How to use Cursor AI Composer in 5 minutes

[@danivicario]

I loved the calmed voice and interesting examples. Thank you very much!

[@RobShocks]

Thanks, trying to distill the good stuff without the hype

[@dctrex]

Fantastic! I think I struck gold. Please keep these tutorials coming! 👏👏

[@RobShocks]

Oh wow, thanks for the lovely comment. I’m sitting here eating rice Crispies dying with a cold and you’ve perked me up. What kind of tutorial would you like to see next?

[@dctrex]

@@RobShocks I'm working with your codebase right now. What I'd like to see is the next steps to taking it live. As in a live viable product for the public to see. Great work. Feel better we need more of your great content!

[@dbeeper]

This is the way. Clear, concise and valuable information. Thank you

[@RobShocks]

@@dbeeper Thanks so much, new one about to drop. Working on the balance of lots of info but not too long. Let m know what you think

[@rtwg605]

Saw your comment on another YT'er's podcast on Cursor. Found ya, watched this vid. Subscribed. Now on to your other cursor vids.

[@RobShocks]

@@rtwg605 glad you’re getting some use, what are you interested in building?

[@Rami_Zaki-k2b]

Amazing. Stright to the point(s). Value packed video ❤

[@RobShocks]

Hey man thanks so much for that comment. Lovely thing to read on a Monday morning. I appreciate it.

[@decilgang]

I knew this stuff was coming soon lol. It's only going to get better

[@RobShocks]

@@decilgang it’s moving very fast. This kind of tech is so empowering for anyone who wants to build.

[@tamerahmed4380]

love it thanks

[@lihengeliyi5411]

nice one, precise and helpful

[@RobShocks]

Thanks so much, that is the aim! What are you working on?

[@christopherstone833]

Thank you , learned a lot.

[@RobShocks]

Thanks Christopher, appreciate that. Want to see anything next?

[@proflead]

Nice one Rob! Thanks!

[@RobShocks]

Cheers! Checked out your channel, great work, how are you finding the process?

[@proflead]

@@RobShocks thank you Rob! 😀🙏 It’s fine. It helped me to find so many new interesting channels and learn the topics from different angles.

[@nkumar1470]

Dude holy shit this is amazing

[@RobShocks]

Aw man thanks so much. Glad you got use out of it. What would you like to see next

[@吳富榮-e7w]

May I use voice input?

[@eagleisbatman]

Have you tried porting a complete code base to a different tech stack?

[@RobShocks]

Honestly no. I think if that were me I'd be starting from scratch and porting over the services one by one. Depends on the project of course. What are you porting?

[@bambanx]

Amazing thanks you, just a questions when you add a documentation you only add the index url or you must add whole links of the documentation? Thanks you

[@RobShocks]

From my understanding Cursor indexes all the docs from just one URL so aim for the root of the docs and see how it works for you. If there docs are huge it might be better to concentrate on specific pages but I have not had that problem yet.

[@AaronBlox-h2t]

Interesting... I am using vs code with continue and claudedev but might try this one out.

[@RobShocks]

How did you get on, did you get time to try it yet?

[@MuhammadumarSotvoldiev]

Thanks a lot

[@RobShocks]

Most welcome

[@remorse7405]

Did tried this, but I can't display the full screen version of composer, did try the ctrl + i and it works fine, do i need to setup something in order to view the full screen version of composer? im using wsl

[@RobShocks]

@@remorse7405 what version are you using of Cursor? Also try going to settings top right of window gear icon and looking for composer setting there to open in windows

[@remorse7405]

@@RobShocks the version im using is 0.44.11 just got installed this today, yah i tried that aswel, its kinda weird that i cant open it in full screen, i have check my bindings and im not using any "ctrl + shift + i" prio on installing the cursor

[@RobShocks]

@@remorse7405 either it’s broken or you have a hidden panel. Try the three dots and select open composer as editor or bar on the composer window or try the shortcut ctrl shift k

[@remorse7405]

@@RobShocks those works fine, but they either open as a side panel or for the ctrl shift k, it just open a detachable panel same with when u hit the ctrl + i, hitting the ctrl shift i seems doesnt work on this lates version, i did try to check the bindings i only see this, { "key": "ctrl+i", "command": "composer.startComposerPrompt", "when": "composerIsEnabled" }, Theres no binding for ctrl + shift + i, if theres a chance can u please check your binding if u can see the ctrl shift i binding there, so i can just maybe add it manually

[@vdhdgfhdfh]

how do you run it at WSL?

[@RobShocks]

Will have a tutorial on that soon, more than I can cover in a comment.

[@TysonRoehrkasse]

"Huge timesaver vs in the past you had to copy and paste yourself"... what are you comparing this to? In normal Cursor Chat I can already click "Apply" to apply changes to files. It can already create new files too. Found this video because I'm trying to learn about Composer, and specifically, why I should use it instead of Chat. Still a little confused but it seems Composer would be especially useful when starting a new project vs. making tweaks to an existing one.

