Cursor

Cursor is a code editor built around AI. It's a fork of VS Code, so it supports all VS Code extensions, but with deeper AI integration than Copilot: it can reference your entire codebase and reason across multiple files.

Installation

Download from cursor.com. Import your VS Code settings and extensions on first launch.

Key features

Codebase-aware chat

Cursor indexes your entire repository. You can ask questions about code you haven't opened:

Where is the database connection initialised?
Why does the OrderService depend on UserService?
Find all places where we call the payments API.

Reference specific files with @filename in the chat.

Inline editing (Cmd+K)

Select code and press Cmd+K to edit it in place with an instruction:

Add input validation using Zod
Rewrite this using async/await instead of callbacks
Extract this into a separate function

Composer (multi-file editing)

Cursor's Composer lets you instruct AI to make changes across multiple files at once. It's useful for larger tasks like adding a new feature end-to-end.

Project rules (AGENTS.md and .cursor/rules)

Cursor uses AGENTS.md at the project root as the main place for persistent, project-wide instructions (similar to CLAUDE.md for Claude Code). Use it for conventions that apply everywhere:

- TypeScript only, strict mode
- Use Drizzle ORM for all database queries
- All API handlers must validate input with Zod
- Prefer named exports over default exports

For rules that apply only to certain files, use .cursor/rules/: add .mdc files with YAML frontmatter and glob patterns (e.g. globs: src/components/**/*.tsx). Create them via the Command Palette (New Cursor Rule) or manually.

An older option is a .cursorrules file at the project root; Cursor still reads it, but AGENTS.md is the cross-tool standard and is preferred.

Cursor vs. Copilot

	Cursor	Copilot
Codebase indexing	Full repository	Open files only
Editor	Standalone (VS Code fork)	Plugin for existing editors
Multi-file edits	Yes (Composer)	Limited
Rules file	AGENTS.md, .cursor/rules/*.mdc	No direct equivalent
Inline edit shortcut	Cmd+K	Ctrl+I

Skills and reusable prompts

Cursor does not support custom / slash commands defined by you. Its slash commands (like /edit and /explain) are built-in and not extensible in the same way.

The closest alternatives in Cursor are:

Notepads. Notepads are persistent context blocks you can @mention in any Cursor chat. Store your reusable prompts there:

1. Open the Notepads panel
2. Create a notepad named "review-checklist" with your standard review prompt
3. In chat: @review-checklist please review the selected code

.cursorrules. For project-wide instructions that apply to every prompt automatically (without needing to invoke anything), add them to .cursorrules at the project root. This is less flexible than skills because it always applies, rather than being invoked on demand.

Saved prompts in chat. You can copy-paste from a shared prompts/ directory in your repository. Less ergonomic, but functional for teams without extra tooling.

For background on skills as a concept and how Claude Code handles them natively, see Skills.

Tips

• Use @codebase in chat to explicitly search across all files
• Reference specific files and functions with @filename and @function
• Use Composer for new features; use inline edit (Cmd+K) for targeted changes
• Keep AGENTS.md (and .cursor/rules if you use them) updated as your project conventions evolve