Cursor AI Chat Skill | Agent Skills

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

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

Agent Skills: Cursor AI Chat

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