As a developer, I am always curious to try new tools that helps to boost productivity of our tasks, in my last posts where I talked about creating the CRUD app from scratch and also using the AG grid for the first time, I was curious that in today's world isn't there any tools or technology through which we can directly use AI to help in coding, and then I got to know about CURSOR.AI.

Cursor.AI is an AI-powered code editor designed to enhance developer productivity. Here are some features described about the cursor -

  1. Inline Suggestions & Chat Assistance – Provides AI-driven code completions, real-time suggestions, and chat-based help.
  2. AI-Based Code Reviews – Analyzes and reviews code for improvements, helping optimise development workflows.
  3. Workflow Understanding – Understands the project structure and provides context-aware assistance.
  4. Multi-Language Support – Works with various programming languages, allowing seamless interaction with AI via commands and prompts.

All this sounds quite interesting and even helpful so I decided to give it a go, implementing cursor was very simple - install it for your OS and it will directly install the extension for VS code and connect with it, which makes it very efficient to use. It provides a chat option on the right-hand side of your screen and the same familiar VS code screen with all your existing files on the left-hand side.
Cursor.ai View

My goal was simple, I was creating a given block of code, functional and responsive. Basically, I need to apply JavaScript for validation, error-success message, field refresh timeout and mobile responsiveness. While applying JS cursor worked very well creating functions efficiently but when it comes to CSS designing for responsiveness, it was not as per my expectations.
Issues That I face while using Cursor:-

  1. Too many unnecessary changes – One big issue I faced was that the Cursor overwrites too much when given a prompt. It doesn’t always limit itself to the specific section of code I want to modify.
  2. Requires multiple prompt attempts – It took several iterations to get the mobile responsiveness right, which sometimes felt like it was slowing me down instead of saving time.
  3. Not ideal for large-scale projects – While it worked decently for small tweaks when I tried using it in a more complex project with multiple dependencies, it struggled to understand the overall code structure and context.

JS function example

In the above screenshot, you can see how easily it gave a JS function as per my requirement for validating the email and showing messages for valid and invalid email input but this was not the case while applying CSS. It took so many prompts to make a responsive media query for the mobile view as per my requirements that after a point I realised I could have done it on my own with less effort and less time

Applied JS code ss

CONS -

  1. Not beginner-friendly – If you don’t know how to code, you can’t just ask Cursor to build an entire app. It’s more of a coding assistant than a full-fledged AI developer.
  2. Paid & expensive – Unlike other AI tools (some of which are open-source), Cursor comes with a subscription model that isn’t cheap. If you’re on a budget, there are alternatives.
  3. Lacks full control – AI-generated code needs human intervention, especially in complex projects. Accepting AI-generated changes blindly can lead to hidden bugs. faced issue ss

PROS -

  1. Great for quick fixes & small projects – If you need AI assistance for a single-file code generation or want to quickly generate boilerplate code, Cursor is useful.
  2. Precise prompts = better output – The more detailed your input, the better the AI’s response. A vague prompt leads to unpredictable results.
  3. Code explanations & suggestions – If you understand coding basics, Cursor can help improve your workflow by explaining code and suggesting optimizations.

Overview -
Cursor AI is a great tool for specific use cases, but it’s not a replacement for real development skills. If you’re a developer with good coding knowledge, you can use Cursor to speed up repetitive tasks. However, for large-scale, real-world projects, its limitations start showing up quickly.

Would I recommend it? For quick POCs and single-file edits—yes. But if you’re expecting an AI to handle a complex project from start to finish, Cursor is not there yet. This was what I thought about Cursor after using it for some days, maybe at some points I am lacking, so feel free to comment.