You’re Using Cursor WRONG

The Agent Mode Trap Most Developers Fall Into

Most developers open Cursor, drop into Agent Mode, type a paragraph-long feature request, and smash Enter. “Build an AI-powered dashboard with auth, role-based access, and charts,” they say, then sit back while the model starts rewriting files across the repo. It feels magical for the first 30 seconds, right up until you read the diff.

Behind that single prompt, the AI quietly fills in every gap you left. It decides folder structure, state management, API boundaries, even UI patterns, based on its own priors rather than your project’s constraints. You get code that technically compiles but often ignores your design system, breaks existing abstractions, or reimplements logic that already lives in another file.

That’s the heart of the Agent Mode trap: you think you’re delegating implementation, but you’re actually delegating architecture. Cursor sees “add Stripe billing” and might invent new hooks, routes, and config instead of integrating with the payment utilities you wrote last quarter. Those are invisible assumptions until you scroll through a 500-line diff wondering why half your app just moved.

Once the result diverges from your mental model, you start the ritual of “redo” prompts. You say “no, keep the folder structure,” then “actually, use Tailwind,” then “don’t touch the auth flow,” each time triggering another sweeping refactor. The model thrashes between interpretations because your constraints live in your head, not in a shared plan.

For anything beyond trivial changes—renaming a prop, fixing a small bug—this workflow scales poorly. Multi-file features, cross-cutting concerns, and incremental refactors demand a shared mental model of how the pieces should fit. Agent Mode, used blindly, skips that step and jumps straight to editing whatever files it thinks are relevant.

You end up acting as a human linter for AI-generated architecture decisions. Instead of shipping faster, you burn cycles reviewing surprise migrations, reverting aggressive edits, and patching over awkward abstractions. Cursor becomes a “code slot machine”: pull the lever, hope the diff matches your intent, pull again when it doesn’t.

Meet Your Co-Pilot's Brain: The Planning Layer

Most people treat Cursor like a code vending machine: type a giant prompt into Agent, hit send, and hope the edits make sense. Cursor Plan Mode inserts a missing step into that workflow, turning the AI from an overeager intern into a methodical tech lead that lays out the work before touching a single file.

Instead of blasting changes across your repo, Plan Mode’s core job is simple and strict: “create detailed plans for accomplishing tasks”. Cursor scans your codebase, asks clarifying questions, and drafts a Markdown blueprint that spells out architecture decisions, file-level changes, and implementation steps before any code generation starts.

Access lives in the same dropdown you already use for Agent. Click the mode selector beside the chat input and you will see: - Agent for direct code edits - Plan Mode for structured implementation plans - Debug for tracing and fixing runtime issues - Ask for pure Q&A without edits

Switch to Plan Mode and Cursor’s behavior flips. Your prompt — “Add an AI-powered color palette generator using OpenAI API to this Next.js app,” for example — no longer triggers immediate file writes, but an intermediate plan file, usually an `.md`, that outlines components, API integration points, UI states, and edge cases.

That Markdown plan acts as a living spec. You can edit steps, reject risky ideas, rename files, or downgrade scope before any build step runs, something Agent mode alone rarely encourages when you are rushing. For complex features spanning 5–10 files, this upfront negotiation dramatically cuts rework and surprise diffs.

Cursor also uses Plan Mode as a conversation engine. The model will ask about design preferences, performance constraints, or library choices, then update the plan based on your answers instead of guessing. You move from “AI decides silently” to co-authored intent, which is where quality jumps.

This is not just another toggle in a crowded UI. Plan Mode reframes Cursor from a code writer into a planning partner, closer to pairing with a senior engineer who insists on a design doc before they type `pnpm dev`. Once you adopt it, firing Agent without a plan starts to feel reckless.

From Vague Idea to Concrete Blueprint

Cursor Plan Mode starts with something deceptively simple: you type a rough idea, not a spec. For the demo, Astro K Joseph drops in a vague brief for an “AI-powered color palette generator website” on top of a blank Next.js starter. No file changes happen yet; Plan Mode shifts into analysis instead of edit.

Instead of silently charging ahead, the AI comes back with questions. Cursor asks whether you want a dark theme or light theme, how users should generate palettes (text prompts, image upload, or random), and what role the OpenAI API should play. It probes for layout details too: landing page vs. multi-page app, where to surface color codes, and whether users should save or share palettes.

That back-and-forth turns a fuzzy idea into a concrete blueprint. By the time you answer, you have decisions on:

• UX flow (single-page vs. dashboard-style)
• Palette generation triggers (button, live preview, or form submit)
• Data shape from the OpenAI API and how to validate it
• Visual constraints like “sleek and modern” vs. playful

Cursor then compiles those answers into a Markdown plan: sections for project overview, API usage, UI components, routes, and implementation steps. Every step references specific files and functions, so you see exactly where new components, hooks, and utility modules will live. You can edit that plan like a mini design doc before any code gets touched.

