I should be able to ask Cursor how to use Cursor

In Cursor chat window, when I ask specifics about using Cursor, it answers as chatgpt, not Cursor, and says I must check Cursor documentation for Cursor-specific questions. Why?

I wonder what’s the point of an AI-integrated editor that doesn’t know it’s an AI-integrated editor, that thinks it’s just whatever model the editor is currently using. My preference is at minimum for the system to know what it is. Without that, it’s still better than going to the model interface directly, but not a whole lot.

Example showing what for me is a very poorly integrated experience:

Q: In Cursor, do I have a permanent, owned by me, searchable, history of all chats?

A: As of my last update in October 2023, Cursor (or any similar coding assistant tool) typically provides some form of chat history, but the specifics can vary based on the platform’s features and policies. Here are some general points to consider:

  1. Permanent History: Some platforms offer a permanent history of all your chats, which you can access at any time. This history is usually tied to your account.

  2. Searchable History: Many platforms provide a searchable history feature, allowing you to quickly find past conversations based on keywords or topics.

  3. Ownership: Generally, the chat history is associated with your account, meaning you have access to it as long as you maintain your account with the service. However, the data is stored on the platform’s servers, so “ownership” in the strictest sense might be limited by the platform’s terms of service.

  4. Privacy and Security: It’s important to review the platform’s privacy policy to understand how your data is stored, used, and protected.

To get the most accurate and up-to-date information, I recommend checking the specific documentation or support resources of Cursor or the platform you are using. They will provide detailed information about chat history, search capabilities, data ownership, and privacy policies.

3 Likes

Follow-up:

When I ask Cursor the same question in Cursor docs site, it insists that it can do what I expect. I wish the same AI setup was running in Cursor itself!

Q: In Cursor chat window, when I ask specifics about using Cursor, it answers as chatgpt, not Cursor, and says I must check Cursor documentation for Cursor-specific questions. Why?

A: I apologize for the confusion in your question. It seems there might be a misunderstanding about how to interact with Cursor’s AI features. Let me clarify based on the information available in the documentation:

Cursor actually does allow you to ask about Cursor features using its built-in AI chat functionality. Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Open the AI pane: You can toggle the AI pane by pressing Ctrl/⌘ + L. This will open and focus on the chat feature within Cursor.
  2. Use Cursor Chat: Once the AI pane is open, you can type your questions or requests about Cursor features directly into the chat input box.
  3. Submit your query: To send your question, simply press Enter.

The AI assistant in Cursor is designed to help you with various tasks, including answering questions about Cursor’s features. It’s not ChatGPT, but rather an AI assistant specifically tailored for use within the Cursor editor.

If you’re having trouble getting responses about Cursor features, you might want to check a few things:

  1. Make sure you’re using the latest version of Cursor.
  2. Verify that you have an active internet connection.
  3. Ensure that you’ve set up any necessary API keys in the Cursor settings.

If you’re still experiencing issues, you might want to reach out to Cursor’s support team for further assistance.

Another example: I ask Cursor if it can review changes and generate notes for a commit message, and it gives me a long song and dance about how I could do this manually. When I say “no, you automate this” it tells me to install some tools, write some scripts to track changes, generate messages and automate commit.

Here again, we cannot ask Cursor about Cursor. Why doesn’t it know about it’s own capabilities, out of the box? I just added docs.cursor.com to the docs context, we’ll see if that makes it less ignorant, but why would we have to? It’s an advertised feature.

When I ask it why it is recommending these cumbersome external processes over Cursor built in capabilities (@git, @diff, etc.) it says:

I apologize for the confusion earlier. As an AI developed by OpenAI, I don’t have direct knowledge or capabilities specific to proprietary tools or products named “Cursor” unless detailed information about them is provided during our interaction. My responses are based on general programming knowledge and publicly available information.

