Cursor
AI-first code editor forked from VS Code.
What it is
Cursor is VS Code with first-class LLM integration. Multi-file edits, codebase Q&A, autocomplete that's actually useful. The default IDE for many shipping engineers in 2026.
Strengths
- Multi-file edits actually work
- Codebase indexing is genuinely useful
- VS Code extension compatibility
- Tab completion is best-in-class
Trade-offs
- Pricing per-seat for teams
- Heavy on API costs at higher usage
Who it's best for
Working engineers who want LLM help baked into their editor, not in a side chat.
Prompts that pair well with Cursor
Binary-search a bug across recent changes
When a bug appeared 'sometime in the last week' and you have N suspects, binary search beats reading every diff. This prompt structures the search.
Extract a function with explicit boundary contract
Most 'refactor this' prompts produce noisy diffs. This one extracts one function with a written contract you can sanity-check before applying.
Translate a fuzzy business question into a runnable SQL query
Business stakeholders rarely ask precise questions. This prompt makes the model state its assumptions before writing the query, which catches misunderstandings cheaply.
Run a PR through a 7-axis code review checklist
Code reviews drift when reviewers each check different things. This prompt produces a uniform review across correctness, security, performance, readability, testability, observability, and rollback.
Flatten deeply nested conditionals into readable logic
Deeply nested if/else chains are a common source of bugs and reviewer complaints. This prompt walks an LLM through systematically flattening them using guard clauses and early returns.
Write unit tests from a function signature and spec
Writing tests after the fact is tedious and often incomplete. This prompt generates a structured test suite from a function signature and its intended behavior, covering happy paths, edge cases, and known failure modes.