Cursor
Pick the right mode, give Agent exact context, review every change, and run cloud agents inside your team's controls.
Start: What Cursor is and where things liveAbout Cursor
Cursor is an AI code editor with a built-in agent. Agent mode edits code, Ask answers questions without changing files, Plan lays out the approach first and Debug works from runtime evidence. Tab suggests code as you type. Cloud Agents run tasks in remote machines and can open pull requests, and Bugbot reviews them. Teams and Enterprise plans add admin controls like enforced Privacy Mode and Team Rules.
Best for: Developers who want an agent inside their editor, and teams that need it to run inside company controls.
Good for
- Making changes with the exact files you point at using @ mentions
- Planning a change before any code is written
- Finding bugs from real logs with Debug mode
- Reviewing changes locally with Agent Review and on pull requests with Bugbot
Where people slip
- Accepting edits without reading the diff
- Keeping one long chat across unrelated tasks. Start a new chat when you change tasks
- Treating Restore Checkpoint as a backup. It reverts files only and is separate from Git
- Assuming .cursorignore blocks everything. Shell commands and MCP tools run outside it
What is the difference between Agent and Ask in Cursor?
Agent can edit files and run commands to build, refactor or fix. Ask only answers questions and explores code without making edits. Switch modes with Shift+Tab or the mode picker.
Where do Cursor project rules go?
In .mdc files in .cursor/rules, checked into the repo. Plain .md files there are ignored. Cursor also reads AGENTS.md. Team Rules come first, then project rules, then your user rules.
What happened to Background Agents?
They are now called Cloud Agents. They run in isolated remote machines, work on a separate branch and can open pull requests. They run terminal commands on their own and have internet access by default, so limit what they can reach.
Does Cursor use my code for training?
With Privacy Mode on, your code is never used for training by Cursor or model providers. It's on by default for teams, and admins can enforce it. A personal account on company code drops those controls.
Checked against Cursor's own docs on 2026-11-06.
Basics
Know what Cursor is, open your project with Agent, and make one small change you've reviewed.
New to Cursor? Start here. Already use it? Skip to the next milestone.
0 of 2 lessons completeFoundations
Give Agent the right context and mode, review every diff, and keep sessions clean.
0 of 3 lessons completePlan, debug and review real changes
Use Plan Mode, Debug Mode and Agent Review to ship a fix you can defend.
0 of 3 lessons complete