Agent loop
Let the agent plan, edit, and verify across files.
Plan, edit, verify — across files
The agent loop is Cursor at its most powerful: give it a goal and it plans a set of edits across your files, applies them, and iterates toward the result. For mechanical, multi-file work — wiring up a feature, updating a pattern everywhere, threading a new parameter through — it is genuinely fast. The loop works because the agent can see the codebase through indexing and follow your conventions through rules, so its plan starts from real context rather than guesswork.
Supervise like a fast junior
Speed without supervision turns into sprawl. Give the agent a scoped task with clear acceptance criteria, let it propose a plan before it edits, review the diff before accepting, and keep each run small enough to verify. Treat it as a fast junior engineer who has read your whole repo — excellent at the grunt work, but it still needs a brief and a review before merge. That rhythm gives you the speed of the agent without the mess of unreviewed changes.
What is Cursor's agent loop?
The cycle where the agent takes a goal, plans edits across your files, applies them, and iterates toward the result — fast for mechanical, multi-file work when given a clear brief.
How do I keep the Cursor agent from sprawling?
Scope the task with clear acceptance criteria, have it plan before editing, review the diff, and keep each run small enough to verify. Supervision is what keeps speed from becoming mess.
What makes the agent's plans good?
Real context — codebase indexing and project rules — plus a clear, scoped brief. The agent plans from what it can see, so accurate context and a tight request produce sharper plans.