Updated March 27, 2026
Cursor is an AI-native code editor built as a fork of VS Code, designed from the ground up for AI-assisted development. It features intelligent code completion, multi-file editing, codebase-aware chat, and an agent mode that can autonomously plan and execute coding tasks. Cursor uses a combination of its own models and frontier LLMs (Claude, GPT-4) to provide the most context-aware coding assistance available. It has become the editor of choice for many AI-first developers.
Open-source desktop app for running multiple coding agents in parallel, each isolated in its own git worktree.
Core capabilities each platform advertises.
What each tool does well, and the limitations to keep in mind.
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
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