Cursor

What is Cursor?

Cursor is an innovative code editor based on the open-source code of VS Code (Visual Studio Code). Created by the startup Anysphere, it is designed specifically so that artificial intelligence (like GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet) deeply understands your entire codebase in real time.

How it works

Cursor indexes all your repository files locally. Pressing Cmd/Ctrl + K allows you to generate or edit code directly on the current line; pressing Cmd/Ctrl + L opens a contextual sidebar chat that can read entire files using @Files or @Folders. And the Composer feature (Cmd + I) allows you to make coordinated changes across multiple files simultaneously.

Key features

• Intelligent Copilot++: An ultra-fast and accurate autocomplete that predicts your next typing steps and multi-line edits.
• Composer (Multi-file edit): Smart editing that creates or alters dozens of files at once from a single prompt.
• Local Code Indexing: The AI reads and understands the entire project, helping to find functions and classes without you needing to explain anything.
• Simple VS Code Migration: Supports all your original VS Code extensions, themes, and keybindings with one click.

Available integrations

Cursor integrates seamlessly with:

• All VS Code extensions
• GitHub
• GitLab
• Local Terminals

Who it is for

• Professional developers who want maximum speed when programming day-to-day.
• Software engineers who deal with legacy codebases and need help mapping dependencies.
• Development students who want to speed up learning by asking questions integrated into the editor.

Real-world use cases

1. Deep refactoring: Asking Cursor to rewrite entire functions to adopt best practices using Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
2. Automatic file generation: Creating a React component, its corresponding tests, and its Next.js route with a single instruction.
3. Bug fixing: Selecting an error in the console and asking the AI to rewrite the affected line.

Data and results

• Adopted in mass by senior engineers from major technology companies in record time.
• Common reports of a 2x to 3x speedup in writing infrastructure and front-end code.
• Direct replacement for original VS Code by experienced developers.

Pricing

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Painless migration from traditional VS Code.
• Incomparable global codebase understanding.
• The Composer feature is revolutionary for multi-file changes.

Cons:

• Slightly higher RAM resource consumption than VS Code due to local indexing.
• Free plans significantly limit continuous use of powerful models.

Alternatives to Cursor

If you are evaluating market options similar to Cursor, the main recommended alternatives include: VS Code with Copilot, Windsurf, Replit Agent, Zed.