Cursor for Developers: Advanced

This course takes Cursor users from productive to expert in large codebases: nested AGENTS.md and scoped rules, skills, hooks as guardrails, parallel agents in worktrees, the agent browser, large refactors and agentic debugging. Learners finish able to manage long sessions, set team conventions with Team Rules and plugins, and keep agents secure.

What this course covers

The course runs across 11 topics, each one a short adaptive session rather than a recorded lecture. The tutor explains the idea, works an example, checks understanding, and adjusts the next step to the answer given.

Rules for large codebases: nested AGENTS.md and scoped rules — Layer instructions in a monorepo: a root AGENTS.md plus nested AGENTS.md files in packages (nested instructions combine and the more specific one wins), .mdc rules scoped with globs, and subfolders under .cursor/rules. Keep Always Apply rules tiny, give Apply Intelligently rules sharp descriptions, and remove rules that duplicate or contradict Team Rules.
Skills and custom commands — Package repeatable workflows as skills: a folder with a SKILL.md (name, description, optional paths) in .cursor/skills or .agents/skills that the agent uses when relevant or you run with /skill-name. Convert old slash commands with /migrate-to-skills (disable-model-invocation: true keeps them manual-only) and use built-ins such as /review, /create-rule and /create-skill.
Hooks as guardrails — Use .cursor/hooks.json (version 1) to run scripts on agent events such as beforeShellExecution, beforeMCPExecution, beforeReadFile, beforeSubmitPrompt and afterFileEdit. Block risky commands with exit code 2 or a deny permission, set failClosed for checks that must pass, and use hooks to scan for secrets or format code after edits.
Parallel agents: worktrees and best-of-n — Isolate work with /worktree so an agent runs in its own git checkout, put dependency setup in .cursor/worktrees.json, and bring results back with /apply-worktree or a pull request. Use /best-of-n to run the same task across several models in separate worktrees and pick a winner, remembering it compares results and never merges them for you.
The agent browser for testing and accessibility checks — Let the agent open your running app in its built-in browser to navigate, click, type, take screenshots and read console and network logs. Write @Browser prompts for accessibility checks (colour contrast, semantic HTML and ARIA labels, keyboard navigation, missing alt text) and keep browser actions on approval by default.
Large refactors and pattern migrations — Run codebase-wide migrations in reviewable batches: a plan saved to the workspace from Plan mode, a scoped rule describing the target pattern, one package per chat or worktree, tests after every batch and a Deep Agent Review before merge. Catch partial edits and invented imports early and split the work into small pull requests (the built-in /split-to-prs skill can help).
Agentic debugging — Combine Debug mode's hypothesis, logging and reproduction loop with test runs in the terminal, the agent browser for front-end bugs and checkpoints to back out failed attempts. Break retry loops by stopping the agent, supplying runtime evidence and narrowing the task instead of repeating the same request.
Managing context in long sessions — Keep long sessions sharp with one task per chat, plans saved to the workspace, @Chats to carry an earlier decision forward, side chats (/side) for quick questions and queued messages to steer without interrupting. Spot drift, such as forgotten constraints or repeated mistakes, and restart with a short written handoff.
Team conventions: Team Rules, plugins and the team marketplace — Set conventions once for everyone, if your plan includes team features: dashboard Team Rules (enforced ones cannot be switched off), plugins that bundle rules, skills, MCP servers and hooks, and a team marketplace where each plugin is Default Off, Default On or Required. Decide what belongs in the repo, the team layer or personal User Rules.
Security: secrets, prompt injection and ignore-file limits — Keep secrets out of prompts and repos by using environment variables, ${env:NAME} in MCP config and global ignore patterns for .env files and keys, and remember .cursorignore does not stop the terminal or MCP tools. Treat files, web pages and issues as possible prompt injection, avoid Run Everything and allow-all network, and tighten defaults with permissions.json, sandbox.json and hooks.
Capstone: end-to-end feature in a large codebase — Specify, build, test and ship a feature that crosses packages in the sample monorepo: scoped rules and a guardrail hook, a saved plan, parallel worktrees where useful, Debug mode for failures, a browser check of the UI and a Deep Agent Review before the pull request.

