How I Build Apps Faster With Cursor AI Instead of VS Code

How I Build Apps Faster With Cursor AI Instead of VS Code - Photo by Team Nocoloco on Unsplash

Let me walk you through something I genuinely enjoy about working with Cursor: it just gets out of my way and does things for me. For example, when I’m building an app, Cursor will automatically try to execute the right program. So, if I’m working on an iOS app, it’ll run npm run ios and fire up the emulator without me having to fiddle around. Same deal for Android. That’s a feature I really appreciate, because honestly, I don’t want to spend time on boilerplate stuff like launching emulators.

I’ve used Copilot and other AI assistants in JetBrains IDEs, and they just don’t offer this kind of automation. Cursor goes way beyond what you get from the usual AI copilot plugins or IDE tools. It’s not just about code suggestions—it’s about actually running your project and managing the workflow.

Debugging and Project Structure Fixes

Now, not everything is always smooth. Sometimes you’ll open your app and the screen is just blank. That happened to me—the simulator was running, but nothing was showing up. Turns out, my src folder was empty. So, I switched to edit mode, moved the src folder to the right place, and that sorted it out. Cursor made it easy to spot and fix the issue.

Here’s a quick example of what I did:

1# Move the src folder to the correct location
2mv src/ correct/path/

After that, I just ran everything again:

1npm expo start

and waited for the iOS emulator to spin up. This time, the app loaded as expected. There was a little hiccup with duplicate App.tsx files, but once I cleaned that up, everything worked.

Building Features and UI

I wanted the app to show sleep statistics—like, if I slept from 6 to 9, it should tell me how much sleep I got, and display stats for today as well as the whole week (Monday to Sunday). Turns out, Cursor’s AI was smart enough to already have some of that logic in place. Sometimes I doubt it, but then I check and, yeah, it’s already there. That’s pretty cool.

How I Build Apps Faster With Cursor AI Instead of VS Code - Photo by Safar Safarov on Unsplash

I also started thinking about adding a widget to display today’s stats on the home screen. I’m not sure if that’s possible on Android, but it’s something I want to explore further.

Publishing to the App Store

When it came time to publish, Cursor really shined. I had a bunch of tabs open, juggling different tasks, but Cursor helped me keep track. For example, it automatically generated scripts to build and deploy the app to the App Store, using my team ID. It even created a build-deployer script for me.

Here’s what that looked like:

1# Script to build and deploy
2npm install
3npm run build-deployer

If something didn’t work—like a missing package version—I could just copy the error into Cursor’s chat and ask for help. That’s super handy. If you hit a wall, you can always run expo build manually, but having the AI there to troubleshoot is a big time-saver.

Git Integration and Commit Messages

Another thing I love: Cursor can generate commit messages based on what’s staged. If I’m not sure what to write, I just let it suggest something. Here’s my usual flow:

1git add .
2# Let Cursor suggest a commit message
3git commit -m "AI-generated commit message"

Then I push to a new private repo on GitHub. Cursor even finds errors by itself and suggests fixes. It’s one of the best features, honestly. It does make a lot of requests to the AI model, but it’s so efficient that I don’t mind.

Handling Permissions and Final Steps

Sometimes you’ll hit permission issues when deploying. If that happens, just type your password when prompted, and you’re good. Cursor will walk you through the rest—submitting to the App Store, testing, and even updating your README with deployment instructions.

It’s really exciting to see how much Cursor automates. It’s not just an AI code assistant—it’s like having a junior developer who handles the boring stuff and lets you focus on building.

How I Build Apps Faster With Cursor AI Instead of VS Code - Photo by Muhammad Rosyid Izzulkhaq on Unsplash

Key Takeaways

• Cursor automates project setup, emulator launching, and even deployment scripts, saving tons of time.
• The AI assistant is more proactive than Copilot or JetBrains plugins, handling workflow tasks, not just code suggestions.
• Debugging is easier—just ask Cursor about errors, and it’ll help you fix them or generate scripts.
• Git integration is smooth, with AI-generated commit messages and error detection.
• Cursor’s automation lets you focus on building features, not fighting with your tools.

“Cursor is like having a junior developer who handles the boring stuff and lets you focus on building.”

“Sometimes I doubt the AI, but then I check and, yeah, it’s already there. That’s pretty cool.”