Cursor - Cheatsheet

Overview

Estimated time: 10–15 minutes (reference material)

Quick reference guide for Cursor's AI-powered features, keyboard shortcuts, and productivity commands. Keep this handy for efficient AI-first development.

Tip: Pin this page as a browser bookmark for quick access while coding. Most shortcuts work across all platforms (Windows/Mac/Linux).

Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

AI Features

Cmd+K / Ctrl+K    - Generate with AI
Cmd+L / Ctrl+L    - Chat with AI
Cmd+I / Ctrl+I    - Inline edit
Cmd+Shift+L       - Chat with codebase
Cmd+Enter         - Apply AI suggestion
Escape            - Reject suggestion

Composer Mode

Cmd+Shift+I       - Open Composer
Cmd+Enter         - Run Composer task
Cmd+Shift+Enter   - Apply all changes
Cmd+Shift+C       - Create new Composer
Tab               - Next change
Shift+Tab         - Previous change

Code Navigation

Cmd+P / Ctrl+P    - Quick file open
Cmd+Shift+P       - Command palette
Cmd+T / Ctrl+T    - Go to symbol
Cmd+G / Ctrl+G    - Go to line
Cmd+Shift+O       - Go to symbol in file
F12               - Go to definition

Editor Shortcuts

Cmd+/ / Ctrl+/    - Toggle comment
Cmd+D / Ctrl+D    - Select next occurrence
Cmd+Shift+K       - Delete line
Alt+Up/Down       - Move line up/down
Cmd+Shift+D       - Duplicate line
Cmd+U / Ctrl+U    - Undo cursor position

AI Chat Commands

File and Code References

@ References

@filename.js      - Reference specific file
@folder/          - Reference entire folder
@#symbol          - Reference function/class
@selection        - Reference selected code
@git              - Reference git changes
@web              - Search web content

Context Commands

/fix              - Fix errors in selection
/edit             - Edit selected code
/explain          - Explain code functionality
/docs             - Generate documentation
/tests            - Generate tests
/optimize         - Optimize performance

Common Chat Prompts

Quick Fixes:
- "Fix the TypeScript errors in this file"
- "Add error handling to this function"
- "Make this code more readable"

Code Generation:
- "Create a React component for user profiles"
- "Add API endpoints for CRUD operations"  
- "Write tests for this function"

Refactoring:
- "Convert this to use async/await"
- "Extract this logic into a separate function"
- "Apply the factory pattern here"

Documentation:
- "Add JSDoc comments to all functions"
- "Create a README for this project"
- "Document the API endpoints"

Composer Workflows

Multi-File Tasks

Feature Implementation

Prompt: "Add user authentication with:
- Login/register components
- JWT token handling  
- Protected route wrapper
- Auth context provider
- API integration"

Refactoring

Prompt: "Refactor the user management:
- Extract business logic to services
- Add proper TypeScript types
- Implement error boundaries
- Add loading states"

Architecture Changes

Database Migration:
"Convert from REST to GraphQL:
- Create GraphQL schema
- Add resolvers
- Update client queries
- Migrate components"

State Management:
"Replace Redux with Zustand:
- Create Zustand stores
- Update component connections
- Remove Redux boilerplate
- Test all functionality"

Advanced Features

Codebase Chat Techniques

Analysis Queries

"What design patterns are used in this codebase?"
"Find all API endpoints that handle user data"
"Show me the data flow for user authentication"
"What dependencies could be updated?"

Architecture Questions

"How is error handling implemented?"
"What testing strategies are used?"
"Where is business logic located?"
"How are environment variables managed?"

Custom Instructions

{
  "rules": [
    "Always use TypeScript strict mode",
    "Prefer functional components with hooks",
    "Use Tailwind CSS for styling",
    "Follow the project's ESLint rules",
    "Add JSDoc comments for public functions"
  ],
  "preferences": {
    "testing": "Jest + React Testing Library",
    "stateManagement": "Zustand",
    "apiClient": "Axios with interceptors"
  }
}

Settings & Configuration

AI Model Settings

Model Selection

{
  "cursor.ai.model": "gpt-4",
  "cursor.ai.temperature": 0.1,
  "cursor.ai.maxTokens": 2048,
  "cursor.ai.topP": 1.0
}

Privacy Controls

{
  "cursor.privacy.enableTelemetry": false,
  "cursor.ai.useLocalModels": true,
  "cursor.ai.enableCodebaseChat": true,
  "cursor.ai.shareCodeForImprovement": false
}

Performance Optimization

{
  "cursor.ai.enableInlineEditing": true,
  "cursor.ai.suggestion.delay": 300,
  "cursor.ai.codebaseIndexing": "smart",
  "cursor.ai.cacheDuration": 3600,
  "cursor.editor.suggestOnTriggerCharacters": true
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Slow Suggestions

