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If you're comfortable in VS Code but tired of typing boilerplate by hand and shuttling context between tabs, Cursor removes most of that busywork. It's a code editor with AI built in — it understands your whole project, suggests edits, and can assemble an entire feature from a plain-English description. Here's how to get started without any setup pain.
Cursor is built on the interface VS Code users already know — the same extensions, themes, and keyboard shortcuts. The difference is that the AI lives deep inside the editor instead of being bolted on as a separate plugin:
That's useful for solo developers who want a second pair of eyes, and for small teams that don't have the bandwidth to review every minor change.
Download the installer for your operating system from the Cursor site and run it — the process is the same as installing any other code editor. On first launch, Cursor offers to import your settings, extensions, and themes from VS Code if you have it installed. Accept: it saves you from rebuilding your environment from scratch.
Once it's running, open your project with the usual "Open Folder". Cursor will index the files, which can take a moment on large repositories, but after that the AI can reference specific functions and files instead of guessing in a vacuum.
The first thing you'll notice is smart autocomplete. Unlike traditional completion, it doesn't suggest a single word — it suggests whole lines or blocks, matched to the style of your existing code. Start writing a function and Cursor fills in a plausible continuation; you decide whether to accept it.
The second core tool is the built-in chat. It opens in its own panel and lets you:
Because chat sees the context of your open files, you don't have to paste code manually — reference a file by name and the AI pulls in the relevant fragment itself.
Where autocomplete and chat handle small, local tasks, Composer is the mode for editing several files at once. It shines when you need to, say, add a new page, create an endpoint, and wire both into logic that already exists.
In Composer you describe the task in words: what should change, which files are involved, and what the end result looks like. The AI proposes a plan of edits across multiple files, and you review the diffs and accept them piece by piece or all at once. That's far better than asking the AI to rewrite one file at a time, because the logic stays consistent between modules.
A habit worth building: never accept changes blindly. Even when the suggested code looks correct, skim the diff — the AI sometimes misses edge cases or ignores something specific to your architecture.
A little configuration goes a long way toward better suggestions:
If you work alongside other services — deploying on Railway, for example, or keeping your database in Supabase — Cursor picks up those config files and takes them into account when generating code, so environment variables and query structure end up closer to how your project actually works.
Do I need to know how to program before using Cursor? Yes, at a basic level. The AI speeds up writing code but doesn't replace understanding what you're building and why. Without that foundation it's hard to judge whether a suggested change is correct.
Can I use Cursor on an unfamiliar project or stack? Absolutely. Chat and Composer are good at explaining unfamiliar logic and pointing you to the functions you need, which makes them handy when onboarding onto a new team or a legacy codebase.
Does Cursor replace code review by teammates? No. The AI catches syntax and logic problems well, but it doesn't replace a conversation about architectural decisions. Leave those for human review.
Does Cursor work offline? Basic text editing does, but AI features need an internet connection because the models run on remote servers.
Will my existing VS Code setup carry over? In most cases yes — settings, themes, and extensions can be imported during the first launch.
Cursor has a short learning curve: if you've used VS Code, you'll feel at home within a couple of hours. Start with autocomplete and chat on small tasks, then move to Composer once you have a feel for how well the AI understands your project. Add project rules and tune indexing gradually — the improvement in suggestion quality is easy to notice.
If you want to try Cursor and other developer tools without a heavy commitment up front, browse the catalog at subs-ai.com — it collects services useful both in your editor and across the rest of your team's workflow.
The subscriptions this article talks about are in our catalog — a year of access for about what one month costs.