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Installation and Setup of Cursor

Download and Installation of Cursor
First Launch
Create Your Account
Recommended Settings
Your First Prompt in Cursor
Best Practices for Working with Cursor

You might be one of those developers who spent years coding in traditional editors like Visual Studio Code or Sublime Text, never imagining that an editor could have artificial intelligence built right in. When you discover Cursor, you might think it's "just another VS Code with a new look," but soon you'll realize there's a new workflow.

Cursor is a modern editor, based on Visual Studio Code, but designed from the ground up so that AI is part of your daily routine. You don't have to open another app or copy prompts into a separate chat; the AI lives in your editor and helps you write, explain, and debug code in real time. With Cursor you can:

  • Generate complete functions or components from a simple text instruction.
  • Request detailed explanations of code snippets.
  • Fix errors and get real-time refactoring suggestions.
  • Have a conversation with an assistant that knows your entire project.

In this article, we'll install it, configure it, and get it ready to work in less than ten minutes. You don't need anything special to follow this tutorial. Just:

  • A computer with Windows, macOS, or Linux.
  • Basic knowledge of how to install applications on your system.

Download and Installation of Cursor

First, go to the official website https://cursor.sh. There you'll find the installer for your operating system:

  • Windows (.exe)
  • macOS (.dmg)
  • Linux (.AppImage or .deb)

Download the appropriate file and install it. The process is simple and varies slightly depending on your system:

  • On Windows: open the .exe and follow the installation wizard like any other program.
  • On macOS: open the .dmg and drag Cursor to your Applications folder.
  • On Linux: if you use .AppImage, you need to give it execution permissions:
1chmod +x cursor-x.y.z.AppImage
2./cursor-x.y.z.AppImage

First Launch

When you open Cursor for the first time, you'll notice it looks almost identical to Visual Studio Code. The difference is in a sidebar and some menus that integrate AI directly. From here you can:

  • Open an existing project.
  • Create a new folder.
  • Review the initial configuration.

cursor-image

Create Your Account

To use the AI features, you need to sign in.

  1. Click on “Sign in” (bottom left).
  2. Choose Google, GitHub, or your email.
  3. Once inside, you'll receive initial free credits to try out the AI features.

Before you start working, I recommend:

  • Change the theme: go to Preferences > Color Theme and choose dark or light.
  • Install extensions: Cursor is compatible with most VS Code extensions.
  • Learn the AI shortcuts: some of the most useful are:
    - `Ctrl + K` → Explain the selected code
    - `Ctrl + I` → Generate new code

Your First Prompt in Cursor

Now that everything is installed and configured, let's do a quick test to see how artificial intelligence works in Cursor.

  1. Create a new file in your project and name it, for example, script.js.
  2. Inside the file, write a comment like this:
1// Create a function that checks if a number is prime

This comment is what we call a prompt within the code. An instruction in natural language that the AI will understand and turn into real code.

  1. Select the comment and press Ctrl + I (or the equivalent shortcut on your system).

In a matter of seconds, Cursor will automatically generate a function that does what you asked. And here's where it gets interesting: you can ask it to improve its efficiency, add validations, document the code, or even write unit tests. This simple exercise is the first step to understanding the workflow with AI. You define the goal, and the tool helps you build it.

Best Practices for Working with Cursor

Before you dive into building with AI, it's worth keeping in mind some recommendations that will make your experience much more effective, so keep these tips in mind:

  • Think of your prompts as if you were talking to a teammate: be clear and specific.
  • Don't settle for the first answer: iterating is part of the process.
  • Use the prompt history to learn how to improve your requests.
  • Combine the use of AI with your own technical judgment: the tool enhances your work, it doesn't replace it.

That's it! You now have Cursor installed, configured, and ready to use. Now your editor isn't just for writing code—it's like having Visual Studio Code, but with a copilot that understands your project and supports you along the way.