Join me as I chat with Lee Robinson, VP of Developer Experience at Cursor, as he shares practical tips for maximizing productivity with Cursor’s AI coding tools. He demonstrates how to structure prompts, create custom commands, and leverage agents for everything from bug fixes to code reviews. The conversation highlights how AI tools are making software development more accessible while enabling developers to build higher quality products with less effort.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:49 – Using AI Agents in Cursor
08:21 – Custom Rules within Cursor
11:49 – BugBot and code review automation
17:19 – CLI and headless options for Cursor agents
19:29 – Tips for getting the most out of Cursor
21:09 – Examples of innovative software built with Cursor
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Key Points:
• Lee demonstrates how to effectively use Cursor’s AI agents for discrete coding tasks
• Setting up proper linting, formatting, and testing helps agents self-correct their outputs
• Custom commands and rules can be created to enhance code reviews and writing quality
• Cursor offers CLI and headless options for running agents in automation workflow
1) Create New Chats for Each Task
Lee showed us his workflow – he created 20+ separate agent chats in a single day!
WHY? Because context window matters:
• Each new chat = fresh brain for the AI
• Prevents "memory overload"
• Keeps responses focused and high-quality
Don’t clog the AI’s brain with unrelated tasks!
2) Tag Files Explicitly in Your Prompts
When working with agents, be direct about which files you want analyzed:
• "I want to add event tracking when this button is clicked"
• Tag specific files to pull them into context
• Simple, clear instructions work BETTER than complex prompts
The AI needs to know what to focus on – be specific!
3) Set Up Linters & Tests for Self-Correction
This is GAME-CHANGING:
Lee configures his projects with:
• TypeScript
• Linters
• Formatting rules
• Tests
The result? The agent can READ ITS OWN OUTPUT and fix errors automatically without human intervention!
Your AI becomes self-healing
4) Create Custom Rules & Commands
Lee showed two POWERFUL examples:
A) Writing Rules:
• Banned marketing jargon ("mission-critical," "seamless")
• LLM patterns to avoid ("It’s not just X, it’s Y")
• Voice and tone guidelines
B) Custom Commands:
• /code-review that checks for edge cases
• Security reviews
• Loading states
• Test quality
These become your personal coding standards!
5) Use BugBot for Automated Code Reviews
Cursor’s BugBot can:
• Automatically review PRs
• Find issues humans might miss
• Comment directly in GitHub
• Fix internationalization problems
Linear uses this for their "zero bug policy" – they have agents triage and fix bugs IMMEDIATELY after customer reports!
6) Run Agents Headlessly with CLI
For advanced users:
• Run cursor agents from terminal
• Automate in CI/CD pipelines
• Trigger from Slack (!!)
• Fix bugs without even opening your editor
Lee showed how he fixed a bug reported on X by triggering an agent FROM HIS PHONE in Slack
7) Avoid Context Overload
The #1 mistake Lee sees:
"People are just trying to give the model way too much stuff"
When context hits 80-90%, quality drops dramatically.
Research shows even million-token models get confused with too much context.
NEW TASK = NEW CHAT. This is crucial!
8) Build "Personal Software" with Cursor
The most exciting trend Lee’s seeing:
• 6-year-olds coding with AI
• Custom debugging tools that would be "too expensive" to build manually
• Vertical-specific apps using models like Nano Banana
When coding is easy, you can build tools you’d never justify before!
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leerob
Personal Website: https://leerob.com/
