Hey Everyone, welcome to our new Build with AI Series. Let’s explored most efficient way to use Cursor AI with minimal mistakes. If you're building your Artificial Intelligence product then must follow this guide for most efficient time-saving results.
After plenty of experimentation, here’s my takeaway: Cursor can be quite limited if it’s not given enough context about your project.
But with a few adjustments, you can unlock Cursor’s potential and streamline your development process. Here’s how to make Cursor work more effectively for you!
1. Plan Before You Code
When using Cursor, planning is key. Start with brainstorming and documenting every detail of your project. For this, tools like Claude or GPT-4 can be very helpful. Here’s what your project document should include:
- Core features you want to build
- Goals and objectives of your project
- Tech stack and the packages you'll use
- Project folder structure
- Database design
- Landing page components
- Color palette and styling choices
- Copywriting for the landing page
Put all of this information in a single document, perhaps named instruction.md. This allows Cursor to reference it anytime, which helps it better understand the context of your project.
2. Create a .cursorrules File
Many developers skip this step, but a .cursorrules file is essential. It might seem complex, but it’s worth the effort to improve Cursor's accuracy and efficiency. Here’s a great resource to help you get started with this file: awesome-cursorrules repo.
Choose your preferred tech stack from this repository, then modify the rules to fit your needs. This file acts as a guide for Cursor, allowing it to adapt better to your development environment.
3. Use v0 for Your Landing Page
When working on your landing page, don’t worry about perfection at first. Focus on building a foundation. Gather the following from your instruction.md file:
- Core features
- Color palette
- Key components
As a bonus, consider using screenshots of other landing pages for design inspiration. v0 can help you get a functional prototype ready quickly. For component libraries, try shadcn or MagicUI, which work well with v0.
Remember, the goal is to create something functional and editable. Perfection can come later!
4. Mastering Chat vs. Composer
Cursor’s Chat and Composer functions each serve unique purposes:
- Chat: Ideal for quick questions, small tasks, and code explanations. Use it to navigate code, clarify commands, and troubleshoot.
-
Composer: Use this for coding tasks. Tag your
instruction.mdfile here so that Composer can keep updating it as your project progresses. A tip: only assign Composer one task at a time. Asking it to edit multiple files can cause issues. Take it step-by-step to ensure code quality.
It’s also important to save your Claude credits for Composer tasks and use the lighter GPT-4o-mini for Chat to optimize your resources.
5. Tag Your Documentation
Using relevant documentation within Cursor is incredibly helpful. Copy the links for any framework documentation you’re using, and in Cursor, go to Settings > Features > Docs to add these links. Once set up, you can reference them in both Chat and Composer with @ Docs.
Final Thoughts
Cursor becomes powerful when it has context, so invest the time to create detailed instructions and rules for it to follow. Tell us your experience using cursor in the comments.
Happy building, and remember: Context is king!
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