Hello! Can someone explain me with examples how does “multiline edit” feature works? For example, if I have a python function and I decided to change variable’s name, will cursor automatically edit all the rows related to this variable in function or it edit function based on input prompt like “add warnings logging to this function” or something different?
This is close to what it will do. It won’t automatically edit all rows, but if Cursor sees you’ve changed a variable name, other references to the old variable may be picked up across multiple lines in your current open window.
Note that if editing one variable name doesn’t trigger it, editing two can help it notice the pattern.
You will then see a tab feature where it will predict where your next edit is and jump to it.
Technically, this is the “Cursor prediction” feature working. Multi-line edits is actually just its ability to edit across multiple lines—it’s not just auto-completing a single line, but is completing multiple lines at once.
Just make sure Cursor Tab is on in Settings > Features, as per Tab / Overview – Cursor
Thank you for your response. Can you please show how it works on a simple python function example? I want to completely understand this feature but didn’t find any example about it. I didn’t understand why it won’t automatically edit all rows if Cursor sees all the references to the old variable name and can easily edit them?
It may suggest fixes for nearby variable names but not necessarily through the whole file.
For changes like this, while it would be cool if Cursor could do it, this isn’t too hard to do with a simple CMD+F find and replace.
The real magic of Cursor Tab comes from more complex examples, e.g.:
- You might change class names from using camelCase to using underscores.
- After making two of these changes, Cursor Tab would pick up on what you’re trying to do.
- It would then suggest other class names throughout the file—even different class names—to change from camelCase to dashes.
An example like this better illustrates Cursor Tab’s intelligence, as doing this before Cursor was extremely difficult. Whereas if you’re simply changing a variable name, the alternative before Cursor—just using find and replace—is still a viable alternative.
If you want to see examples of Cursor tab in action, have a look at the video here.
Since you use Python, you might like the auto import for Python feature. This is essentially what you wanted for variable names, but for imports.
Unlike imports, this is not something that’s easy to CMD+F, because the imports often exist across multiple files.
You can enable this feature in Cursor settings > Features > Auto Import > Auto Import for Python.
Then change a .py filename that you’re importing, and watch the Cursor Magic 
1 Like