Contrast that with Agent Mode, which would have quietly made all those calls for you. It might pick a random layout, hardcode a light theme, or wire OpenAI responses into state in a way that clashes with your architecture. You only discover those assumptions after it has scattered changes across your codebase.

Interactive planning eliminates that ambiguity. You and Cursor co-own the constraints, from API budgets to UI polish, so the later “generate code” step feels like execution, not roulette. For deeper examples of how this planning layer works across larger projects, Cursor’s own Cursor Plan Mode Official Blog breaks down more multi-file, multi-step workflows.

The Power of the Markdown Spec Sheet

Cursor Plan Mode doesn’t just think; it writes. After you’re done negotiating requirements, it materializes everything into a Markdown spec sheet—a single `.md` file that spells out exactly what the AI is about to do before a single line of code changes.

That Markdown plan usually opens with an architecture overview. You’ll see sections describing the app’s core components, data flow, and boundaries: what lives in the frontend, what hits the API layer, how state moves through the system, and where external services like the OpenAI API plug in.

Next comes a concrete tech stack breakdown. For a Next.js color palette generator, Cursor might lock in decisions like “Next.js App Router, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, OpenAI API, server actions for mutations,” plus constraints such as “no database, use local state only” or “persist palettes via localStorage.”

The spec then shifts into a file-level map of reality. You typically get: - Files to create (e.g. `app/page.tsx`, `app/api/palettes/route.ts`) - Files to modify (e.g. `app/layout.tsx`, `styles/globals.css`) - Files to leave untouched for now

Under that, Plan Mode lays out step-by-step to-dos. Each bullet describes a discrete action: “Implement prompt form,” “Wire API route to OpenAI,” “Add loading and error states,” “Create reusable `PaletteCard` component,” “Write minimal tests for API handler.” Cursor later uses this checklist as its execution script.

Because the plan lives in Markdown, it behaves like a lightweight design document. You can review it in your editor, drop comments in code review, or paste snippets into Slack for quick feedback from a teammate before any refactor lands.

Teams can even commit these `.md` plans to the repo. That creates a searchable history of why a feature exists, which tradeoffs you accepted, and how the implementation evolved—far more transparent than a mystery pull request diff.

Most importantly, this artifact gives you total visibility. Instead of Cursor silently editing files, you see the full intent, scope, and sequence of changes up front, and you approve the blueprint before the AI writes a single line.

You're Still the Architect, Not Just a Spectator

You don’t ship the first draft of a product spec, and you shouldn’t ship Cursor’s first draft of a plan either. Once Cursor Plan Mode spits out that Markdown blueprint, your real job starts: acting as the architect, not the audience.

Cursor will propose routes, components, API calls, and even file names for your AI-powered color palette generator. You go line by line in the Markdown spec, trimming bloat, renaming modules, and aligning the plan with your actual architecture, design system, and non-negotiables.

Want an “upload image and extract dominant colors” feature the AI forgot? You add a new subsection to the plan: required UI changes, a `/api/upload` endpoint, file size limits, and a note that images go to S3, not local disk. Cursor now has a precise, human-approved contract instead of guessing your stack and infra.

You can also correct bad assumptions before they metastasize into code. If Cursor suggests using the OpenAI API directly from the client, you rewrite that step to route everything through a server-side Next.js API handler, add rate limiting, and specify environment variable usage.

This edit-first loop is radically safer than debugging after the fact. Fixing a plan means changing a few lines of Markdown; fixing generated code often means hunting through 5–10 files, untangling side effects, and trying to infer why the AI chose a weird abstraction.

You also move faster. Updating the plan to add: - Dark mode support - Keyboard shortcuts - Saving palettes to a user profile

takes seconds in text, instead of multiple prompt–generate–revert cycles in Agent mode. Cursor then implements that single, upgraded plan in one coherent pass.

You remain the final authority. Cursor drafts the strategy, but you decide which libraries, patterns, and constraints survive. Treat Plan Mode as a junior engineer writing a design doc: valuable, fast, and detailed, but always subject to your review before a single line of code changes.

From Plan to Pixels: Executing the Build

Approval is where Cursor stops thinking and starts doing. Click Build, and the speculative Markdown spec instantly hardens into a contract: every bullet, file path, and TODO in that document becomes the agent’s source of truth for what happens next.

Cursor’s agent now treats that plan like a migration script for your repo. It walks through the checklist step by step, performing concrete actions: creating and renaming files, installing packages, wiring imports, and updating configs, all aligned with the structure you already signed off on.

Because the heavy reasoning happened in Plan Mode, execution runs fast and surprisingly deterministic. The model no longer burns tokens re-arguing architecture; it simply maps “Step 3: Implement /app/api/palettes/route.ts” into edits, which cuts down on meandering refactors and random file touches.

