Core Features

AI Chat with Project Context

Use chat for design, implementation, debugging, and code reviews.

Best Practices

• Give clear goals, constraints, and expected output
• Reference files/folders with @ (for example, @app/api or @lib/utils.ts)
• Ask for change + reason + test plan in one response

Example Prompts

Implement pagination in @app/api/users/route.ts using cursor-based pagination.
Constraints: keep response shape backward compatible.
Also add tests and explain edge cases.

Review this function for bugs and performance issues:
@lib/cache.ts
Return findings ordered by severity.

Inline Edit and Selection-Based Changes

For small, precise edits, select code and ask Cursor to transform it.

Best For

• Refactoring a function
• Converting callback code to async/await
• Improving naming and readability
• Adding guard clauses and error handling

Example

1. Select a large function.
2. Ask: "Refactor this into smaller pure functions without changing behavior."
3. Apply, then run tests.

Multi-File Refactoring

Cursor can perform coordinated updates across multiple files with less manual work.

Best For

• Renaming domain models
• Splitting a monolith module into focused modules
• Updating import paths and call sites

Prompt Pattern

Rename `CustomerPlan` to `BillingPlan` across the codebase.
Update types, imports, tests, and docs references.
Do not change API route paths.

Codebase Search and Understanding

Ask Cursor to find where logic lives before making changes.

Useful Questions

• "Where is authentication enforced?"
• "Which components depend on this hook?"
• "How does this request flow from UI to DB?"

This helps avoid accidental regressions and duplicate logic.

Terminal Assistance

Use Cursor to run common terminal tasks and explain failures.

Examples

• Run tests and summarize failing cases
• Run build/lint and suggest minimal fixes
• Generate migration commands and verify output

Prompt

Run the test suite, group failures by root cause, and propose the smallest safe fix for each group.

Bug Triage and Debugging

Cursor is strongest when you provide:

Inputs to Provide

• Error message
• Repro steps
• Expected vs actual behavior
• Related files

Debug Prompt Template

Bug: login sometimes redirects to /signin after successful auth.
Repro: occurs after token refresh.
Expected: remain on current page.
Actual: forced redirect.
Investigate likely causes in @middleware.ts and @lib/auth.ts and propose a fix.

Test Generation and Coverage Gaps

Cursor can generate tests for changed behavior and identify missing edge cases.

Example Prompt

Add unit tests for @lib/pricing.ts covering:
- invalid input
- boundary discount tiers
- rounding behavior
Use existing test style in @tests.

Docs and Knowledge Capture

Turn implementation details into docs quickly.

High-Value Outputs

• API usage examples
• Setup and troubleshooting docs
• Architecture notes
• Runbooks for incident recovery