Honest Review of Cursor AI: What Works and What Doesn't

Summary

In this review, Aites, co-founder and CEO of RJI, provides an honest take on the Cursor tool, highlighting both its advantages and limitations. Aites appreciates Cursor’s ease of use, intuitive VS Code integration, efficient commands, and broad feature set that improves coding workflows. However, he points out limitations, particularly with its handling of larger codebases, limited end-to-end task execution, and the overselling of AI's capabilities in replacing core engineering roles. While Cursor excels in streamlining certain aspects of coding, Aites emphasizes that it only marginally reduces time on routine tasks, with AI still unable to fulfill more complex engineering responsibilities.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker, co-founder, and CEO of RJI, provides an honest review of the Cursor tool.
• 👍 The speaker appreciates Cursor's low switching cost due to its similarity with VS Code, which makes it easy to use.
• 💻 The integration of commands like Command L and Command K for inline edits is seen as a time-saving feature.
• 📑 Cursor reduces the need to switch between tools for coding tasks, particularly with AI assistance.
• 🔍 The UX optimizations, such as web search and easy file mentions, simplify the workflow for developers.
• 🛠️ The speaker values Cursor’s ability to handle multi-file edits and perform tasks across a codebase efficiently.
• 👨‍💻 The 'Composer' feature allows for boilerplate code generation and multi-file edits, though it doesn't always deliver complete end-to-end solutions.
• 📂 Cursor is feature-rich, allowing for chatting with the codebase, reviewing files, and customizing controls like file indexing.
• 😕 One downside is that the code-based chat struggles with larger codebases, often failing to locate specific files.
• 🙅 The speaker believes there is an overemphasis on AI replacing engineers, arguing that tasks like customer feedback and high-quality code reviews still require human expertise.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to provide an honest review of the Cursor tool, focusing on its strengths and weaknesses based on the speaker's experience.

What does the speaker like most about Cursor?

The speaker likes that Cursor is a fork of VS Code, which makes switching to it easy for VS Code users. Additionally, the tool has useful commands like command L and command K for inline edits, which reduces time spent going back and forth with external tools.

How does Cursor compare to VS Code according to the speaker?

The speaker highlights that Cursor is similar to VS Code, but it provides a more integrated experience by reducing the need to switch between tools like Codium or external applications. The UX optimizations and integrated commands make it more efficient for certain tasks.

What is the 'composer' feature in Cursor, and how does the speaker evaluate it?

The 'composer' feature in Cursor allows for quick generation of boilerplate code and multi-file edits. While the speaker acknowledges its usefulness, they believe its benefits are exaggerated, as boilerplate generation doesn't significantly reduce time spent on more complex tasks.

What limitations of the codebase chat feature does the speaker mention?

The speaker criticizes the codebase chat feature for its inability to handle larger codebases effectively. It struggles to pinpoint the correct file or solution due to limitations in code searches and vector search, which don't always retrieve the desired context accurately.

Why does the speaker believe the hype around AI tools replacing engineers is overblown?

The speaker argues that engineers spend only around 30% of their time writing code, with the rest devoted to tasks like design documents, code reviews, and customer feedback. AI tools like Cursor can help with some tasks, but they cannot replace the deeper, more collaborative aspects of engineering work.

What are some of the customization options that Cursor offers?

Cursor offers controls like the ability to disable certain files from being indexed and enabling or disabling partial edits or full-context chats. These customization features set it apart from other similar tools.

What are the five things the speaker likes about Cursor?

The speaker appreciates: 1) Easy transition from VS Code, 2) Useful UX optimizations for faster code editing, 3) The 'composer' feature for boilerplate code generation, 4) A comprehensive feature set that integrates chat with codebase, and 5) Customization controls for indexing and editing.

How does the speaker describe the final 20% of coding tasks?

The speaker describes the final 20% of coding tasks as the most time-consuming and critical. These tasks involve refining code, gathering customer and engineer feedback, and making detailed adjustments, which are beyond the scope of tools like Cursor.

What is the overall conclusion of the speaker about Cursor?

The speaker concludes that while Cursor is a helpful tool with some useful features and good UI/UX, it falls short in certain areas like large codebase searches and lacks the capability to handle the more complex, collaborative aspects of engineering work. The community may have overstated its ability to replace engineers.