Cursor AI Editor Complete Installation Guide: VS Code Migration & .cursorrules Project Setup

Cursor AI Editor Complete Installation Guide

Cursor is an AI-powered code editor built on VS Code that supercharges your development workflow with integrated AI assistance. This guide walks you through installation, migrating your VS Code settings, and configuring project-specific AI rules with .cursorrules.

Step 1: Download and Install Cursor

• Visit cursor.com and download the installer for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).- Run the installer:
• Windows: Execute CursorSetup.exe and follow the prompts.- macOS: Open the .dmg file, drag Cursor to Applications.- Linux: Use the AppImage or install via the provided .deb package:
# Linux .deb installation sudo dpkg -i cursor_*.deb sudo apt-get install -f

chmod +x cursor-.AppImage ./cursor-.AppImage- Launch Cursor. On first run, you will be prompted to sign in or create an account.- Choose your plan (Free tier includes limited AI queries; Pro unlocks unlimited fast requests).

Step 2: Migrate Your VS Code Settings

Cursor provides a built-in migration tool that imports your extensions, keybindings, settings, and themes from VS Code automatically. - Open Cursor and navigate to **File → Preferences → Cursor Settings** (or press Ctrl+Shift+J / Cmd+Shift+J).- Under the **General** tab, find **"VS Code Import"** and click **"Import from VS Code"**.- Cursor will detect your existing VS Code profile and import:

Copy-Item -Recurse “$env:USERPROFILE.vscode\extensions” “$env:USERPROFILE.cursor\extensions” Copy-Item “$env:APPDATA\Code\User\settings.json” “$env:APPDATA\Cursor\User\settings.json” Copy-Item “$env:APPDATA\Code\User\keybindings.json” “$env:APPDATA\Cursor\User\keybindings.json”

Restart Cursor after manual migration to load all extensions and settings.

Step 3: Configure AI Model Settings

Cursor supports multiple AI models. Configure your preferred model for different tasks:

• Open Cursor Settings (Ctrl+Shift+J).- Navigate to the Models tab.- Select your default model for Chat, Composer, and Tab completion.- If using a custom API key, enter it under OpenAI API Key:# In Cursor Settings → Models → OpenAI API Key YOUR_API_KEY

  You can also configure Azure OpenAI or Anthropic API endpoints for enterprise setups.

Step 4: Set Up .cursorrules for Project-Specific AI Rules

The .cursorrules file lets you define project-specific instructions that the AI follows whenever it generates or edits code in your repository. Place it at your project root.

Creating Your .cursorrules File

# In your project root touch .cursorrules

Example: Full-Stack Web Project

# .cursorrules

You are an expert full-stack developer working on a Next.js 14 application.

## Tech Stack
- Framework: Next.js 14 with App Router
- Language: TypeScript (strict mode)
- Styling: Tailwind CSS v3
- Database: PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM
- Auth: NextAuth.js v5
- Testing: Vitest + Testing Library

## Code Style Rules
- Use functional components with arrow functions
- Prefer server components; mark client components with "use client" only when needed
- Use named exports, not default exports
- All functions must have explicit TypeScript return types
- Use path aliases: @/components, @/lib, @/utils

## File Naming
- Components: PascalCase (e.g., UserProfile.tsx)
- Utilities: camelCase (e.g., formatDate.ts)
- API routes: route.ts inside descriptive folders

## Error Handling
- Always use try-catch in async functions
- Return typed error responses from API routes
- Log errors with structured format using the project logger

## Security
- Never expose API keys in client-side code
- Validate all user input with Zod schemas
- Use parameterized queries only

Example: Python Data Science Project

# .cursorrules

You are a senior data scientist working on a Python ML pipeline.

## Environment
- Python 3.11+
- Package manager: Poetry
- Key libraries: pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch, matplotlib

## Code Standards
- Follow PEP 8 strictly
- Use type hints for all function signatures
- Write Google-style docstrings for all public functions
- Use pathlib.Path instead of os.path
- Prefer list comprehensions over map/filter where readable

## Data Handling
- Never load full datasets into memory without checking size first
- Use chunked reading for CSVs over 100MB
- Always set random seeds for reproducibility: random_state=42

Using .cursorrules with the New Directory-Based Format

Cursor also supports a .cursor/rules/ directory for modular rule files: your-project/ ├── .cursor/ │ └── rules/ │ ├── general.mdc │ ├── frontend.mdc │ └── testing.mdc ├── src/ └── package.json

Each .mdc file can target specific file patterns: --- description: Frontend component rules globs: src/components/**/*.tsx alwaysApply: false ---

• Use Tailwind CSS for all styling
• Ensure all components are accessible (ARIA labels, keyboard navigation)
• Write unit tests for every new component

Step 5: Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

Can I use Cursor and VS Code side by side?

Yes. Cursor runs as a completely separate application with its own configuration directory. You can have both installed and use them simultaneously. They share no runtime state, though you can import settings from VS Code into Cursor at any time using the built-in migration tool.

Does .cursorrules work with all AI models in Cursor?

Yes, .cursorrules instructions are injected into the system prompt regardless of which model you select (GPT-4, Claude, or others). The AI will follow your project rules across Chat, Composer, and inline editing modes. Note that more complex rule sets perform better with advanced models.

Is my code sent to external servers when using Cursor?

By default, Cursor sends code context to AI model providers for processing. However, you can enable Privacy Mode in Cursor Settings, which ensures your code is not stored or used for training. For enterprise deployments, Cursor offers a self-hosted option and supports routing requests through your own API keys so that data never leaves your infrastructure.