Skills you build

Results are measured against named skills in the OneRange taxonomy of more than 10,000 skills, so a manager sees proficiency per skill rather than a completion tick.

Who it is for

Software engineers and tech leads who already work agentically in Cursor (after Cursor for Developers: Core). The material is pitched at advanced level, and takes roughly 150 minutes at a typical pace. Because every session adapts, someone who already knows a topic moves through it quickly instead of sitting through an explanation they do not need.

It sits in the Tool: AI Code Editors track of the Vero AI Catalog, and can be assigned to one person, a team, or the whole company.

How it is delivered and assessed

Delivery is conversational and interactive, including guided lab, code lab, branching scenario exercises. There is no video to sit through and no slide deck to click past.

Understanding is checked with a tool assessment of 5 items, with a pass mark of 70%.

Administrators can copy this course into their own library and adapt it — edit the outline, change the duration, swap the assessment format, or ground it in internal documentation so answers cite the company's own source material.

Also in this track

Cursor for Everyone: Advanced — Multi-Step Tools & Agents — For non-technical builders ready to make bigger tools with Cursor's agent. Learners plan before building with Plan mode, break work into steps they can check, set plain-language rules, undo safely with checkpoints, let the agent test in its own browser, and choose how much the agent may do without asking. They finish with a multi-step team tool built on fake data, with secrets and company data kept out.
Cursor for Everyone: Core — The working level for non-technical builders: keeping your Cursor-built tools alive and useful. Learners improve and fix their own tools, connect them safely to real files and data, and reuse what works. They finish knowing their limits - and exactly when to hand something to an engineer.
Cursor for Everyone: Mastery — Owning Team Tools — The expert level for business builders whose Cursor-built tools other people now depend on, built on the 4Ds of AI fluency: Delegation, Description, Discernment and Diligence. Learners decide what belongs in Cursor, in a chat AI or with engineers, write specs an agent and an engineer can both follow, run a small portfolio of tools, review what agents produce, and work with IT on data, access and approved plans. They finish by measuring impact honestly and leading adoption on their team. No code.
What's New in Cursor for Developers — A short refresher on the latest Cursor for Developers updates
Cursor for Developers: Core — Engineers learn to build and change code with Cursor's Agent: multi-file agentic edits, Project Rules and AGENTS.md, precise @-mention context, and Plan and Debug modes. They also set safe run modes and MCP approvals, and review every change with diffs, checkpoints and Agent Review, so they ship faster without losing control of quality.
Cursor & Grok Bot for Developers Pathway — One path for engineering teams that use Cursor with Grok Bot included. A placement check for each tool sends you to the right Cursor course and the right Grok Bot course. Also includes 8 optional playbooks (Testing, Code Review, Refactoring & Migration and Docs & Onboarding for Cursor; Testing, Code Review, Incidents & Performance and Docs & Onboarding for Grok Bot) to take any time after Essentials; they don't count toward the certificate.
Cursor for Developers Pathway — Cursor for professional developers: from getting productive with Tab and Agent to rules, MCP and hooks, then cloud agents, Bugbot and the CLI. Also includes 4 optional playbooks (Testing, Code Review, Refactoring & Migration, Docs & Onboarding) to take any time after Essentials; they don't count toward the certificate.

Frequently asked questions

How long does this course take?

It runs roughly 150 minutes at a typical pace. Because every session adapts, someone who already knows a topic moves through it quickly instead of sitting through an explanation they do not need.

How is it assigned to a team?

An administrator assigns it from the Vero dashboard to one person, a team, a department or the whole company, and sees progress and results per person and per skill.

Can we customise it with our own documents and terminology?

Yes. Administrators can copy this course into their own library and adapt it — edit the outline, change the duration, swap the assessment format, or ground it in internal documentation so answers cite the company's own source material.

Course code TUL-CUR-201.