Three Tools, Three Jobs
Cursor gives you three distinct AI surfaces. Picking the right one is most of the battle:
| Surface | Trigger | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Tab | Type, then Tab | Multi-line predictions and repetitive edits |
| Inline edit | Cmd/Ctrl-K | Targeted change to a selection |
| Composer / Agent | Cmd/Ctrl-I | Multi-file features and refactors |
Feed Context with @-Symbols
Cursor's chat and Composer answer far better when you point them at the right material. Use @Files and @Folders to scope to relevant code, @Docs to reference a library's documentation, and @Web for current information. Vague questions against the whole codebase produce vague answers; scoped questions produce surgical ones.
Encode Conventions as Project Rules
Project rules (the modern replacement for the older .cursorrules file) let you store persistent instructions in your repo. Capture your stack, folder structure, and patterns once so every generation matches your codebase instead of generic boilerplate. Scope rules to file globs when different parts of the repo follow different conventions.
Let Tab Do the Boring Refactors
Cursor's Tab model predicts your next edit, not just the next token — including jumps to the next place that needs the same change. Rename a field and Tab will offer to fix each usage in turn. For mechanical, repetitive edits this is faster than a find-and-replace because it understands context.
Iterate Safely with Checkpoints
When the agent makes a sweeping change, Cursor checkpoints the state so you can revert to before the run if you don't like the result. Combined with frequent git commits, this lets you be bold — try the big refactor, and roll back in one click if it's wrong.
For large tasks, ask the Composer for a plan or a small first step, review it, then continue. A long unsupervised agent run is harder to review than three small ones.
Review in the Diff View, Not the Chat
Composer presents changes as a reviewable diff across files. Read it like a pull request — accept per-file, reject what's off, and re-prompt for the parts that missed. Don't blanket-accept multi-file changes you haven't scrolled through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cursor just VS Code with Copilot?
It's a VS Code fork, so extensions and keybindings carry over, but its AI features (Tab prediction, Composer agent, project rules) are deeper and more integrated than a plug-in.
What replaced the .cursorrules file?
The newer Project Rules system stores rules in your repo and supports scoping by file globs. Existing .cursorrules files are still respected for backward compatibility.
How do I stop the agent from changing too much?
Scope your request with @-symbols, ask for a plan first, and lean on checkpoints plus git commits so any over-reach is one click to undo.