Cursor
The AI-native code editor for 10x developers
Cursor is an AI-first fork of VS Code that lets you chat with your codebase, edit with natural language, and ship features in a fraction of the time. It uses Claude and GPT-4 under the hood.
Editor rating is our overall editorial judgment of the tool, out of 5. It is not a test score and not a user-review average. Ratings have not been re-scored since the tool was listed here. The reasons are in Best for and Pros & cons below.
Requires some technical comfort with API keys, command line, or coding. If you're new to AI, start with a chat-based tool first.
Best for
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
✗ What this won't do
Use cases
Building web apps
Refactoring legacy code
Debugging complex bugs
Learning new frameworks
Install Cursor and sign in
Download Cursor for Mac, Windows or Linux from the Downloads page on cursor.com. Open it, sign in, and pick the folder that holds your project.
Ask Agent to explain the code
Press Cmd+I on a Mac or Ctrl+I on Windows to open Agent. Type: "Explain this codebase. Point me to the main entry points, key modules, and anything I should read before making changes."
Read the summary it writes
Cursor searches your project, reads the files that matter and sums up how the parts fit together. Then ask for one small change and check it in the diff view, which shows exactly what the agent changed.
Start small, plan big changes
Pick a low-risk first task, like fixing some wording or a small layout problem. For bigger work, press Shift+Tab in the Agent box to turn on Plan Mode, so Cursor plans before it edits.
Compare alternatives
| Tool | Category | Editor rating | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor (current) | Coding | 4.9 | Free / $20 mo |
| GitHub Copilot | Coding | 4.7 | Free for OSS / $10 mo |
| Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) | Coding | 4.6 | Free / $15 mo |
| Replit | Coding | 4.5 | Free / $20 mo |