What is Cursor and what can it do?

Have you always wanted someone who finishes your (programming) sentences for you? Meet Cursor.

So what is Cursor? Cursor is an IDE, a program for writing code, with AI built in. It finishes the code you have started, handles refactoring, helps you find bugs, and creates APIs or components. A tireless helper.

If you haven't used Cursor yet but would like to start, we have put together an overview of the basic and advanced features it offers. You don't have to use all of them. Even a handful of them lets you code much faster and more efficiently.

Use it to accept a suggested piece of code. Cursor tracks what you are writing and tries to suggest what comes next. When you import a function into a file, for example, it looks for the lines where that code can be used.

Here you can talk to Cursor about your files. You can add one file, several, or even a whole folder. When the changes touch several files, Cursor has better context and can give you better advice.

You have a choice of three chat modes: Agent, Ask, and Manual.

The edit function changes the code you have selected. It is handy for quick refactoring, for example.

It shows you a result that you can accept (command + N) or refuse (command + Y).

Here you tell Cursor how to talk to you and what its answers should look like.

You can enter any preference you like, for example "always use type instead of interface for TypeScript".

MCP servers unlock extra functionality. For example, access to a database, to Stripe, and more.

The MCP server configuration uses the JSON format:

You can set up an MCP server for a specific project, or globally for all projects (create the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file in your home directory).

Chat (Agent mode) uses all MCP tools automatically when it finds them relevant. To trigger a specific MCP server yourself, tell the agent to use it and refer to it by name or just a description:

On the settings page you can enable or disable individual MCP servers and use the toggle to control which servers the agent has available:

You can also choose the models you want to use:

Cursor sits on top of VS Code and adds AI features to it. Those include chat, inline edits (editing selected lines within a single file), MCP servers, and rules for communicating with the AI.

Cursor can speed up writing code a lot without making you leave the editor. It suggests code, helps with refactoring, answers anything in chat, and either makes changes for you or lets you approve them by hand.

Watch out for automatic changes, though, and check any generated or edited code. The key is to give the chat as much context as possible, meaning folders and files. If you give Cursor access to only one file's code, it can change it so much that the functions or components in it stop working with the other files in your project.

Wondering how Cursor holds up against the other big AI coding tools? We run all three in production, so if you are choosing between them, read our field report on Claude Code vs Cursor vs Copilot.

If you want to learn more about Cursor, visit their docs.

And if you haven't tried Cursor yet, you can download it here.

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