Setting Up Cursor for Success

Cursor is the most popular vibe coding tool in 2026, used by over 2 million developers daily. This lesson gets you set up for maximum productivity.

Installation

Download and Install

1. Visit cursor.com
2. Download for your platform (macOS, Windows, Linux)
3. Install and launch

Migration from VS Code

Cursor is a VS Code fork, so migration is seamless:

On first launch:
├── "Import VS Code Settings?" → Click Yes
├── Extensions automatically imported
├── Themes and keybindings preserved
└── Takes about 30 seconds

Already using VS Code? Your muscle memory transfers completely.

Initial Configuration

1. Model Selection

Navigate to Settings → Models:

Recommended Configuration:
├── Default Model: Claude 3.5 Sonnet (best balance)
├── Fast Model: GPT-4o-mini (quick tasks)
├── Reasoning Model: o1 (complex problems)
└── Custom: Add API keys for additional models

Pro Tip: Claude 3.5 Sonnet is the default for a reason—it excels at code understanding and generation.

2. Privacy Settings

For sensitive projects:

Settings → Privacy:
├── Privacy Mode: ON (code never sent to servers for training)
├── Telemetry: Your choice
└── Local Codebase Indexing: ON (faster context)

3. Essential Settings

// .cursor/settings.json
{
  "cursor.general.enableAutocomplete": true,
  "cursor.general.tabAcceptSuggestion": true,
  "cursor.chat.contextLimits": {
    "maxFiles": 20,
    "maxChars": 100000
  },
  "cursor.composer.alwaysUseContext": true
}

Understanding the Interface

Key Areas

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Menu Bar                                                    │
├─────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┬───────────┤
│         │                                       │           │
│  File   │                                       │   Chat    │
│ Explorer│          Editor Area                  │   Panel   │
│         │                                       │   (⌘L)    │
│         │                                       │           │
├─────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┴───────────┤
│  Terminal / Composer (⌘K for inline, ⌘I for Composer)       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Essential Shortcuts

Action	macOS	Windows/Linux
Open Chat	⌘L	Ctrl+L
Inline Edit	⌘K	Ctrl+K
Open Composer	⌘I	Ctrl+I
Accept Tab Completion	Tab	Tab
Toggle Sidebar	⌘B	Ctrl+B
Quick Open	⌘P	Ctrl+P

Your First Vibe Coding Session

Let's test your setup:

Step 1: Open Chat (⌘L)

Type:

Create a simple Express server with a health check endpoint

Step 2: Review the Response

Cursor will generate something like:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;

app.get('/health', (req, res) => {
  res.json({ status: 'healthy', timestamp: new Date().toISOString() });
});

app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
});

Step 3: Apply to File

Click "Apply" or use the keyboard shortcut to insert the code.

Step 4: Inline Modification (⌘K)

Select the app.get block and press ⌘K:

Add request logging before responding

Codebase Indexing

For best results, let Cursor index your project:

Settings → Features → Codebase Indexing:
├── Enable: ON
├── Index on startup: ON
└── Watch for changes: ON

What this enables:

• Better context awareness
• Accurate @-mentions
• Smarter completions based on your patterns

Indexing Status

Check indexing status in the status bar:

• 🔄 Indexing in progress
• ✅ Indexed and ready
• ⚠️ Large codebase, partial index

Rules for AI (Cursor Rules)

Create .cursorrules in your project root:

# Project Context
This is a Next.js 14 application using TypeScript and Tailwind CSS.

# Coding Standards
- Use functional components with hooks
- Prefer named exports over default exports
- Use TypeScript strict mode
- Follow Airbnb style guide

# File Structure
- Components in /components
- API routes in /app/api
- Utilities in /lib

# Testing
- Use Jest and React Testing Library
- Test files next to source files (*.test.ts)

Why this matters: Cursor reads these rules and applies them to all suggestions.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Slow Responses

Fix:
├── Check internet connection
├── Reduce context size in settings
├── Switch to faster model temporarily
└── Clear chat history (⌘/Ctrl + Shift + P → "Clear Chat")

Tab Completion Not Working

Fix:
├── Ensure autocomplete is enabled in settings
├── Check if file type is supported
├── Restart Cursor
└── Verify subscription status

Model Errors

Fix:
├── Check API key validity
├── Verify rate limits not exceeded
├── Try different model
└── Check Cursor status page

You're Ready: Your Cursor environment is now configured for optimal vibe coding. In the next lesson, we'll master Composer mode—the feature that makes Cursor shine for multi-file tasks. :::