Create your first project with Cursor AI features. Triggers on "cursor hello world",
"first cursor project", "cursor getting started", "try cursor ai", "cursor basics". Use when working with cursor hello world functionality. Trigger with phrases like "cursor hello world", "cursor world", "cursor".
Open the project in Cursor: cursor . (or File > Open Folder).
Exercise 1: Tab Completion
Create src/utils.ts. Start typing and let Tab complete:
// Type this much:
export function formatCurrency(amount: number, currency: string
// Tab suggests:
export function formatCurrency(amount: number, currency: string = 'USD'): string {
return new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
style: 'currency',
currency,
}).format(amount);
}
Press Tab to accept the full suggestion, or Cmd+Right Arrow to accept word-by-word.
Try These Prompts for Tab
Type a comment describing what you want, then start the function:
// Validate an email address using regex
export function validateEmail(
// Sort an array of objects by a key
export function sortBy<T>(
// Calculate the distance between two lat/lng points in km
export function haversineDistance(
Tab reads your comment and generates the implementation.
Exercise 2: Chat (Cmd+L)
Open Chat with Cmd+L. Try these prompts:
Ask about your code:
@src/utils.ts
What does the formatCurrency function do? Does it handle edge cases
like negative numbers or very large values?
Generate new code:
Write a TypeScript function that converts a nested object
to a flat key-value map with dot-separated keys.
Example: { a: { b: 1 } } → { "a.b": 1 }
Debug a concept:
Explain the difference between Promise.all() and Promise.allSettled()
with code examples showing when to use each.
Chat responds with explanations and code snippets. Click Apply on any code block to insert it into your editor.
Exercise 3: Inline Edit (Cmd+K)
Open src/utils.ts. Select the formatCurrency function body. Press Cmd+K.
Type your instruction:
Add support for locale parameter with default 'en-US'.
Handle NaN input by returning '$0.00'.
Cursor shows the diff inline:
Green = added lines
Red = removed lines
Press Cmd+Y to accept, Esc to reject.
Inline Edit Quick Tasks
Select any code and press Cmd+K with instructions like:
"Add TypeScript types"
"Refactor to use early returns"
"Add error handling"
"Convert to async/await"
"Add JSDoc documentation"
Exercise 4: Composer (Cmd+I)
Press Cmd+I to open Composer. Ask it to create a complete feature:
Create a simple task manager module:
1. src/types/task.ts - Task interface with id, title, completed, createdAt
2. src/services/task-service.ts - TaskService class with:
- addTask(title: string): Task
- completeTask(id: string): Task
- listTasks(): Task[]
- deleteTask(id: string): void
3. src/index.ts - Demo script that creates 3 tasks, completes one, lists all
Use in-memory storage (Map). Include TypeScript types throughout.
Composer shows all files it will create/modify. Review each diff, then click Apply All.
Run the Result
npx tsx src/index.ts
Feature Comparison Summary
Feature
Shortcut
Use For
Scope
Tab
Automatic
Line/block completions while typing
Current cursor position
Chat
Cmd+L
Questions, explanations, code snippets
Conversation-based
Inline Edit
Cmd+K
Edit selected code with instructions
Selected code block
Composer
Cmd+I
Multi-file generation and refactoring
Multiple files
Next Steps After Hello World
Add project rules: Create .cursor/rules/ with coding standards (see cursor-rules-config skill)
Index your codebase: Open a real project and wait for indexing (see cursor-codebase-indexing skill)
Learn @-mentions: Use @Files, @Codebase, @Docs in Chat (see cursor-context-management skill)
Configure your model: Try different models for different tasks (see cursor-model-selection skill)
Enterprise Considerations
Hello World exercises do not send sensitive code to AI providers -- safe for evaluation
Enable Privacy Mode before using Cursor with production codebases
Tab completions work immediately; Chat and Composer require active subscription or BYOK API key
