

5Configure Security Headers

high

Add HTTP security headers to protect against XSS, clickjacking, and other client-side attacks.

Why This Matters

AI generates application code but doesn't configure infrastructure-level security headers.

How to Implement:

Add headers in next.config.js, vercel.json, or server config
Include Content-Security-Policy for XSS protection
Add X-Frame-Options to prevent clickjacking
Enable Strict-Transport-Security for HTTPS enforcement

Code Example

// next.config.js
const securityHeaders = [
  { key: 'X-Content-Type-Options', value: 'nosniff' },
  { key: 'X-Frame-Options', value: 'DENY' },
  { key: 'X-XSS-Protection', value: '1; mode=block' },
  { key: 'Strict-Transport-Security', value: 'max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains' },
  { key: 'Referrer-Policy', value: 'strict-origin-when-cross-origin' },
];

module.exports = {
  async headers() {
    return [{ source: '/(.*)', headers: securityHeaders }];
  },
};

Common Mistake

Deploying without any security headers configured

6Enforce Strong Authentication

high

Require email verification, strong passwords, and consider multi-factor authentication.

Why This Matters

AI uses default auth settings that accept weak passwords and skip email verification.

How to Implement:

Enable email confirmation in your auth provider
Require minimum 12-character passwords
Add password complexity requirements
Consider offering MFA for sensitive applications

Code Example

// Password validation before signup
function validatePassword(password: string): boolean {
  const minLength = 12;
  const hasUppercase = /[A-Z]/.test(password);
  const hasLowercase = /[a-z]/.test(password);
  const hasNumber = /[0-9]/.test(password);
  const hasSpecial = /[!@#$%^&*]/.test(password);

  return (
    password.length >= minLength &&
    hasUppercase &&
    hasLowercase &&
    hasNumber &&
    hasSpecial
  );
}

// In Supabase dashboard: Enable email confirmation
// Authentication > Settings > Enable email confirmations

Common Mistake

Allowing '123456' as a valid password

7Add Ownership Checks to Data Access

high

Verify users can only access data they own. Don't just check if they're logged in.

Why This Matters

AI writes clean APIs but forgets to verify the user owns the specific resource they're accessing.

How to Implement:

Include user_id in all data queries
Check ownership before returning or modifying data
Use RLS policies as a safety net
Test by trying to access another user's data

Code Example

// ❌ Vulnerable - only checks authentication
const order = await db.orders.findById(orderId);
return order;

// ✅ Secure - checks ownership
const order = await db.orders.findFirst({
  where: {
    id: orderId,
    userId: session.user.id // Only returns if user owns it
  }
});

if (!order) {
  throw new Error('Order not found'); // Same error for not found vs not owned
}
return order;

Common Mistake

Returning data based on ID without checking the user owns that resource

8Run Security Scans Before Every Deploy

medium

Automate security scanning in your development workflow to catch issues before they reach production.

Why This Matters

AI introduces new vulnerabilities with each code generation. Continuous scanning catches them early.

How to Implement:

Run VAS scan after major changes
Add scanning to your CI/CD pipeline
Review and fix findings before deploying
Re-scan after applying fixes to verify resolution

Code Example

# Example: Add to deployment checklist
Pre-deployment security checklist:
□ Run VAS security scan
□ Review and fix critical findings
□ Verify RLS policies are enabled
□ Confirm no secrets in codebase
□ Test auth flows work correctly
□ Check security headers in response

Common Mistake

Deploying AI-generated code without any security review

Verify Your Security Practices

VAS scans your vibe-coded app and tells you which best practices you're following and which need attention.

Run Get Starter Scan

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the most important vibe coding security practice?

Enabling database access controls (RLS/Security Rules) is the most critical practice. Without it, anyone can read, modify, or delete all data in your database. This is the #1 cause of data breaches in vibe-coded applications.

Should I review all AI-generated code for security?

Yes, treat AI output as a first draft that needs security review. Focus on: database configurations, authentication logic, API endpoints, and anywhere secrets might be hardcoded. You don't need to review every line, but security-critical sections need human oversight.

How do I know if my vibe-coded app is secure?

Run an automated security scan to identify vulnerabilities. Check that: RLS is enabled on all tables, no secrets are in the codebase, all API routes verify authentication, security headers are configured, and email verification is enabled.

Can I make vibe coding secure without slowing down development?

Yes. Establish secure defaults: always enable RLS when creating tables, use environment variables from the start, add auth checks to API route templates. These practices add minimal time but prevent major security issues.

What security tools should I use for vibe coding?

Use VAS for scanning vibe-coded apps specifically. Also consider: Zod for input validation, your hosting platform's security features, and your auth provider's built-in security settings. These tools catch most common AI-generated vulnerabilities.

Related Security Resources

Security Checklist Security Risks Common Vulnerabilities Vibe Coding Security Guide

Last updated: January 16, 2026