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Getting Started with Cursor
Download and install Cursor, migrate your VS Code settings, and make your first AI-assisted edit in under ten minutes.
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Download and install Cursor, migrate your VS Code settings, and make your first AI-assisted edit in under ten minutes.
Cursor is an AI-first code editor built as a fork of VS Code. It keeps everything you know from VS Code — extensions, themes, keybindings, settings — but adds deep AI capabilities that go far beyond a plugin: an AI that understands your entire codebase, rewrites code inline, and can autonomously complete multi-file tasks.
The three core interaction modes are:
| Mode | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Tab | Tab | Inline autocomplete — predicts your next edit |
| Cmd+K | Cmd+K / Ctrl+K | Inline code generation and editing |
| Chat / Agent | Cmd+L / Ctrl+L | Conversational AI with full codebase context |
Go to cursor.com/download and download the installer for your platform. On macOS, drag Cursor.app to your Applications folder. On Linux, run the provided .deb or .AppImage.
Alternatively, install via the CLI on Linux:
curl https://cursor.com/install -fsS | bashOn first launch, Cursor asks you to sign in with Google, GitHub, or email. A free tier is included — no credit card required to start.
After signing in, you will see an onboarding wizard that offers to:
Click "Import from VS Code" to migrate your entire environment instantly.
Cursor stores your settings in the same ~/.config or ~/Library/Application Support paths as VS Code. Importing is non-destructive — your VS Code installation is not modified.
Open a folder with some code. Press Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows/Linux) anywhere in a file. A small input bar appears above your cursor. Type what you want:
Add JSDoc comments to this function
Cursor will generate the change inline as a diff. Press Enter to accept or Escape to reject.
That is your first AI-assisted edit. No special syntax — just plain English.
| Action | macOS | Windows / Linux |
|---|---|---|
| Inline edit (Cmd+K) | Cmd+K | Ctrl+K |
| Open Chat / Agent | Cmd+L | Ctrl+L |
| Accept Tab suggestion | Tab | Tab |
| Reject Tab suggestion | Escape | Escape |
| Open Command Palette | Cmd+Shift+P | Ctrl+Shift+P |
| Plan | Price | What you get | |---|---|---| | Free | $0/mo | 2,000 Tab completions/mo, 50 slow premium requests | | Pro | $20/mo | Unlimited Tab, 500 fast premium requests/mo | | Pro+ | $40/mo | Unlimited everything, priority access | | Business | $40/user/mo | Team management, SSO, audit logs |
The free plan is generous enough to learn and evaluate Cursor. Pro is worth it once you rely on it daily.
You now have Cursor installed with your VS Code environment migrated. The three things to remember: Tab for inline predictions, Cmd+K for targeted edits, and Cmd+L for full-context chat. The next module covers Tab autocomplete in depth — how it predicts multi-line changes and how to guide it effectively.