Cursor
An AI-first code editor built on VS Code
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Cursor is a code editor built on VS Code with a deep AI layer added throughout. It offers context-aware completions, edits that span multiple files, and a chat that can read and reason about the whole codebase, along with an agent mode that carries out larger tasks.
Because it is based on VS Code, existing extensions, settings, and keybindings mostly carry over, so it works as a drop-in replacement for developers who want AI assistance as a core part of the editor rather than a plugin.
It is aimed at professional developers who use AI in their daily workflow and want it tightly integrated into editing, navigation, and refactoring.
AI-assisted draft, human-reviewed before publishing — see how we choose & review tools.
Why we picked it
Cursor made the list as the base pick for developers switching from VS Code specifically — because it's built on VS Code, existing extensions and keybindings mostly carry over, which lowers the actual cost of trying an AI-first editor to nearly zero.
Featured in our guides
Key features
- Multi-line code completion
- Chat with entire codebase
- Automatic file refactoring
- Compatible with VS Code extensions
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