Reduce model temperature to 0.1
Decrease max tokens to 1024
Clear editor cache (Cmd+Shift+P > "Clear Cache")
Restart Cursor application

Context Issues

Re-index codebase (Settings > AI > Reindex)
Check file inclusion patterns
Verify .cursorrules file syntax
Clear conversation history

Debug Commands

Command Palette Commands:
- "Cursor: Restart AI Service"
- "Cursor: Clear AI Cache"  
- "Cursor: Show AI Logs"
- "Cursor: Reindex Codebase"
- "Cursor: Reset Chat History"

Integration Tips

VS Code Extension Compatibility

Recommended Extensions

ESLint: Code quality and style
Prettier: Code formatting
GitLens: Git integration
Thunder Client: API testing

Avoid Conflicts

Disable other AI completion tools
Configure keybinding conflicts
Check for duplicate functionality
Monitor performance impact

Git Integration

Git-aware prompts:
- "Review my latest changes"
- "Generate commit message for staged changes"
- "Explain what changed in the last commit"
- "Create a pull request description"

Git references in chat:
@git:staged     - Reference staged changes
@git:diff       - Reference current diff
@git:branch     - Reference branch changes
@git:commit     - Reference specific commit

Best Practices

Effective Prompting

Clear Instructions

Be specific about requirements
Provide context and constraints
Mention preferred patterns/libraries
Include error handling needs

Context Management

Reference relevant files with @
Use selection for focused edits
Clear chat history periodically
Set up .cursorrules for consistency

Code Quality

Quality Prompts:
- "Add comprehensive error handling"
- "Include TypeScript types for all functions"  
- "Add unit tests with good coverage"
- "Optimize for performance and readability"
- "Follow SOLID principles"
- "Add proper logging and monitoring"

Productivity Hacks

Custom Snippets

{
  "React Functional Component": {
    "prefix": "rfc",
    "body": [
      "interface ${1:ComponentName}Props {",
      "  ${2:// props}",
      "}",
      "",
      "export const ${1:ComponentName}: React.FC<${1:ComponentName}Props> = (${3:props}) => {",
      "  return (",
      "    ",
      "      ${4:// component content}",
      "    ",
      "  );",
      "};"
    ]
  }
}

Template Prompts

Component Generation

"Create a [ComponentType] component:
- Name: [ComponentName]
- Props: [prop1, prop2, prop3]
- Features: [feature1, feature2]
- Styling: [Tailwind/CSS modules]
- Tests: [Jest/RTL]"

API Integration

"Add API integration for:
- Endpoint: [URL]
- Method: [GET/POST/PUT/DELETE]
- Data: [request/response structure]
- Error handling: [strategy]
- Loading states: [UI feedback]"

Team Collaboration

Shared Configuration

// .cursorrules (project root)
{
  "teamStandards": {
    "codeStyle": "ESLint + Prettier",
    "testFramework": "Jest",
    "typeChecking": "TypeScript strict",
    "documentation": "JSDoc for public APIs"
  },
  "aiInstructions": [
    "Follow the team's coding standards",
    "Add tests for new functionality", 
    "Include error handling",
    "Use existing utility functions"
  ]
}

Code Review Integration

Review prompts:
- "Review this code for potential issues"
- "Suggest improvements for maintainability"
- "Check for security vulnerabilities"
- "Verify error handling is comprehensive"
- "Assess performance implications"

Quick Reference Commands

File Operations

Cmd+N          - New file
Cmd+O          - Open file
Cmd+S          - Save file
Cmd+Shift+S    - Save all
Cmd+W          - Close tab
Cmd+Shift+T    - Reopen closed tab

Search & Replace

Cmd+F          - Find in file
Cmd+Shift+F    - Find in project
Cmd+H          - Replace in file
Cmd+Shift+H    - Replace in project
F3 / Cmd+G     - Find next
Shift+F3       - Find previous

Multi-cursor

Alt+Click      - Add cursor
Cmd+D          - Select next match
Cmd+Shift+L    - Select all matches
Alt+Shift+I    - Insert cursor at line ends
Cmd+Alt+Up     - Add cursor above
Cmd+Alt+Down   - Add cursor below

Panel Management

Cmd+B          - Toggle sidebar
Cmd+J          - Toggle terminal
Cmd+Shift+E    - File explorer
Cmd+Shift+G    - Source control
Cmd+Shift+X    - Extensions
Cmd+Shift+D    - Debug panel

Next Steps

Master Cursor with these advanced resources:

Cursor - Introduction — Complete feature overview
Cursor - Advanced Workflows — Power user techniques
AI Agents - Comparison Matrix — Compare with other tools

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