How to Set Up Cursor and Migrate from VS Code in 5 Minutes
Switching code editors feels daunting — you’ve spent years configuring VS Code with the perfect extensions, keybindings, and themes. The good news is that Cursor makes migration essentially painless because it’s built on the VS Code foundation. This tutorial walks you through installing Cursor, importing your VS Code setup, and getting productive with AI features in under 5 minutes.
Step 1: Download and Install Cursor
Visit cursor.sh and download the installer for your operating system (macOS, Windows, or Linux). The installation is identical to VS Code — drag to Applications on Mac, run the installer on Windows, or use the AppImage on Linux. Cursor is a standalone application; it doesn’t modify your existing VS Code installation.
Step 2: Import Your VS Code Configuration
On first launch, Cursor will detect your existing VS Code installation and offer to import your settings, extensions, and keybindings. Click “Import from VS Code” and confirm. This transfers your entire setup — themes, extensions (like Prettier, ESLint, GitLens), snippets, and workspace preferences. The process takes about 30 seconds.
Step 3: Open Your First Project
Open a project folder using File → Open Folder, just like in VS Code. Cursor will immediately start indexing your codebase — you’ll see a small progress indicator in the bottom status bar. Indexing typically takes 1-2 minutes for a medium-sized project. This index is what enables Cursor’s AI to understand your entire codebase context.
Step 4: Try Tab Completion
Open any file and start typing a function or component. You’ll notice Cursor’s Tab Completion appearing as grayed-out text — this is multi-line AI completion. Press Tab to accept, or keep typing to dismiss. Unlike VS Code’s IntelliSense, Cursor’s completions understand the context of your entire project, suggesting imports, function signatures, and variable names that match your codebase conventions.
Step 5: Use Cmd+K for Inline Editing
Highlight a section of code (a function, a block, or even a single line) and press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows). A small input box appears — type what you want changed in natural language. For example: “Add error handling with try-catch and return a default value on failure.” Cursor will generate the edit inline, showing a diff. Press Cmd+Enter to accept or Escape to reject.
Step 6: Chat with Your Codebase
Press Cmd+L to open the chat panel. Ask questions like “Where is the database connection configured?” or “Explain the payment processing flow.” Cursor will search its index, find relevant files, and provide a detailed answer with clickable file references. Use @file or @folder mentions to explicitly include specific files in the conversation context.
Step 7: Choose Your AI Model
Click the model selector in the chat panel or status bar to switch between available models. Use GPT-4o for complex reasoning tasks, Claude 3.5 Sonnet for nuanced code generation, and Cursor’s own cursor-small model for fast, lightweight completions. The free tier includes limited usage of premium models; the Pro plan ($20/month) provides unlimited access.
Step 8: Configure Privacy Settings
If you’re working on proprietary code, go to Settings → Cursor Settings → Privacy Mode and enable “Privacy Mode.” This ensures your code is never stored or used for training. For enterprise teams, verify that your organization’s data retention policies are met by reviewing the SOC 2 compliance documentation.
You’re now fully set up with Cursor and ready to code with AI assistance. The editor feels identical to VS Code but with superpowers — every feature you know is still there, and the AI features are available whenever you need them.Switching code editors feels daunting — you’ve spent years configuring VS Code with the perfect extensions, keybindings, and themes. The good news is that Cursor makes migration essentially painless because it’s built on the VS Code foundation. This tutorial walks you through installing Cursor, importing your VS Code setup, and getting productive with AI features in under 5 minutes.
Step 1: Download and Install Cursor
Visit cursor.sh and download the installer for your operating system (macOS, Windows, or Linux). The installation is identical to VS Code — drag to Applications on Mac, run the installer on Windows, or use the AppImage on Linux. Cursor is a standalone application; it doesn’t modify your existing VS Code installation.
Step 2: Import Your VS Code Configuration
On first launch, Cursor will detect your existing VS Code installation and offer to import your settings, extensions, and keybindings. Click “Import from VS Code” and confirm. This transfers your entire setup — themes, extensions (like Prettier, ESLint, GitLens), snippets, and workspace preferences. The process takes about 30 seconds.
Step 3: Open Your First Project
Open a project folder using File → Open Folder, just like in VS Code. Cursor will immediately start indexing your codebase — you’ll see a small progress indicator in the bottom status bar. Indexing typically takes 1-2 minutes for a medium-sized project. This index is what enables Cursor’s AI to understand your entire codebase context.
Step 4: Try Tab Completion
Open any file and start typing a function or component. You’ll notice Cursor’s Tab Completion appearing as grayed-out text — this is multi-line AI completion. Press Tab to accept, or keep typing to dismiss. Unlike VS Code’s IntelliSense, Cursor’s completions understand the context of your entire project, suggesting imports, function signatures, and variable names that match your codebase conventions.
Step 5: Use Cmd+K for Inline Editing
Highlight a section of code (a function, a block, or even a single line) and press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows). A small input box appears — type what you want changed in natural language. For example: “Add error handling with try-catch and return a default value on failure.” Cursor will generate the edit inline, showing a diff. Press Cmd+Enter to accept or Escape to reject.
Step 6: Chat with Your Codebase
Press Cmd+L to open the chat panel. Ask questions like “Where is the database connection configured?” or “Explain the payment processing flow.” Cursor will search its index, find relevant files, and provide a detailed answer with clickable file references. Use @file or @folder mentions to explicitly include specific files in the conversation context.
Step 7: Choose Your AI Model
Click the model selector in the chat panel or status bar to switch between available models. Use GPT-4o for complex reasoning tasks, Claude 3.5 Sonnet for nuanced code generation, and Cursor’s own cursor-small model for fast, lightweight completions. The free tier includes limited usage of premium models; the Pro plan ($20/month) provides unlimited access.
Step 8: Configure Privacy Settings
If you’re working on proprietary code, go to Settings → Cursor Settings → Privacy Mode and enable “Privacy Mode.” This ensures your code is never stored or used for training. For enterprise teams, verify that your organization’s data retention policies are met by reviewing the SOC 2 compliance documentation.
You’re now fully set up with Cursor and ready to code with AI assistance. The editor feels identical to VS Code but with superpowers — every feature you know is still there, and the AI features are available whenever you need them.
