Getting Started with Cursor

What Cursor is

Step 1: Install and open a project

• Download and install Cursor for your OS
• Open an existing project folder (File → Open Folder) — it can import your VS Code settings and extensions automatically
• Sign in to enable the AI features

Step 2: Set project rules with .cursorrules

Always use TypeScript, never plain JavaScript.
Prefer named exports over default exports.
Use Tailwind CSS utility classes only — do not write custom CSS files.
Keep components small and focused; extract logic into hooks when a
component exceeds ~100 lines.
Never remove or weaken existing tests without asking first.

Step 3: Inline edits with Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows)

Extract this validation logic into a separate function called
validateEmail, and add a check for a missing @ symbol.

Step 4: Use chat for anything that spans multiple files

The /checkout page calls calculateTotal from lib/pricing.ts. Find every
place that function is called, and update all of them to pass the new
optional "couponCode" argument I just added to its signature.

Step 5: Review before accepting

• Read the proposed diff in full before clicking Accept — don't accept multi-file changes on autopilot
• Run your test suite after any chat-driven change, not just the file you were focused on
• If autocomplete suggests something that looks subtly wrong, reject it — a wrong suggestion accepted quickly is more expensive to find later

Common pitfalls

• Skipping .cursorrules and re-explaining the same conventions in every chat
• Using Cmd+K for changes that actually span multiple files — switch to chat instead
• Accepting long autocomplete blocks without reading them, especially around business logic