Cursor setup — install, .cursorrules, MCP, and how to split work with Claude Code

Cursor is a VS Code fork with deep AI integration — currently the fastest path to "I use AI inside my editor as a daily tool". It overlaps with Claude Code but they're complementary: Cursor is an in-editor pair programmer, Claude Code is a terminal-side agent. The point isn't to pick one; it's to split work between them.

I believe the real unlock with Cursor isn't Tab autocomplete — it's the .cursorrules file. Not because autocomplete isn't useful, but rather because a project-specific rules file turns every inline edit and chat into something that already knows your stack, your constraints, and your code style. That's what makes it feel collaborative rather than generic.

This guide is macOS/Linux/Windows-agnostic: install → core use → .cursorrules → MCP → split with Claude Code.

TL;DR

1. Install: cursor.com → auto-imports VS Code extensions/keymap/settings
2. Model: Claude Sonnet/Opus · GPT-4.1 · Cursor Composer. Default recommendation: Claude Sonnet
3. Four shortcuts: Tab autocomplete · ⌘K inline edit · ⌘L side chat · ⌘I Composer
4. .cursorrules: project rules injected as a system prompt on every call
5. Split with Claude Code: Cursor = edits + instant feedback; Claude Code = multi-file + autonomous + CLI

Prerequisites

• macOS 12+ / Windows 10+ / Linux (Ubuntu 22.04+)
• Internet + an account (Cursor or GitHub OAuth)
• VS Code users: the import is automatic

1. Install

macOS

brew install --cask cursor

Windows

winget install -e --id Anysphere.Cursor

Linux

cursor.com/downloads for AppImage or .deb.

On first run, Cursor imports your VS Code extensions, keymap, and theme in one click. New users can keep accepting defaults.

2. Pick a model

Cursor → Settings → Models. Recommendations:

• Claude Sonnet 4 — daily editing and refactoring. Fast.
• Claude Opus 4 — hard debugging and architecture. Slower / pricier, more accurate.
• Composer (Cursor's own) — multi-file, agentic. Beta territory.
• GPT-4.1 / o1 — useful for fallback / comparison.

Cursor Pro has per-model request quotas. Sonnet has a generous limit and is fast — make it your default; reach for Opus only when stuck.

3. Four shortcuts to learn

Tab autocomplete

• Fills signatures, repeats patterns, auto-imports
• Don't trust blindly — hallucinated APIs are common. Press Esc to reject often.
• Setting: Features → Cursor Tab → "Disable preview" reduces noise.

⌘K inline edit

// selection: entire function
// ⌘K: "add error handling and zod input validation"

Changes only the selection. Not for big jobs. Fastest "intent → result" loop.

⌘L side chat

• @filename to attach a specific file
• @Codebase to search across the repo (embedding-based, beta quality)
• @Web for fresh info (Cursor performs the search)

⌘I Composer

Multi-file work ("refactor the entire auth flow"). With agent mode it edits files directly. Don't accept the whole result at once — review diff by diff.

4. .cursorrules — project rules

A .cursorrules file at the repo root is auto-injected as a system prompt on every chat, edit, or Composer call. Spell out code style, stack, and prohibitions once, and you'll stop re-typing them.

4.1 Template

For Next.js + TypeScript projects:

# Mac/Linux
curl -fsSL https://devalice.jaceclub.com/assets/ai-agents/cursor-setup/cursorrules-nextjs.txt -o .cursorrules
shasum -a 256 .cursorrules
# expected: 7f1ef76397375cae008ece09b46ddf91aa098dff5edaacebcd7e7e4dec92a21d

# Windows
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://devalice.jaceclub.com/assets/ai-agents/cursor-setup/cursorrules-nextjs.txt -OutFile .cursorrules

4.2 Key sections (in the template)

• Project context — stack · package manager · language versions
• Code style — strict TS · file-name conventions · path aliases
• Routing/data — App Router patterns · ISR · env separation
• Security — no secrets · input validation · SQL bindings
• Scope — no refactoring outside the request
• Output format — diff style · one alternative with tradeoffs

4.3 What it changes

Without vs with .cursorrules:

❌ "make me a React component here" → class component, JS, random extra deps ✅ "make me a React component here" → strict TS Server Component, @/* alias, Tailwind

A good rules file removes 3–4 lines of context-setting from every prompt.

5. .cursorignore

Same syntax as .gitignore. Marks files the AI should not pull into context.

# deps / build
node_modules
.next
dist

# huge fixtures
fixtures/large/

# generated code
src/generated/

Skipping this lets @Codebase search drag build outputs into results — quality drops.

6. MCP (Model Context Protocol)

Cursor 0.42+ supports MCP. Same standard as Claude Code, so server definitions are portable.

Settings → Features → MCP → Add Server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/me/projects"]
    },
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_..." }
    }
  }
}

7. Privacy mode

Settings → General → Privacy Mode:

• OFF (default) — Cursor may use logs/requests to improve models
• ON — no learning use. Mandatory for company code.

With Privacy ON some features (indexing) stay local-only. Performance impact is small.

8. Splitting work with Claude Code

Strongest setup: use both. Roles:

Practical patterns

1. Small edit → Cursor ⌘K — change fits in one function. Accept right away.

2. Multi-file → Claude Code — "add ISR to four routes". Run the change and the build verification from the CLI.

3. Debugging → both — Cursor for quick hypotheses; Claude Code when you need deeper context and autonomous execution.

4. PR creation → Claude Code — automate through gh pr create.

5. Review → Cursor ⌘L — read diffs inline and ask one line at a time.

Verification

1. Open Cursor on an empty index.tsx and let Tab propose a React component skeleton
2. Select a function → ⌘K "add error handling" → see try/catch added
3. ⌘L side chat with @package.json attached → ask a dependency question
4. Drop .cursorrules at repo root → new chat → behavior shifts according to rules
5. Settings → Privacy → ON → confirm normal operation

Troubleshooting

Tab autocomplete is too noisy

Settings → Features → Cursor Tab → "Trigger more accurately", or temporarily disable. If you reject often, just turn it off.

@Codebase results are off

Add build outputs and generated code to .cursorignore. Trigger a codebase re-index (Settings → Indexing).

Cursor's own model hallucinates often

Force Claude Sonnet as default. Settings → Models → Default Model = Claude Sonnet.

.cursorrules seems to be ignored

• File name is exact: .cursorrules, leading dot, no extension
• Must be at repo root (not in a subfolder)
• Verify in a new chat (existing chats accumulate context and may mask changes)

Pro quota burns fast

You're overusing Composer. Use ⌘K for small edits; reserve Composer for real multi-file work.

Keymap conflict with Claude Code

Cursor is in the IDE, Claude Code is in a terminal — physical collisions are rare, but both use ⌘L in some setups. Remap one side.

References

• Claude Code setup — terminal agent setup goes well with Cursor
• Multi-agent workflow — combining several tools
• Cursor docs
• Cursor MCP guide

Changelog

• 2026-05-12 — Initial English translation (devAlice M2 i18n seed)