If “Cursor” is a specific tool or product you’re referring to, and you need help with its specific features or capabilities, could you please provide more details or clarify the functionalities you are interested in? This will help me provide more accurate and relevant information. Thank you!

What settings do we need, to have Cursor act like an integrated product instead of a weak wrapper for Chatgpt?

I added https://docs.cursor.com/ to the Docs section of Cursor settings, thinking that this would automatically provide the missing context. After adding Cursor docs and indexing complete, tested with:

Q: How do I add additional documents for context in Cursor?

A: 1. Documentation or Reference Files: If you need to refer to documentation or other reference materials, you can open these documents in a new window or tab in your editor. Some editors allow embedding browser views or markdown previews which can be useful for viewing documentation directly within the development environment.
2. Use Project Management Tools: If your project involves complex dependencies or numerous documents, consider using project management tools or software that supports linking multiple files and documents with ease. Tools like JIRA, Confluence, or even integrated features in IDEs like Visual Studio Code (with extensions) can help manage and link related documents effectively.

Q: No, my question is again: I am using the Cursor AI code editor. How do I add additional documents to Cursor?

A: To add additional documents for context in Cursor, the AI-powered code editor, you can follow these steps:
Open Cursor: Start by opening your Cursor editor where you are currently working.
Look for the “Context” panel or section in the Cursor interface. This is typically located on the side or bottom panel of the editor.
Within the Context panel, there should be an option to “Add Document” or “Manage Context”.
You might also have the option to link to online resources or documentation directly if Cursor supports web linking.
With the documents added, you can easily click on them to view or refer to them as you code. This helps in maintaining a flow and understanding the broader aspects of your project without switching between different applications or windows.

Conclusion:
Phrases like “if cursor has this feature” or “if such a panel exists” etc. indicate to me that it just made this up by via web references to similar tools. I think it still has no knowledge of the product. It doesn’t know it is inside Cursor, that it is the basis of Cursor, what Cursor is, or how Cursor works or is structured or used.

Maybe I am using wrong syntax? Maybe I misunderstand the purpose of the Docs section? Maybe I have to specifically mention a doc, in order for Cursor to use it in processing requests?

If the latter, I would like Cursor to always use all the docs I add, for every single request, because I added API docs that it must use, and style docs that it must follow. Is this possible?

Yeah, I have also wondered whether Cursor docs should be present in any prompt context. Each time I ask Cursor something about itself I add something in parenthesis after ‘Cursor’ to try and get it on track, eg ‘Cursor (the fork of VS Code)…’. So I suppose first issue is ‘Can we get Cursor docs in context by default’ and second issue is ‘Can docs be updated regularly to include all the nuanced improvements and beta features etc’, and perhaps the third issue is ‘Should we use a particular name to reference ‘Cursor’ in prompts - eg either ‘Cursor AI’ or ‘Cursor IDE’ so it knows we are not talking about mouse cursors from the start’ etc, and perhaps fourth issue is ‘Should we pass in the context that we are writing from within Cursor, by default, so it already knows its own context etc’.

1 Like

Part of the problem is that there is not enough documentation to help us understand how any feature works.

To your point about Docs being available to the AI in any context: while Docs is not in the documentation index, and does not come up in a search, it is described by the AI built into the search on docs.cursor.com.

And through that explanation I infer that I misunderstood how Docs work. Adding them does not make them available to the AI at all times, only when I specifically mention them. So adding the Cursor docs site doesn’t make the AI understand the docs, unless I manually context them each time.

Out of curiosity, I will try creating a chat dedicated to Cursor How To, and add Docs context to it, switching to that chat when I have a question. It is probably no faster than just tagging the doc when I ask a question :slight_smile:

Either way is super kludgy, I still think a bottom line requirement for such a product is to be aware that it is the product.

1 Like

OK, that does work, basically. Even though I wish I didn’t need to @mention every possible doc every time I ask a question!

With default focused-file context:

With editor window context removed: