Cursor - Advanced Workflows

Overview

Estimated time: 45–60 minutes

Master advanced Cursor workflows including Composer for multi-file editing, codebase-wide conversations, and sophisticated AI-assisted development patterns for professional software development.

Learning Objectives

• Master Composer for complex multi-file refactoring and feature implementation
• Use codebase chat effectively for architectural insights and debugging
• Implement advanced AI-first development workflows
• Optimize Cursor for team collaboration and large-scale projects

Prerequisites

• Cursor - Introduction
• AI Agents - Setup & Configuration
• Experience with multi-file software projects

Composer: Multi-File AI Agent

Understanding Composer

Composer is Cursor's autonomous AI agent that can edit multiple files simultaneously to implement complex changes across your entire project.

Launching Composer

# Keyboard shortcut
Cmd+Shift+I (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux)

# Command palette
Cmd+Shift+P > "Composer: New Session"

# From selection
Right-click selected code > "Edit with Composer"

Advanced Composer Workflows

Feature Implementation

Prompt: "Implement a complete user authentication system with:

Frontend (React):
- Login and register forms with validation
- Protected route wrapper component
- Auth context provider with hooks
- Login/logout UI components
- Error handling and loading states

Backend (Node.js):
- JWT authentication middleware
- User registration and login endpoints
- Password hashing with bcrypt
- Input validation and sanitization
- Rate limiting for auth endpoints

Database:
- User model with Prisma schema
- Database migrations
- Seed data for testing

Additional:
- Unit tests for all components
- Integration tests for API endpoints
- TypeScript types throughout
- Error boundary components"

Large-Scale Refactoring

Architecture Migration Example:

"Refactor this React application from Redux to Zustand:

1. Analyze current Redux structure:
   - Actions, reducers, selectors
   - Connected components
   - Middleware usage

2. Create equivalent Zustand stores:
   - Convert reducers to store methods
   - Migrate actions to store functions
   - Preserve state structure

3. Update components:
   - Replace useSelector with Zustand hooks
   - Update dispatch calls to direct method calls
   - Remove Redux provider dependencies

4. Clean up:
   - Remove Redux dependencies
   - Delete unused Redux files
   - Update TypeScript types
   - Run tests and fix issues"

API Integration Overhaul

Complex Integration Prompt:

"Migrate from REST to GraphQL across the entire application:

Schema & Server:
- Design GraphQL schema from existing REST endpoints
- Implement resolvers with proper error handling
- Add authentication and authorization
- Set up GraphQL subscriptions for real-time features

Client Updates:
- Replace Axios calls with Apollo Client
- Convert REST queries to GraphQL queries
- Implement optimistic updates
- Add proper caching strategies

Components:
- Update all data-fetching components
- Implement loading and error states
- Add pagination with GraphQL
- Convert forms to use GraphQL mutations

Testing:
- Update integration tests
- Add GraphQL-specific test utilities
- Test subscription functionality
- Performance testing for new queries"

Codebase Chat Mastery

Architecture Analysis

Advanced Query Techniques

Cross-File Analysis:
"Find all components that use the UserContext and show how they handle authentication states"

Dependency Investigation:
"What would break if I change the signature of the `validateUser` function?"

Pattern Recognition:
"Show me all places where error handling follows a different pattern than the established convention"

Technical Debt Identification:
"What parts of the codebase need refactoring and why?"

Debugging with Codebase Chat

Complex Debugging Scenarios:

Performance Issues:
"The app is slow on the dashboard page. Analyze the data loading patterns and suggest optimizations."

State Management Problems:
"Users report that their settings don't persist. Trace the data flow from the settings form to storage."

Integration Failures:
"The payment processing sometimes fails. Analyze the entire payment flow and identify potential race conditions."

Memory Leaks:
"Find potential memory leaks in the React components and suggest fixes."

Advanced Context Management

File and Symbol References

Precise Targeting:
@src/components/UserProfile.tsx    - Specific file
@src/hooks/                        - Entire directory
@useAuth                          - Specific hook/function
@UserProfile#handleSubmit         - Specific method
@types/User                       - Type definitions
@package.json                     - Configuration files

Smart Context Inclusion

Strategic Context Management:

For UI Changes:
@components/ @styles/ @types/ui "Update the theme system to support dark mode"

For API Changes:
@api/ @types/ @middleware/ "Add rate limiting to all authenticated endpoints"

For Database Changes:
@models/ @migrations/ @seeds/ "Add user preferences table with migration"

Custom Instructions and Rules

.cursorrules Configuration

# .cursorrules file in project root
# Cursor AI Instructions for [Project Name]

## Code Style
- Use TypeScript strict mode
- Prefer functional components with hooks
- Use Tailwind CSS for styling
- Follow ESLint and Prettier configurations
- Use absolute imports with path mapping

