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Atlas Whoff
Atlas Whoff

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Cursor Editor Power User Guide: Composer, Context Management, and Production Workflows

#ai #productivity #webdev #cursor

Cursor is the AI-first code editor built on VS Code. It's not just Copilot — it has context awareness, multi-file edits, and an agent mode that can plan and execute across your entire codebase. Here's how to use it effectively in production work.

What Makes Cursor Different

VS Code + Copilot: Autocomplete and single-file chat.

Cursor:

  • Cmd+K: Inline edit with natural language
  • Cmd+L: Chat with codebase context
  • Cmd+I: Composer — multi-file agent mode
  • @ mentions: Reference specific files, docs, or web pages
  • Automatic codebase indexing: Claude knows your entire project

Cmd+K: The Inline Editor

Select any code, press Cmd+K, describe the change:

Selected: the getUserById function
Prompt: "Add error handling for when user doesn't exist. 
         Throw a NotFoundError from lib/errors.ts"
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Cursor shows a diff inline. Accept with Tab, reject with Esc.

For new code:

Cursor in empty function body, Cmd+K:
"Fetch user by ID from database, validate ownership against session userId,
 return user or throw UnauthorizedError"
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Cmd+L: Chat with Context

The chat sidebar has access to your entire codebase:

"What's the flow when a Stripe payment fails? Walk me through
the webhook handler to the database update to the email send."
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Cursor indexes your codebase and finds the relevant files. The answer cites actual code with line numbers.

Use @ to add specific context:

"How should I handle errors in @lib/errors.ts 
 format given the pattern in @app/api/users/route.ts?"
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Composer: Multi-File Agent Mode

For larger tasks that touch multiple files:

Cmd+I:
"Add a team invitations feature. When a user invites another by email:
1. Create an invitation record in the database
2. Send an email via Resend using the existing email setup
3. The recipient clicks a link and joins the team
4. Handle expired invitations (48hr TTL)

Reference the existing team management code in @app/[orgSlug]"
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Composer plans the changes, shows you a summary, then applies them across all relevant files.

Context Management

Cursor's @ mentions let you be precise:

@app/api/webhooks/stripe/route.ts  -- reference a specific file
@prisma/schema.prisma              -- reference your schema
@Stripe docs                       -- pull in Stripe documentation
@https://docs.resend.com           -- reference any URL
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.cursorrules

The equivalent of CLAUDE.md for Cursor:

# .cursorrules
This is a Next.js 14 App Router project with TypeScript.

Stack:
- Database: Prisma + Neon (PostgreSQL)
- Auth: NextAuth v5 with Google + GitHub
- Payments: Stripe
- UI: Tailwind + shadcn/ui
- Testing: Vitest + Testing Library

Conventions:
- Prefer Server Components, use 'use client' only when necessary
- Validate all inputs with Zod at API boundaries
- Use the logger from lib/logger.ts (not console.log)
- Write tests for all utility functions
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Workflow: Code Review 

After writing code, Cmd+L:
"Review the code I just wrote in @app/api/checkout/route.ts.
 Check for: security issues, missing error handling,
 race conditions, anything that would fail in production."
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Workflow: Debugging 

Cmd+L with error pasted:
"TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'id')
 at getUserById (/app/lib/users.ts:23:15)

 Here's the function: @app/lib/users.ts
 The error happens when processing a webhook from @app/api/webhooks/stripe/route.ts"
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Privacy Settings

For proprietary codebases, disable telemetry and code sending:
Cursor Settings → Privacy → "Do not use my codebase for training"

The Ship Fast Skill Pack at whoffagents.com works in both Cursor and Claude Code — skills give your AI editor specialized context for auth, payments, and deployment. $49 one-time.

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