Cursor’s unified AI interface combines different capabilities in one seamless experience. Use ⌘I to open it, and ⌘N to create a new conversation. Switch between modes using the mode picker in the input box.

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Modes

The interface offers three modes that you can select from the mode picker:

Agent

Access tools and reasoning capabilities for complex tasks. Default mode. (⌘I)

Edit

Make single-turn edits to your code with precision and clarity.

Ask

Ask questions about your code, get explanations, and discover your codebase. (⌘L)

You can switch between modes during a conversation using the mode picker or ⌘. shortcut. This flexibility lets you adapt to your current needs - from asking questions to making changes to using advanced tools.

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Context

You can use @-symbols to include relevant context in your prompts. The interface will automatically suggest relevant context based on your query.

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Autocontext (Beta)

Cursor can automatically include relevant code in your conversations using embeddings and a custom model. Instead of manually selecting context with @-symbols, it analyzes your prompt and includes the most relevant code from your codebase. Enable this feature in Settings > Features > Autocontext.

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Generating & Applying Changes

Cursor has a custom model trained in-house that is able to take a series of edits, as suggested by the AI model you are using, and apply it to files with 1000s of lines in seconds.

This happens automatically in both Agent and Edit modes.

In Ask mode, you can apply changes by clicking the Apply button in the bottom right of the diff view.

Once your changes have been made, you can review them inside your codebase, and then choose to accept or reject them, if you’d like to interate further.

Learn More about Apply

Find out more about applying changes with Cursor’s custom trained model.

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Checkpoints

For every iteration a checkpoint is created. You can return to any previous version by clicking on checkout near that checkpoint. This is handy if you don’t like the current changes and want to revert to an earlier state.

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Chat History

Access previous conversations through the history. Open it from the history icon to the right of Cursor Tab. You’ll see a list of past conversations which you can revisit, rename, or remove.

Open with ⌘+⌥+L or Ctrl+Alt+L when the interface is focused.

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Layout

  • Pane: A sidebar with the interface on the left and your code editor on the right.
  • Editor: A single editor window, similar to viewing code normally. You can move it around, split it, or even place it in a separate window.
  • Floating: A draggable window that you can position where you like

You can change this from the menu > Open as [layout]

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Iterate on lints

Cursor gives the AI direct access to the linter within your codebase, which helps it check over it’s own code, as well as existing code in your project.

When Cursor detects issues flagged by an installed linter, the AI can intelligently attempt to fix them on it’s own, with the ability to iterate on the changes if needed.

This means you will always end up with clean, compliant code without having to manually check and fix any issues.

Some languages (like Rust) require files to be saved before lint errors appear, which may limit this feature’s effectiveness in all languages.

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FAQ

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What’s the difference between the modes?

Ask mode helps you understand and explore code. Use it to ask questions, get explanations, and learn about your codebase.

Edit mode focuses on making single-turn edits to your code. It provides a workspace where you can make precise changes to your files.

Agent mode (default) combines both capabilities with additional tools and reasoning abilities for handling complex tasks.

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How are long conversations handled?

For long conversations, Cursor summarizes earlier messages with smaller models like cursor-small and gpt-4o-mini to keep responses fast and relevant.

This approach helps ensure that even extended conversations remain responsive and coherent, without losing track of key details from earlier exchanges.

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Can I access my conversation history on another computer?

Conversation history is stored locally on your computer and is not stored on Cursor’s servers or tied to your Cursor account.

This means if you switch to a different computer, you won’t have access to your previous history. You can only access your history on the computer where it was originally created.

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