Why I use Cursor (Part 1 of a series): not just an IDE for code

Part 1 of a series.

If you only know Cursor as “the AI code editor,” you’re not wrong. You’re incomplete.

Yes, I build software in it. Synesis, Phronesis, LiveBytes, the job-search tracker with the jewel-dark Analytics tab – that work happens here. Agents implement, I review, we argue with Dependency Hygiene, we push when I say so.

But that is not the whole bench.

What else happens in this window

Job search, semi-automated. Agents help scout and normalize leads. They upsert into a local SQLite tracker through a CLI with clear verbs. I own apply/no-apply. The board and the reports exist so my feelings cannot gaslight the week. I already wrote that story here.

Fit assessment. Not “the model said I’m a perfect match, ship the application.” More like: structured notes against a role, gaps called out, me deciding whether the splinter is worth pursuing. Same rule as code – agents propose, I still have to believe it.

Rough drafts. Notes posts, product status, research briefs. Page-shaped work lands as markdown. I do the Trish-sized pass. Em dashes get murdered on sight.

Resumes and role-shaped docs. I keep originals. Agents generate rough updates aimed at a posting or a family of roles. I do not let a model become the system of record for my career history. Diff the resume like you’d diff a risky PR.

That list is why this will probably be a series, not one overloaded post. Coding deserves its own air. So do Antigravity, VS Code + Copilot, and the job-search/resume workflows when I want to go deeper without blowing the soft 1k limit.

Why Cursor specifically (for this shape of work)

I need a place where agents have jobs, not one vibey chatbot that pretends to be my whole company.

I need tools – terminal, files, MCP, a roster I can route. Job design matters more than prompt adjectives. I wrote about that too.

I need the same security manners whether we’re touching lib/ or jobsearch.db: confirm before mutate, humans on push, secrets don’t get “cleaned up later” without a backup.

Composer for everyday build. Other models when the lane earns it – I’m a fan of Gemini Notebook for research, for example. Copilot still exists as a lighter hammer in VS Code. Cursor is where the multi-step bench lives.

What this series is not

Not a vendor brochure.

Not “Cursor replaced my brain.”

Not a claim that every life admin task should be agentic. Email triage and grocery lists can stay boring.

What’s next in the series

• When I reach for Antigravity (and when I don’t)
• VS Code + Copilot as the quick/painless middle of the pack
• Deeper cut on agents in the job hunt – fit notes, resume diffs, what I refuse to automate

For now, the honest one-liner: Cursor is my studio control surface. Coding is the loudest app on it. It is not the only one.

Instruments, not vibes. Same window. More than one instrument.

~ Trish