Cursor Pro

You ask Cursor's agent to implement a complex feature and it immediately starts writing code, making wrong assumptions and producing a tangled mess.

Execution steps: Press Shift+Tab in the agent input to toggle Plan Mode. Instead of writing code immediately, the agent will:

1. Search your codebase for relevant files
2. Ask clarifying questions about your requirements
3. Create a detailed implementation plan with file paths
4. Wait for your approval before building

The plan opens as a Markdown file you can edit directly — remove unnecessary steps, adjust the approach, or add context the agent missed. Click "Save to workspace" to store plans in .cursor/plans/ for team documentation.

If the agent builds something wrong, don't try to fix it with follow-up prompts. Revert the changes, refine the plan to be more specific, and run it again. This is almost always faster than patching a bad implementation.

The Cursor agent keeps making the same mistakes — using CommonJS instead of ES modules, creating files in wrong directories, or ignoring your testing patterns.

Recommended approach: Create focused rule files in .cursor/rules/ to encode your project conventions:

<code class="language-markdown"># .cursor/rules/project.md

## Commands
- : Build the project
- : Run tests (prefer single test files)

## Code style
- Use ES modules (import/export), not CommonJS
- Destructure imports:
- See for canonical structure

## Workflow
- Always typecheck after making code changes
- API routes go in following existing patterns</code></pre>

Key principle: Start simple. Only add rules when you notice the agent making the same mistake repeatedly. Every rule you load eats context window, so stuffing 2000 lines of rules hurts more than it helps. Check rules into git so your whole team benefits.

Execution intent: this page targets the Cursor Pro Create .cursor/rules/ Files to Stop Repeated Agent Mistakes scenario with a ready-to-use checklist.

After a long Cursor conversation, the agent starts losing focus, making the same mistakes, or producing lower quality code.

What to do next: Long conversations cause context accumulation and noise. When agent effectiveness decreases, start a fresh conversation. Use @Past Chats to reference previous work without copy-pasting the entire history.

Rules of thumb for when to start fresh vs. continue:

Start new when:
• You're moving to a different task or feature
• The agent seems confused or keeps repeating mistakes
• You've finished one logical unit of work

Continue when:
• You're iterating on the same feature
• The agent needs context from earlier discussion
• You're debugging something it just built

Also use @Branch to give the agent context about your current changes: "Review the changes on this branch" becomes a natural way to orient a fresh agent session to your work.

Issue:
Cursor Pro sign in failures are often tied to extension token conflicts after account switching.

What to do:
1. Remove old sign in tokens and relogin once from the correct account.
2. Sync IDE and browser account identity before using premium features.
3. Validate with one quick feature test such as chat or code edit.

Result:
Premium capability loads correctly and repeated auth prompts decline.

Symptom:
Cursor Pro shows verification failure after account switching.

Fix path:
1. Remove outdated login tokens from the IDE session.
2. Rebind to the intended account in both browser and editor.
3. Verify with one lightweight feature call before regular work.

Expected outcome:
Sign in becomes stable and premium tools load correctly.