Table of Contents

Introduction

Cursor IDE is rapidly changing the way developers write software. By integrating a powerful AI assistant directly into the code editor, it promises to accelerate development, automate tedious tasks, and act as a knowledgeable pair programmer. However, simply installing Cursor isn’t enough to unlock its full potential. To truly leverage its capabilities, you need to adapt your workflow and learn how to communicate effectively with the AI.

This guide provides a set of practical, actionable tips to help you use Cursor IDE more effectively. Whether you’re working on a small personal project or a large, complex codebase, these strategies will help you write better code, faster.

Setting the Stage: Configuration and Context

The quality of the AI’s output is directly proportional to the quality of the context you provide. Before you even write your first prompt, setting up your environment for success is crucial.

Establish Global and Project-Specific Rules

You can guide the AI’s behavior by defining a set of rules. These rules ensure consistency and adherence to your personal or team’s coding standards.

Global Rules: For your personal preferences that apply across all projects, you can establish global AI rules. These might include stylistic choices, preferred libraries, or language conventions.

For example, you could instruct the AI:

- Prefer functional code over imperative where at all possible.
- If the language is TypeScript or JavaScript, omit semi-colons at the end of lines.
- Use Tailwind CSS for styling.
- For network requests always use fetch instead of a library like axios.
- Always prefer British-English spelling over American-English.

Project-Specific Rules: Every project has its own unique conventions. By adding a .cursorrules file to the root of your project, you can provide the AI with project-specific instructions. This is incredibly powerful for maintaining consistency within a team.

Here’s an example of a .cursorrules file for a React project:

- Avoid having too many local functions inside React components. Extract them to the models structure.
- Don't add any container classes/padding to page components. This is taken care of in our layout. Make sure you use breadcrumbs in every page you create.
- Create small, self-contained components within pages. When doing so, create them in the same directory as the page.tsx file - do NOT create a components sub-directory.

Provide High-Level Project Context

For medium to large projects, the AI needs a bird’s-eye view to make intelligent decisions. A great practice is to create a comprehensive DOCUMENTATION.md or PRD.md (Product Requirements Document) file in your project’s root directory.

This file should include:

  • A high-level overview of the project’s architecture.
  • Details about your design system and how to use its components.
  • Specifications for key product features.
  • Instructions on project-specific patterns or libraries.

Once this file exists, you can reference it in your prompts (e.g., "@DOCUMENTATION.md Refactor the user profile page to...") to give the AI the background knowledge it needs to generate accurate and relevant code.

Interacting with the AI: Prompts and Commands

Effective communication is at the heart of using Cursor well. Mastering how you ask for changes is key.

Use Agent Mode for Code Changes

While the chat pane is great for asking questions, the “Agent” mode (Cmd+K or Ctrl+K) is your go-to for making code changes. The Agent can plan and execute multi-step tasks across multiple files, making it ideal for complex feature development or refactoring.

Write Clear, Detailed Instructions

The AI is not a mind reader. Vague prompts lead to vague or incorrect results. Be explicit and detailed in your requests.

Instead of: “Fix the button on the profile page.”

Try: “The ‘Save Profile’ button in src/pages/Profile.tsx is not calling the updateUser function on click. Please add an onClick handler that invokes the updateUser function with the current form state.”

Bring Files into the Conversation with @

The @ symbol is one of the most powerful features in Cursor. Use it to bring specific files or symbols (functions, classes, etc.) into the AI’s context. This focuses the AI’s attention on the relevant parts of your codebase, leading to much more accurate responses.

Example:

Using the interfaces defined in @src/types/user.ts, create a new form component in @src/components/UserForm.tsx that allows editing a user's name and email.

Keep Conversations Short and Focused

Long, rambling chat conversations can confuse the AI as context gets diluted. It’s better to start a new, focused conversation for each distinct task. This keeps the context clean and the AI’s responses relevant to the job at hand.

Don’t Be Afraid to Use Images

Cursor is multimodal, meaning it can understand images. This is incredibly useful for UI development. You can paste a screenshot of a design mockup or a diagram directly into the chat and ask the AI to implement it.

For example: “Here is a mockup of the new login screen. Please create a React component that matches this design using Tailwind CSS.”

Best Practices for Code and Workflow

Integrating AI into your workflow also means making some adjustments to how you structure your code and manage your development process.

Architect for AI: Smaller Files, Better Results

AI models work more effectively with smaller, more focused chunks of code. A project with many small, single-responsibility files is much easier for Cursor to understand and modify than one with a few massive, monolithic files. This is another reason to favor a clean, component-based architecture.

Let the AI Write Your Tests

Writing tests is a perfect task to delegate to the AI. It’s a well-defined problem that AI excels at. Provide the AI with a function or component and ask it to write unit tests.

Example:

@src/utils/dateFormatter.ts Please write a complete set of unit tests for the formatDate function using Vitest and mock any date dependencies to ensure pure tests.

Commit Early, Commit Often

AI can generate a lot of code very quickly, but it can also make mistakes or introduce unexpected side effects. Adopting a “commit early, commit often” git workflow is an essential safety net. After the AI successfully completes a task, commit the changes. This gives you a clean history to review and makes it easy to revert any changes that don’t work as expected.

The Developer’s Role in an AI-First World

It’s important to remember that Cursor is a tool to augment your skills, not replace them. As the developer, you are still the architect and the final reviewer. You must understand the code you’re working with and the code the AI produces.

Use the AI to handle the boilerplate and the heavy lifting, but always review its work. If the output isn’t perfect, guide it with follow-up prompts until it meets your standards. You are in control of the final output.

Conclusion

Cursor IDE is more than just a code editor; it’s a new way of building software. By embracing these best practices, you can move from being a simple user to a power user, dramatically increasing your productivity and allowing you to focus on what matters most: building great products.

To summarize the key takeaways:

  • Context is King: Use .cursorrules and documentation files to give the AI the context it needs.
  • Be a Clear Communicator: Write detailed prompts, use Agent mode for changes, and leverage the @ symbol to reference files.
  • Structure for Success: Keep files small and focused, and let the AI handle repetitive tasks like writing tests.
  • Stay in Control: You are the developer. Review the AI’s work and use version control as your safety net.

Now, try implementing these tips in your own workflow and experience the difference for yourself!

Further Reading