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Developer Toolkit

Installation & Setup

This guide will get Cursor installed and configured with your preferences in just 10 minutes. We’ll cover platform-specific installation, VS Code migration, and essential first-launch settings.

Quick Install by Platform

Section titled “Quick Install by Platform”
Section titled “Option 1: Direct Download (Recommended)”
Terminal window
# Download from cursor.com
curl -L https://cursor.com/download/mac -o cursor.dmg


# Mount and install
hdiutil attach cursor.dmg
cp -R /Volumes/Cursor/Cursor.app /Applications/
hdiutil detach /Volumes/Cursor

Option 2: Homebrew

Section titled “Option 2: Homebrew”
Terminal window
brew install --cask cursor

First Launch Security

Section titled “First Launch Security”

When first opening Cursor, macOS may show a security prompt:

  1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security
  2. Click “Open Anyway” next to the Cursor message
  3. Enter your password when prompted

VS Code Migration (2 minutes)

Section titled “VS Code Migration (2 minutes)”

Automatic Import

Section titled “Automatic Import”

  1. Open Cursor Settings Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + J or navigate to Settings

  2. Navigate to General → Account Look for the VS Code section

  3. Click “Import from VS Code” Cursor will automatically detect and import:

    • All installed extensions
    • User settings and preferences
    • Keyboard shortcuts
    • Snippets and tasks
    • Theme selections

  4. Restart Cursor Changes take effect after restart

Manual Migration (If Needed)

Section titled “Manual Migration (If Needed)”

If automatic import fails, you can manually copy settings:

Terminal window
# Copy VS Code settings to Cursor
cp ~/.config/Code/User/settings.json ~/.config/Cursor/User/
cp ~/.config/Code/User/keybindings.json ~/.config/Cursor/User/
cp -r ~/.config/Code/User/snippets ~/.config/Cursor/User/

Shell Command Installation

Section titled “Shell Command Installation”

Enable the cursor and code commands for terminal usage:

  1. Open Command Palette: Cmd/Ctrl + P
  2. Type “Install” to filter commands
  3. Select Install 'cursor' command in PATH
  4. Repeat for Install 'code' command in PATH

Now you can open projects from terminal:

Terminal window
cursor ./my-project
code ./another-project  # Also works for VS Code compatibility

First Launch Configuration

Section titled “First Launch Configuration”

1. Privacy Mode Setup

Section titled “1. Privacy Mode Setup”

Critical for Enterprise

Enable Privacy Mode to ensure your code is never used for training and is not retained beyond the session.

  1. Open Settings: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + J
  2. Navigate to General → Privacy
  3. Enable Privacy Mode
  4. Verify the status shows: “Privacy Mode enabled: code will not be stored”

2. Account Creation

Section titled “2. Account Creation”

While Cursor works without an account, signing up unlocks all AI features:

  1. Click Sign Up in the welcome screen
  2. Choose authentication method:
    • Email/Password
    • GitHub (Recommended for team features)
    • Google
  3. Select your plan:
    • Free: Limited AI requests
    • Pro: $20/month, 500 fast requests
    • Business: $40/user/month, team features

3. Initial Workspace Setup

Section titled “3. Initial Workspace Setup”
Terminal window
# Create project directory
mkdir my-ai-project && cd my-ai-project


# Initialize git
git init


# Open in Cursor
cursor .

Indexing Your Codebase

Section titled “Indexing Your Codebase”

When you open a project, Cursor automatically:

  1. Scans all files in your workspace
  2. Creates semantic embeddings for AI context
  3. Builds a search index for fast retrieval
  4. Monitors changes to keep index current

Monitor Indexing Progress

Section titled “Monitor Indexing Progress”
  1. Open Settings: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + J
  2. Navigate to Indexing & Docs
  3. View progress and statistics

Indexing Indicators

Section titled “Indexing Indicators”
  • Status Bar: Shows “Indexing…” with progress
  • AI Quality: Improves as indexing completes
  • Search Accuracy: Becomes more precise
  • Context Relevance: Better file suggestions

Quick Settings Tour

Section titled “Quick Settings Tour”

Essential settings to review before starting:

Theme

Settings → Themes

Choose your preferred color scheme

Font Size

Settings → Editor

Adjust editor and terminal font sizes

Auto-Save

Settings → Files

Enable auto-save for smoother AI workflows

Format on Save

Settings → Editor

Auto-format code when saving

Verify Installation

Section titled “Verify Installation”

Run this quick check to ensure everything is working:

  1. Open terminal in Cursor: Ctrl + `
  2. Check Node.js: node --version (Should be 18+)
  3. Check Git: git --version
  4. Test AI: Press Cmd/Ctrl + K and type “Hello”

Common Installation Issues

Section titled “Common Installation Issues”

“Cursor is damaged and can’t be opened”

Terminal window
xattr -cr /Applications/Cursor.app

Command not found: cursor

  • Restart terminal after installation
  • Manually add to PATH: export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin"

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”

Continue to Essential Configuration

Now that Cursor is installed, let’s configure the AI models and power features.

Essential Configuration →

Time: 15 minutes