Cursor offers a modern, AI-powered coding experience that can replace your JetBrains IDEs. While the transition might feel different at first, Cursor’s VS Code-based foundation provides powerful features and extensive customization options.

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Editor Components

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Extensions

JetBrains IDEs are great tools, as they come already pre-configured for the languages and frameworks they are intended for.

Cursor is different - being a blank canvas out of the box, you can customize it to your liking, not being limited by the languages and frameworks the IDE was intended for.

Cursor has access to a vast ecosystem of extensions, and almost all of the functionality (and more!) that JetBrains IDEs offer can be recreated through these extensions.

Take a look at some of these popular extensions below:

Remote Development

SSH, WSL, and Containers

Project Manager

Manage multiple projects

GitLens

Enhanced Git integration

Local History

Track local file changes

Error Lens

Inline error highlighting

ESLint

Code linting

Prettier

Code formatting

Todo Tree

Track TODOs and FIXMEs

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Cursor has a built-in keyboard shortcut manager that allows you to map your favorite keyboard shortcuts to actions.

With this extension, you can bring almost all of the JetBrains IDEs shortcuts directly to Cursor! Be sure to read the extension’s documentation to learn how to configure it to your liking:

IntelliJ IDEA Keybindings

Install this extension to bring JetBrains IDEs keyboard shortcuts to Cursor.

Common shortcuts that differ:

  • Find Action: ⌘/Ctrl+Shift+P (vs. ⌘/Ctrl+Shift+A)
  • Quick Fix: ⌘/Ctrl+. (vs. Alt+Enter)
  • Go to File: ⌘/Ctrl+P (vs. ⌘/Ctrl+Shift+N)

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Themes

Recreate the look and feel of your favorite JetBrains IDEs in Cursor with these community themes.

Choose from the standard Darcula Theme, or pick a theme to match the syntax highlighting of your JetBrains tools.

JetBrains - Darcula Theme

Experience the classic JetBrains Darcula dark theme

JetBrains PyCharm

JetBrains IntelliJ

JetBrains Fleet

JetBrains Rider

JetBrains Icons

Get the familiar JetBrains file and folder icons

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Font

To complete your JetBrains-like experience, you can use the official JetBrains Mono font:

  1. Download and install JetBrains Mono font onto your system:

Download JetBrains Mono

  1. Restart Cursor after installing the font
  2. Open Settings in Cursor (⌘/Ctrl + ,)
  3. Search for “Font Family”
  4. Set the font family to 'JetBrains Mono'

For the best experience, you can also enable font ligatures by setting "editor.fontLigatures": true in your settings.

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IDE-Specific Migration

Many users loved the JetBrains IDEs for their out-the-box support for the languages and frameworks they were intended for. Cursor is different - being a blank canvas out of the box, you can customize it to your liking, not being limited by the languages and frameworks the IDE was intended for.

Cursor already has access to the extension ecosystem of VS Code, and almost all of the functionality (and more!) that JetBrains IDEs offer can be recreated through these extensions.

Take a look at the following suggested extensions for each JetBrains IDE below.

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IntelliJ IDEA (Java)

Language Support for Java

Core Java language features

Debugger for Java

Java debugging support

Test Runner for Java

Run and debug Java tests

Maven for Java

Maven support

Project Manager for Java

Project management tools

Key differences:

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PyCharm (Python)

Python

Core Python support

Pylance

Fast type checking

Jupyter

Notebook support

Python Test Explorer

Test management

Key differences:

  • Virtual environments managed through command palette
  • Debug configurations in launch.json
  • Requirements management through requirements.txt or Poetry

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WebStorm (JavaScript/TypeScript)

JavaScript and TypeScript Nightly

Latest language features

ES7+ React/Redux Snippets

React development

Vue Language Features

Vue.js support

Angular Language Service

Angular development

Most WebStorm features are built into Cursor/VS Code, including:

  • npm scripts view
  • Debugging
  • Git integration
  • TypeScript support

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PhpStorm (PHP)

PHP Intelephense

PHP language server

PHP Debug

Xdebug integration

PHP Intellisense

Code intelligence

PHP DocBlocker

Documentation tools

Key differences:

  • Xdebug configuration through launch.json
  • Composer integration via terminal
  • Database tools through “SQLTools” extension

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Rider (.NET)

C#

Core C# support

C# Dev Kit

Enhanced .NET tools

Unity

Unity development

.NET Install Tool

.NET SDK management

Key differences:

  • Solution explorer through file explorer
  • NuGet package management through CLI or extensions
  • Test runner integration through test explorer

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GoLand (Go)

Go

Official Go extension

Go Test Explorer

Test management

Go Doc

Documentation tools

Key differences:

  • Go tools installation prompted automatically
  • Debugging through launch.json
  • Package management integrated with go.mod

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Tips for a Smooth Transition

1

Use Command Palette

Press ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + P to find commands

2

AI Features

Leverage Cursor’s AI features for code completion and refactoring

3

Customize Settings

Fine-tune your settings.json for optimal workflow

4

Terminal Integration

Use the built-in terminal for command-line operations

5

Extensions

Browse the VS Code marketplace for additional tools

Remember that while some workflows might be different, Cursor offers powerful AI-assisted coding features that can enhance your productivity beyond traditional IDE capabilities.

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