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Cursor IDE Shortcuts

AI-first editor commands and features

Core AI Shortcuts

AI Chat Open chat sidebar
CtrlL
Inline Edit Edit code with AI prompt
CtrlK
Composer Multi-file AI editing
CtrlI
Accept AI suggestion Apply generated code
Tab
Reject AI suggestion Cancel and dismiss
Esc
Toggle AI autocomplete Turn suggestions on/off
Ctrl.

Key Features

💬 Chat (Ctrl+L)

Ask questions about your code, get explanations, or generate new code. Chat has context of your open files.

  • Select code and press Ctrl+L to ask about selection
  • Use @file to reference specific files
  • Use @codebase to search entire project
  • Use @docs to search documentation

✏️ Inline Edit (Ctrl+K)

Select code and describe what you want to change. AI edits it in place.

  • Select function → "add error handling"
  • Select code → "refactor to use async/await"
  • Cursor at line → "add a comment explaining this"
  • Review changes before accepting

🎼 Composer (Ctrl+I)

Make changes across multiple files at once. Describe what you want, Cursor figures out which files to edit.

  • "Add dark mode support to all components"
  • "Rename User to Customer everywhere"
  • "Add TypeScript types to utils folder"
  • Review all changes before applying

🔍 Codebase Search (@codebase)

AI understands your entire project. Ask questions like a teammate who knows the codebase.

  • "@codebase how does authentication work?"
  • "@codebase where is the API rate limiting?"
  • "@codebase find all database queries"

@ Symbols Reference

@file Reference specific file
@codebase Search entire project
@docs Search documentation
@web Search the internet
@folder Reference a folder
@git Git history context
Pro tip: Cursor is based on VS Code, so all your VS Code shortcuts still work. The AI features are additions, not replacements.

Editor Shortcuts (VS Code Base)

Command palette
CtrlShiftP
Quick open file
CtrlP
Find in files
CtrlShiftF
Toggle sidebar
CtrlB
Split editor
Ctrl\
Toggle terminal
Ctrl`