Cursor was my entry point into AI-assisted coding. The first-party integration of the chat experience into the IDE was and continues to be industry-leading, and the chat experience itself has always been superb.
Why, then, have I stopped using Cursor in favor of Claude Code?
The reason will sound pretty silly, and I think that’s directly related to why the reason continues to exist: Cursor provides no user customization (that I can find) over how to insert a newline vs. how to send a message. The Enter key by itself always sends, and the Shift key is always required for a newline.
By contrast, Claude Code’s Cursor/VS Code extension—merely an extension, mind you—provides user customization. I can switch the priority so unmodified Enter inserts a newline, and Command-Enter sends the message.
See? I said it would sound silly. But in lived experience, the relief from wiping out unnecessary cognitive overhead that is afforded by not having to think about which modifier I have to constantly press to avoid accidentally sending an incomplete message is game-changing. Such a tiny point of friction, yet such a major UX improvement when that friction spans hundreds and thousands of keypresses. Even a decrease in RSI risk for my left pinky.
Cursor still offers the better UX overall, but giving that up feels worthwhile in exchange for the reduced friction that I get to enjoy with every single message.
(Btw, AI was not used in the authoring of this post. All mistakes are my own.)
