Cursor Tips

Best Practices for Library Selection

• Never stray off the standard path.
• Avoid using obscure or new libraries.
• Use libraries and frameworks that Claude or GPT-4 will understand.
• This reduces the need to manually add context about changes.

Workflow Tips

Development Cycle

1. Generate code.
2. Address TypeScript errors.
3. Feed errors back into Claude.
4. Use the problems tab in Cursor (CMD/CTRL + A to copy).
5. Remember to restart the TypeScript server after using composer.

Context Management

• Gathering relevant file context is crucial for effective Cursor usage.
• The .cursorrules file works best when placed in subdirectories (apps/web/api).
• Open Cursor directly in the subdirectory containing .cursorrules.
• Use cursor.directory as a starting place for your .cursorrules file.

Working with LLMs

• Alternate between using Claude as:
  • A worker (for direct tasks).
  • A teacher (for learning and discovery).
• Emotional prompting can be effective.
• Long-running chat windows may experience performance degradation.

Troubleshooting

When Things Go Wrong

• Question outputs - LLMs can lead you down incorrect paths.
• As a senior engineer, verify the LLM truly understands the request.
• If you've failed 3 times, the issue might be with your approach.
• For persistent failures with proper context, break the task into smaller pieces.

Known Issues

• Composer may cause occasional regressions.
• When encountering LLM bugs:
  1. Assume it's a pre-training issue (with proper context).
  2. Document solutions in .cursorrules.
  3. Consider these documentation entries as temporary fixes.
  4. Review and remove when model updates occur.

Quality Assurance

• After generating significant code, request Cursor to perform bug checks.
• The more you understand your programming language and primitives:
  • The more effectively Claude can work in 'worker mode'.
  • The less time needed in 'Discovery/learning' mode.