Cursor AI Chat

Master the Cursor AI Chat panel and inline edit for code assistance, debugging, and exploration.

Core Chat Interfaces

Chat Panel (Cmd+L / Ctrl+L)

The side-panel chat for conversational code assistance:

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│  Chat                     [M]   │  ← Model selector
│─────────────────────────────────│
│  Context Pills:                 │
│  [main.ts] [utils/] [@Web]      │  ← Active context shown as pills
│─────────────────────────────────│
│  User: Explain the auth flow    │
│  in @src/auth/middleware.ts     │
│                                 │
│  AI: The middleware checks...   │
│─────────────────────────────────│
│  [Type message...]    [Send]    │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Key actions:

• Select code in editor, then Cmd+L to add selection as context
• Cmd+Shift+L adds selection to existing chat without clearing
• Click model name in top-right to switch models mid-conversation

Inline Edit (Cmd+K / Ctrl+K)

Surgical edits within the editor. Select code (or place cursor), press Cmd+K, type instruction:

Selected: function calculateTotal(items) { ... }

Prompt: "Add TypeScript types and handle empty array edge case"

Result: Cursor shows diff inline -- green for additions, red for removals.
        Press Cmd+Y to accept, Esc to reject.

Best for single-function edits, type annotations, refactoring a specific block, adding error handling.

@-Symbol Reference

Type @ in chat to access context sources:

Symbol	Purpose	Example
@Files	Reference specific files	@src/utils/auth.ts
@Folders	Include directory contents	@src/components/
@Code	Reference specific symbols	@handleSubmit function
@Docs	External documentation	@Docs React Router
@Git	Git diff context	@Git (uncommitted changes)
@Codebase	Semantic search full codebase	@Codebase where is auth handled?
@Web	Live web search	@Web latest Next.js 15 changes
@Definitions	Symbol definitions	Jump to type/function definitions
@Cursor Rules	Active project rules	Show which rules are loaded
@Recent Changes	Recent file edits	Context from recent modifications
@Lint Errors	Current lint issues	Fix active linting problems

@Docs: Adding Custom Documentation

Register external docs for @Docs lookup:

1. Cursor Settings > Features > Docs
2. Click Add new doc
3. Enter URL: https://react.dev/reference/react (Cursor crawls and indexes it)
4. Reference in chat: @Docs React then ask questions

Works with any documentation site. Good for framework APIs, internal wikis, design systems.

Effective Prompting Patterns

Pattern 1: Context-First Prompts

@src/api/orders.ts @src/types/order.ts

The createOrder function doesn't validate the shipping address.
Add Zod validation that checks: street, city, state (2-letter), zip (5 or 9 digit).
Throw a typed ValidationError if invalid.

Pattern 2: Reference-Based Generation

@src/api/users.ts

Create a new file src/api/products.ts following the exact same pattern
as the users API. CRUD endpoints, same error handling, same response format.
Product fields: id, name, price (cents), category, createdAt.

Pattern 3: Debug with Context

@src/hooks/useAuth.ts @Lint Errors

The useAuth hook causes an infinite re-render loop when the token expires.
The useEffect fires repeatedly. What's the root cause and how do I fix the
dependency array?

Pattern 4: Architecture Discussion

@src/components/ @src/api/

I need to add real-time notifications. The app uses REST APIs currently.
Should I add WebSockets, SSE, or polling? Consider the existing architecture
shown in these directories.

Multi-Turn Conversation Management

Start new chats for new topics. Long conversations degrade response quality as context fills up.

When to start fresh:

• Switching to a different feature or bug
• After 10+ turns on the same topic
• When responses start repeating or losing accuracy

When to continue:

• Iterating on the same code change
• Follow-up questions about the same file
• Asking for tests after generating code

Model Selection for Chat

Switch models using the dropdown in chat header:

Task	Recommended Model
Quick questions, explanations	GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet
Complex refactoring, architecture	Claude Opus, GPT-5
Bug hunting, reasoning	o1, o3 reasoning models
Speed-critical simple tasks	cursor-small, GPT-4o-mini
Auto (let Cursor decide)	Auto mode

Chat vs Inline Edit vs Composer

Feature	Chat (Cmd+L)	Inline (Cmd+K)	Composer (Cmd+I)
Scope	Exploration, Q&A	Single block edit	Multi-file changes
Context	Conversation history	Selected code	Project-wide
Output	Text + code snippets	Inline diff	File-level diffs
Best for	Understanding, planning	Quick fixes, types	Features, scaffolding

Enterprise Considerations

• Privacy Mode: Enable in Cursor Settings > General > Privacy Mode for zero data retention
• Model governance: Teams can restrict which models developers access via admin dashboard
• Audit: Chat interactions are not logged server-side when Privacy Mode is on
• Cost control: Use Auto mode or default to faster models; reserve Opus/GPT-5 for complex tasks

Resources

• Cursor Chat Documentation
• @ Symbols Overview
• Keyboard Shortcuts