Getting started
Install, import VS Code settings, first AI edit.
Import your setup, then make one edit
Getting started with Cursor is deliberately painless: install it, let it import your VS Code extensions, themes, and keybindings, and you are working in an editor that already feels like yours. The only new thing to learn is where the AI lives — inside the editor, aware of your files, rather than in a separate window. The fastest way to understand the difference is to make one AI edit: select some code, describe a change, and watch it happen in place. That single action is the whole pitch.
Learn the core loop before the agent
Resist jumping straight to the autonomous agent. The foundation is the everyday loop — inline edits and tab completion that understand the file you are in. Get comfortable making small, described changes and accepting or rejecting them, and you build the judgement you will need when you do hand bigger tasks to the agent. Everything advanced in Cursor sits on top of this basic in-editor loop, so it is worth a little time here first.
How do I install and set up Cursor?
Install Cursor and let it import your VS Code settings, extensions, and keybindings when prompted. It feels like the editor you know, so setup is quick and the learning is about the AI features.
What's the first thing to try in Cursor?
An inline edit: select some code, describe a change, and watch Cursor apply it in place with awareness of the surrounding file. That one action shows why an in-editor AI beats a separate chatbot.
Should I start with the Cursor agent?
Not first. Learn the everyday loop of inline edits and completion, which builds the judgement you need before handing larger, multi-file tasks to the agent.