Master Cursor AI Chat with @-mentions, inline edit, and conversation patterns. Triggers on "cursor chat",
"cursor ai chat", "ask cursor", "cursor conversation", "chat with cursor", "Cmd+L", "inline edit".
Master Cursor AI Chat with @-mentions, inline edit, and conversation patterns. Triggers on "cursor chat",
"cursor ai chat", "ask cursor", "cursor conversation", "chat with cursor", "Cmd+L", "inline edit".
allowed-tools
Read, Write, Edit, Bash(cmd:*)
version
1.18.0
license
MIT
author
Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io>
tags
["saas","cursor","cursor-ai"]
compatibility
Designed for Claude Code, also compatible with Codex and OpenClaw
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:
Cursor Settings > Features > Docs
Click Add new doc
Enter URL: https://react.dev/reference/react (Cursor crawls and indexes it)
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
