Cursor Best Practices

Best practices for working with Cursor to maximize productivity and code quality.

Core Principles

• Start with plans - Use Plan Mode (Shift+Tab) for complex tasks
• Manage context effectively - Let agent find context, start new conversations when needed
• Extend the agent - Use Rules for static context, Skills for dynamic capabilities
• Review carefully - AI-generated code needs review like human code

Key Workflows

• Test-driven development - Write tests first, iterate until passing
• Codebase understanding - Use agent to explore and learn codebases
• Git workflows - Automate common git operations with commands
• Parallel agents - Run multiple agents simultaneously for comparison

References