Hey Warrior,

I now have a YouTube channel where I post short-form videos about building software with AI (like this one). I plan to upload long-form videos very soon too. So go give me a subscribe if you’re eager to learn more about this topic. I promise you there will be a lot of free value on this channel!

And we now also have a Prompt Warrior community, where we hang out and build software with AI together. I try to post my unfiltered learnings and findings throughout the week in there, like this one about how the context in Cursor works. Come join us!

In today’s post I want to give beginners an introduction to Cursor.

It’s probably THE most hyped tool currently in tech. But most people still look at it as something “scary” because they see code and think it’s too difficult to learn.

I will attempt to change that in today’s post.

(Btw, this is not a sponsored post. I just genuinely think more people should know about this tool.)

Here's what we'll cover:

• What is Cursor?

• What can you build with it?

• Getting set up

• The main AI features of Cursor (for beginners)

• Building your first project

Read time: 7 minutes

💡 What is Cursor?

Everyone reading this will have used a text processing tool like Microsoft Word or Google Docs before.

Well you can think of Cursor as the same thing.

The only difference is that with Microsoft Word, you edit text documents, whereas with Cursor, you edit documents that contain code.

In computer lingo, they call something like this an IDE (Integrated Development Environment).

But what makes Cursor different from other IDEs?

→ The way it has AI integrated within it.

Cursor has been around for about a year.

And in June-July this year, it suddenly got a lot of traction, because they integrated the Claude 3.5 Sonnet model into their product.

And Claude 3.5 is extremely good at understanding and writing code.

All of a sudden, what previously was a mediocre AI coding experience suddenly became incredibly good.

This has started a whole new wave of beginners coming in, building software purely with AI.

People who don't know anything about coding can now build projects even if they don't really understand the code or know how to write the code themselves.

And this trend will continue because AI will just get better and better.

🔧 What can you build with it?

Since Cursor is an IDE that supports multiple programming languages, the possibilities for what you can build with it are virtually endless. You can create:

• Web apps

• Mac OS apps

• Mobile apps

• Chrome extensions

• And so much more

The impressive thing is that anyone can do it.

Don't believe me?

Look at this video of an 8-year-old girl coding a ChatGPT-like app from scratch:

🗒️ Getting set up with Cursor

To start using Cursor, go to cursor.com and download the application.

When you open the application for the first time, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the settings.

I recommend watching this helpful video that guides you through the optimal setup process:

Next, get familiar with the Cursor interface.

To begin, create a new folder on your computer (call it “first-project") and open it in Cursor.

On the left side, you'll find your file explorer.

This basically shows a folder on your computer and the files that are within it.

Coding is all about writing files that eventually interact with each other.

As you add files to your project, you can open them, and the contents of the selected file will appear in the center of the screen.

Now, here's where the magic happens. On the right side of the screen, you'll find the AI features that will enable you to write code … without writing any code.

Let's talk about these next.

🤖 The main AI features of Cursor

There are several AI features within Cursor, but in this guide, I'll only talk about two.

These two are the ones that I think are most relevant for beginners, who are starting out and using Cursor for the first time.

First up is the AI chat.

(Open it up by pressing the “Toggle AI pane” button in the top right.)

Think of it like having an AI assistant in your code editor.

You can ask it questions about your code, to help you understand it better.

And it will also suggest code. Then you can then simply click to “apply” the code into your project.

Then there's the Composer.

(Open it by pressing “Cmd/Ctrl + I”.)

This is Cursor's newest AI feature, and it’s extremely powerful.

If the AI chat is like an assistant, the composer is like a director.

The difference is that it can create multiple code files for you with just one instruction.

It will go ahead and implement all of the code straight away. All you have to do is “accept” or “reject” it.

So it's a lot faster than the AI chat in making big changes to your code.

I recommend using the Composer when you're either starting a project or know exactly what you need.

And the AI chat to iterate on your project and make step-by-step changes.

🎬 Building your first project

The best way to learn how Cursor works is not by reading about it but by diving in and trying it out yourself.

The best way is to start with something very small. Don't try to solve the hardest problem for now!

Take a moment to think about a minor problem you encountered today.

How could you solve it with a piece of software?

Or perhaps you've had an idea tucked away in your idea notepad for a while.

Now's the perfect time to bring it to life.

Then open the Composer and just say what you want your initial version of the app to do…

And see what happens.

There will likely be bugs in the first version, but that's ok.

Because you can just take a screenshot of the bug or describe the bug and paste it back in the AI chat, and the AI will help you to solve it!

That’s the great thing about having the AI assistant at your side, you’re not building alone.

Keep iterating on your project and try adding some new features.

Soon you will see you have a little app that's working, that you've built entirely from scratch… And that's an amazing feeling!

Want to dive deeper?

If you're eager to keep building and accelerate your learning, you'll love my Cursor Mini Course.

It is tailored for beginners and non-techies that have never written a single line of code in their life.

In it, I'll teach you how to use Cursor to bring your own web app from idea to live, without writing any code, purely by talking to AI in natural language.

You'll also be able to watch videos of me building other projects entirely from start to finish.

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this, consider forwarding this newsletter to a friend or colleague.

What would you like me to write about in the next post? Reply to this email and let me know.

Moritz

P.S. Maybe you've noticed…

The Prompt Warrior has a slick new logo!!!

What do you think of it? 😃