You can watch Cursor march through the Markdown spec like a build log. Each completed item gets checked off as it edits files, so you see exactly when it scaffolds a page, drops in a hook, or wires a provider instead of wondering what the AI is quietly changing behind your back.

Complex operations stop feeling fragile because they ride on the same blueprint. For a Next.js app, Cursor can, in one pass: - Set up API routes under the correct /app/api subtree - Install and configure UI libraries like Tailwind or shadcn/ui - Structure React components into layout, sections, and shared primitives

Those moves look “smart,” but they’re really obedient. If the plan says “use Tailwind with a custom color palette,” Cursor will add tailwind.config, update globals, and inject classes in JSX exactly where the spec indicates, instead of improvising a random design system.

Dependency management also comes under the plan’s control. When the Markdown calls for OpenAI, Zustand, or a charting library, Cursor runs the corresponding npm or pnpm installs, updates tsconfig or env typings, and then writes code that assumes those packages exist.

For deeper technical behavior and other automation tricks, Cursor documents this planning-to-build pipeline on the Cursor Features Page, but the core shift is simple: once you hit Build, Cursor stops debating and starts executing your blueprint, line by line.

When to Plan, and When It's Overkill

Most Cursor users treat Plan Mode like a shiny toggle and then ignore it. That is a mistake. Plan Mode exists for the work that actually bends your architecture, not for sprinkling a few lines of code into a single file.

Reach for Cursor Plan Mode when you are changing the shape of your app. That includes building a new feature that touches multiple components, introducing a new API, or restructuring how data flows across your project. Any time you feel the need to sketch a diagram or write a design doc, that’s Plan Mode territory.

Plan Mode shines when you refactor across several files at once. Think migrating from REST to GraphQL, splitting a monolith React component into a proper feature module, or replacing a homegrown auth layer with OAuth. Cursor can map affected files, propose a step-by-step sequence, and keep the whole refactor coherent instead of spraying edits randomly.

Unfamiliar codebase? Default to Plan Mode. When you inherit a 50,000-line legacy app, Cursor can read through the mess faster than you, outline the key modules, and propose where new logic should live. You stay in control of the architecture while the AI handles the grunt work of scanning and organizing.

Complex logic also belongs in Plan Mode. Payment flows, multi-step onboarding, background job orchestration, or anything involving retries, race conditions, or strict performance constraints benefits from a Markdown plan you can review, comment on, and commit to the repo.

Agent Mode still matters, but for surgical edits. Use Agent when you already know what to change and where, and you just want Cursor to type faster than you. If the task fits comfortably in a single mental screen, you probably do not need a plan.

For quick, local tweaks, stay in Agent Mode and avoid the planning overhead: - Fixing a bug in one function - Renaming a variable or prop across a file - Adding a console log or a single guard clause - Updating a small JSX snippet or CSS rule

Treat Plan Mode as your architectural co-pilot, not your spellchecker. Use it when design decisions matter; skip it when you just need another pair of fast hands.

The Full Toolkit: Plan, Debug, and Ask

Cursor stops being “just an AI autocomplete” when you treat its modes as a coordinated system. Cursor Plan Mode gives you the blueprint, but it sits alongside two other agents that handle everything after the first build: Debug Mode and Ask Mode. Together, they form a tight loop of construction, repair, and investigation.

Think of Plan Mode as your construction crew. You use it to co-author a Markdown spec, decide file structure, and agree on architecture before any line changes. Once you hit Build, Agent mode executes that plan, wiring up components, APIs, and UI the way you already approved.

Bugs arrive the moment your app hits real data, real users, or just a misconfigured environment. Debug Mode exists for that exact moment, using runtime traces instead of vibes. Cursor can ingest stack traces, logs, and error messages, then map them back to the specific files and functions that misbehave.

Rather than flailing around `console.log` debugging, you feed Debug Mode the failing command, test output, or trace. It can: - Identify the root cause in the relevant file - Propose a minimally scoped fix - Apply the patch while preserving the existing plan

Ask Mode covers the third leg of the workflow: understanding. Ask Mode lets you interrogate your codebase like a searchable brain, without granting it permission to edit anything. You can ask, “Where do we validate JWTs?”, “How does theme state flow from layout to components?”, or “What changed in this PR compared to last week?”

Because Ask Mode reads your repo, docs, and even that Markdown spec Plan Mode generated, it acts like an onboard staff engineer. It answers with file paths, code excerpts, and explanations, while you stay in full manual control of edits. No surprise refactors, no hidden diffs.

Use them as a specialized toolkit: Plan Mode for construction, Debug Mode for repair, Ask Mode for consultation. You plan the feature, ship the code, debug the crashes, and query the architecture, all inside Cursor, instead of bouncing between half a dozen tools and a dozen half-baked AI chats.