[@RobShocks]

@@TysonRoehrkasse when you make feature requests they usually require changes to multiple files and the creation and composing of files. Historically chat did not do any of this. If you want to create whole features use composer and it will work to create whole directories and file systems to support your needs. Chat does not do this. Chat is more for small changes and asking questions IMO

[@gillesashley9314]

My composer used to open on my left side bar, I mistakingly clicked the "Open Composer as Editor", now my composer is taking the space of my Editor where I'm supposed to code, how do I revert it so that it goes back to the left side?

[@RobShocks]

There used to be a an icon on the top right of the composer tab to set this. Not in front of my machine to check right now. Other than this try the cursor settings using CTRL ALT P

[@qiksoft]

Great tutorial! Not at all your fault but when you get to the "Composer" feature in video, cannot use with your own API keys, "Composer relies on custom models that cannot be billed to an API key. Please disable API keys and use a Pro or Business subscription." Maybe you should mention this :)

[@RobShocks]

@@qiksoft Thanks for pointing that out. What models are you using. What’s the usage cost like if you are not using local? I’ve been using the paid version since the start I found it was definitely worth it and cheaper than the api for my level of usage and codebase.

[@qiksoft]

@@RobShocks I am an API only users and use many. My go to are sonnet 3.5 and 4o

[@bambanx]

What is the difference between composer and the chat in the side? Ty

[@episodex]

The chat in the right can't actually edit multiple files, or create multiple files. At least I culdn't make it do it and thought it's not impllemented at all. Now I see there's a third way that handles precisely this use case and it is awesome!

[@RobShocks]

So Composer CTRL + I is great for big changes and features because it can create new files and make changes across multiple existing files on it's own. The Chat windlow CTRL + L is useful when you are in a particular file or want to ask questions or test ideas without commitment to change. You can review what is being suggested and accept and apply each change at a time. So think of them in this order, Composer - Big sweeping changes, Chat - File level and step by step changes - CTRL - K in the file more precise changes at the file level

[@ahmedebenhassine2828]

Any idea how to jump to class or function definition, I already tried ctrl + click but didn't work ?

[@RobShocks]

Hey man, I don't have that problem but I did some digging for you in the Cursor Reddit and apparently there may be an issue with a particular python package you need to install check this post out for more info www.reddit.com/r/cursor/comments/1fv3bmm/jump_to_class_or_function_definition/

[@qubit0002]

any idea on how to fix error 'Unable to write file' - system appears to be duplicating the same path but different folder

[@RobShocks]

Yes this is annoying. I get around this happening by starting projects with a .cursorrules file in the root reminding it to use the app folder along with folder structure example then also make sure you @codebase for the scenarios where it’s getting folders wrong and this helps.

[@qubit0002]

@@RobShocks interesting, mind sharing instructions for your .cursorrules file and can you clarify what it means to '@codebase for scenarios'? thx in advance

[@RobShocks]

@@qubit0002 check out a site called cursor directory and you will get all the cursor rules files. @codebase typed in any prompt window tells the model to take the entire codebase context into account when responding. Also a new tip is to copy your file tree into the cursor rules or create an insturctions.md file with it pasted in there and it gives more context as well

[@mfpears]

It kills me to see you just slowly typing your questions in. Doesn't cursor support a voice mode or something?

[@RobShocks]

I use win+h standard dictation or Mac fn fn it’s perfect

[@mfpears]

@RobShocks fn fn isn't very good. I have a keyboard that uses the Whisper model and it's so much better.

[@xaviersubira5154]

clickup sucks too much settings and lotta unnecessary complexity on the UX

[@RobShocks]

What do you mean by clickup?

[@el_Orate]

It really sucks. First day it build an almost full app so i payed the subscription. After that it never again did one right thing... I started losing all work done systematically. It doesn't save properly or doesn't recover data either. I wasted three full days trying to get the app working again and did not manage. It installs and creates way too many files and does whatever it wants. Doesn't follow instructions either... Fuck the prompt... It does whatever it wants... No joke

[@RobShocks]

@@el_Orate completely know where you are coming from. This was my first experience, prompt and pray. After a few restarts you get the feel for how it works and how to mitigate those issues. It’s like learning how to work with a new employee. 1 work with Claude on its own to get a solid plan in place. 2 design the app in design mode first with a small code base. Know what you need in terms of the design and front end before you to backend stuff. 3 review all the changes as it goes and ask questions of stuff you don’t understand it will make mistakes. 4 learn the basic of GIT and save constantly (commit) you can revert when it goes south and head forward in the right direction. With good commits you have any point in history you can go back to.

[@el_Orate]

@RobShocks yesterday i ended up uninstalling everything. All software and all traces of it and start fresh today again. I will follow your advice and see how it goes from now on. Many thanks

[@el_Orate]

@RobShocks nope... I tried everything. Just another confusing AI

[@RobShocks]

@@el_Orate what would you consider your level of software dev ability and I can help more? Have you done any courses or built anything before?