Cursor AI

Cursor is a fork of VS Code with AI baked into the core. Cursor Composer (2025) acts as an autonomous engineer that can write/edit multiple files simultaneously.

When to Use

• Productivity: It is currently the fastest way to write code.
• Refactoring: “Refactor this file to use hooks” works instantly.
• Debugging: It sees your terminal errors and fixes them automatically.

Core Concepts

Composer (Cmd+I)

A multi-file editing agent. You describe a feature (“Add a login page with auth middleware”) and it creates/edits all necessary files.

Tab Completion (Copilot++)

Predicts your next edit, not just your next word. It predicts cursor movement.

Context (@)

Tagging files, folders, or docs (@React Docs) to give the AI context.

Best Practices (2025)

Do:

• Use Composer: Don’t just chat. Use Composer to apply edits directly.
• Add Documentation: Add external docs (@Docs -> Add URL) so Cursor knows your specific library versions.
• Review Diffs: Composer is powerful but can delete code. Always review the diffs.

Don’t:

• Don’t ignore the .cursorrules: Define project-specific rules (e.g. “Always use TypeScript”).

References

• Cursor Website