This Isn't a Feature, It's a New Development Paradigm

AI coding used to look like a party trick: describe a feature, hit generate, hope for the best. Cursor Plan Mode quietly flips that script, turning the model from autocomplete-on-steroids into a spec-driven collaborator that behaves more like a staff engineer than a code genie.

Instead of prompt-and-pray, you now co-author a Markdown design doc that lives in your repo, versioned and reviewable like any other artifact. Cursor walks the codebase, proposes file-level changes, and asks clarifying questions before touching a single line, which mirrors how serious teams already work with RFCs and technical specs.

That structure changes developer psychology as much as it changes code. When you see a concrete checklist of components, API calls, and edge cases, you can push back, reshape scope, or call out missing constraints long before you’re buried in diffs. Developers report faster iteration because they spend less time reverse-engineering what the AI “decided” to do and more time steering the implementation.

Code quality improves because the model optimizes against a shared plan instead of a fuzzy sentence. A plan that explicitly lists “use OpenAI API for palette generation,” “centralize theme tokens,” and “support dark mode” dramatically reduces surprise abstractions, dead files, and one-off hacks. You get fewer brittle patches and more coherent architecture, especially on multi-file Next.js or React builds.

Confidence also goes up. When Cursor shows a step-by-step execution path, you know where things might break, where tests should land, and what to review in a pull request. That transparency makes it easier to trust automation without surrendering authorship, which is why teams increasingly treat Plan Mode as a lightweight design-review gate.

Zoom out, and this is part of a broader agent-first workflow trend. Tools across the stack are moving from single-shot prompts to multi-step agents that plan, critique, and then execute. For a deeper dive into how this is evolving, (LSJ) Cursor new Plan Mode - Lifetime World breaks down similar patterns.

Today’s Cursor Plan Mode looks like a feature toggle; in a few years, this kind of plan-then-build loop will likely be the default way software gets written—by humans and machines working from the same spec.

Your First Plan: A 5-Minute Challenge

Cursor only clicks as a new paradigm once you actually run a plan end to end. So here’s a five‑minute challenge: ship a micro‑feature using Cursor Plan Mode right now, not tomorrow, not “when you have time”.

Build a tiny, focused project: a Markdown note‑taking app with just two fields—`title` and `content`—and a list of saved notes. No auth, no sync, no tags, no distractions. You want something small enough that you can judge Cursor’s planning, not your own complexity budget.

Start by creating a blank project in your stack of choice: a minimal Next.js app, a Vite + React starter, or even a single‑file Node script. Keep the repo clean: no extra libraries, no UI kit, no database integration yet. The simpler the canvas, the clearer Cursor’s plan will read.

Next, switch the side panel mode from Agent to Plan Mode using the dropdown. Confirm the color change so you do not accidentally drop into auto‑edit land. Pick your model, type nothing else, and force yourself to notice that mental gear shift from “code” to “design”.

Now write a single, precise prompt: “Create a simple Markdown note‑taking app with a title field, a content textarea that supports Markdown, a list of saved notes, and basic client‑side storage. Use a clean, responsive layout.” Avoid implementation details like state libraries or CSS frameworks unless you care deeply about them.

Cursor will respond with clarifying questions. Answer them directly: - Framework or stack preference? - LocalStorage vs API backend? - Styling approach: CSS modules, Tailwind, or inline styles? - Any constraints on file structure?

After that back‑and‑forth, Cursor generates a Markdown spec sheet that outlines files, components, storage choices, and UI states. Read it line by line: check file paths, component names, and how it plans to handle Markdown rendering. Edit the spec like real documentation until it matches what you would write for a teammate.

Only when the plan feels boringly obvious, hit Build. Watch Cursor walk through the checklist you just co‑authored. That moment—seeing your vague idea crystallize into a structured, executable blueprint—is the “aha” that permanently changes how you use Cursor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Cursor's Plan Mode?

Plan Mode is a feature in the Cursor IDE that allows you and the AI to collaboratively create a detailed, step-by-step implementation plan in a Markdown file before any code is written. This ensures clarity and alignment on the approach.

How is Plan Mode different from the default Agent Mode?

Agent Mode directly edits your code based on a prompt. Plan Mode first generates a blueprint, asks clarifying questions, allows you to review and edit the plan, and only then executes the build process, reducing errors and rework.

Is Plan Mode necessary for every task in Cursor?

No, it's not. Plan Mode is most effective for medium-to-large features, multi-file changes, or when working in an unfamiliar codebase. For small, localized edits, the standard Agent Mode is often more efficient.

Can I edit the plan before the AI starts coding?

Yes. The core benefit of Plan Mode is that you can review, edit, and add to the generated Markdown plan. You are in full control of the final blueprint before initiating the build.