VS Code + Copilot:              Cursor:
+-- Text editor                 +-- Text editor
+-- Copilot plugin              +-- AI built into EVERYTHING
+-- Chat panel                  +-- Chat with codebase context
+-- Inline completions          +-- Tab completions
+-- Manual context              +-- Automatic codebase indexing
                                +-- Composer (multi-file edits)
                                +-- Auto-debugging
                                +-- Background agents

Cursor Tab — Predictive Code Generation:

You type:     Cursor predicts:
----------    ----------------
def fib(n)    def fib(n):
              if n <= 1:
                  return n
              return fib(n-1) + fib(n-2)

How it works:
1. Analyzes your code context
2. Predicts what you want to write
3. Shows ghost text (gray)
4. Press Tab to accept
5. Press Esc to dismiss

Unlike Copilot:
- Predicts multiple lines ahead
- Understands code patterns
- Adapts to your coding style
- Works across files

Cursor Chat:

+---------------------------------------------+
|  Chat Panel                                  |
|                                              |
|  @codebase How does authentication work?    |
|                                              |
|  Cursor searches your ENTIRE project:       |
|  +- All source files                        |
|  +- Configuration files                     |
|  +- Documentation                           |
|  +- Git history                             |
|  +- Package dependencies                    |
|                                              |
|  Response:                                   |
|  "Authentication works as follows:          |
|   1. Login flow in auth/login.ts [link]    |
|   2. JWT middleware in middleware.ts [link] |
|   3. Protected routes in routes.ts [link]  |
|   4. Token refresh in auth.ts [link]"      |
+---------------------------------------------+

Context references:
@file — Reference specific file
@codebase — Search entire project
@web — Search the web
@docs — Reference documentation
@link — Reference URL

Cursor Composer:

Request: "Add email validation to the signup form"

Cursor analyzes:
+-- Current signup form (React component)
+-- Validation logic (utils/validate.ts)
+-- API endpoint (routes/auth.ts)
+-- Tests (tests/auth.test.ts)
+-- Types (types/user.ts)

Cursor modifies:
+-- signup.tsx — Add validation UI
+-- validate.ts — Add email regex
+-- auth.ts — Add server validation
+-- user.ts — Add validation type
+-- auth.test.ts — Add test cases

All changes shown as diffs for review!

Error occurs in terminal:
  TypeError: Cannot read property 'map' of undefined

Cursor automatically:
1. Reads the error message
2. Finds the relevant code
3. Analyzes the issue
4. Suggests a fix

"Found the bug! In line 45 of App.tsx,
 users.map is called before users is loaded.
 Add optional chaining: users?.map(...)"