## Architecture Patterns
- Implement proper separation of concerns
- Use custom hooks for business logic
- Keep components small and focused  
- Apply SOLID principles
- Use composition over inheritance

## Error Handling
- Always implement proper error boundaries
- Use try-catch blocks for async operations
- Provide meaningful error messages
- Log errors with appropriate context
- Implement graceful degradation

## Testing Requirements
- Minimum 80% test coverage
- Use Jest and React Testing Library
- Write unit tests for utilities
- Integration tests for API endpoints
- E2E tests for critical user flows

## Performance Guidelines
- Use React.memo for expensive components
- Implement proper code splitting
- Optimize bundle size
- Use appropriate caching strategies
- Monitor and optimize Core Web Vitals

## Security Practices
- Validate all inputs
- Sanitize user data
- Use parameterized queries
- Implement proper authentication
- Never expose sensitive data

Project-Specific Prompts

Domain-Specific Instructions:

For E-commerce:
"Always consider cart state, inventory levels, and payment security when making changes"

For Healthcare:
"Ensure HIPAA compliance, patient data privacy, and audit trails for all medical data operations"

For Finance:
"Implement proper decimal handling, transaction logging, and compliance with financial regulations"

Team Collaboration Workflows

Code Review Integration

Pre-Review Analysis:
"Review my changes in this branch and identify potential issues before I create a pull request"

Code Quality Check:
"Analyze the code quality of my recent changes and suggest improvements"

Documentation Updates:
"Generate documentation updates for the new features I've added"

Test Coverage:
"Check if my changes need additional tests and suggest what to test"

Onboarding New Team Members

Codebase Explanation:
"Explain the project structure and main architectural decisions to a new developer"

Development Setup:
"Create a comprehensive development setup guide for this project"

Contributing Guidelines:
"Generate contributing guidelines based on our current code patterns and practices"

Performance Optimization

Large Codebase Optimization

Settings for Large Projects

{
  "cursor.ai.enableCodebaseIndexing": true,
  "cursor.ai.maxTokens": 4096,
  "cursor.ai.temperature": 0.1,
  "cursor.composer.maxFilesPerSession": 20,
  "cursor.composer.enableIncrementalChanges": true,
  "cursor.chat.maxHistoryLength": 50
}

Advanced Debugging Techniques

Multi-Layer Debugging

Complex Issue Resolution:

Frontend Issue:
"The user profile page shows stale data. Trace the data flow from the API call through Redux/Context to the component render."

Backend Problem:
"Database queries are slow on the analytics dashboard. Analyze the query patterns and suggest optimizations."

Integration Issue:
"Third-party payments fail intermittently. Analyze the entire payment flow including error handling and retry logic."

Performance Profiling

Performance Analysis Prompts:

React Performance:
"Identify unnecessary re-renders in the dashboard components and suggest optimization strategies"

Bundle Analysis:
"Analyze the webpack bundle and suggest code splitting strategies"

API Performance:
"Review API response times and suggest caching and optimization strategies"

Testing and Quality Assurance

Comprehensive Test Generation

Test Strategy Prompt:

"Generate a comprehensive test suite for the user authentication system:

Unit Tests:
- Test all pure functions and utilities
- Mock external dependencies
- Test error conditions and edge cases
- Achieve 100% branch coverage

Integration Tests:
- Test API endpoints with real requests
- Test database operations
- Test middleware functionality
- Test authentication flows

Component Tests:
- Test user interactions
- Test component state changes
- Test props and callbacks
- Test accessibility requirements

E2E Tests:
- Test complete user journeys
- Test cross-browser compatibility
- Test responsive design
- Test performance under load"

Quality Gates

Pre-Deployment Checklist:

"Before deploying, verify:
- All tests pass
- Code coverage meets requirements
- Performance benchmarks are met
- Security scans pass
- Documentation is updated
- Migration scripts are tested
- Rollback plan is ready"

Advanced Integrations

CI/CD Integration

DevOps Automation:

"Create GitHub Actions workflows that:
- Run tests on pull requests
- Deploy to staging on merge to develop
- Deploy to production on release tags
- Run security scans and code quality checks
- Generate and deploy documentation
- Notify team on deployment status"

Monitoring and Observability

Observability Implementation:

"Add comprehensive monitoring to the application:
- Application performance monitoring
- Error tracking and alerting
- User analytics and behavior tracking
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Security monitoring and alerting
- Business metrics dashboards"

Best Practices Summary

Troubleshooting Advanced Scenarios

Common Challenges

Next Steps

Continue your Cursor mastery journey:

• Cursor - Cheatsheet — Quick reference for shortcuts and commands
• AI Agents - Performance & Optimization — Optimize your AI workflows
• AI Agents - Team Integration — Scale AI development across teams