Best Practices and Team Workflows

Write Effective Prompts

Good prompts = better code. Structure:

• **What**: What do you want? Be specific.
• **Context**: What technology/framework? Any constraints?
• **Details**: Colors, layout, behavior—the specifics matter.
• **Format**: Where should the code go? (component file, inline, etc.)

Example of a Great Prompt

Create a React modal component that:
- Shows a title and description
- Has a Close button and a primary action button
- Uses Tailwind CSS with blue primary button
- Includes fade-in animation (use framer-motion if available)
- Is accessible (keyboard support, aria-labels)
- Saves as Modal.jsx in /components directory

Review AI Code Always

Never blindly accept AI-generated code:

• Read the code. Understand what it does.
• Test it. Does it work as expected?
• Check for security: no hardcoded secrets, no SQL injection risks
• Performance: Is it efficient? Will it scale?
• Accessibility: Can keyboard users navigate? Do images have alt text?

Test-Driven Development (TDD)

Write tests first, let AI implement:

• Write test cases (what your code should do)
• Ask Cursor: "Write code that passes these tests"
• AI generates implementation
• Tests pass? You're done. Tests fail? Iterate.

This forces clarity and prevents AI mistakes.

Version Control: Git for Safety

Use Git to track changes:

• Commit after each feature, not continuous
• Write clear commit messages ("Add Modal component" not "stuff")
• Push to GitHub regularly (backup and team visibility)
• Use branches for new features (don't work on main)

Treat AI as a Pair Programmer

Best workflow: iterative dialogue

• You: "Create a form with name and email fields"
• AI: Generates form
• You: "Add validation for email format"
• AI: Updates code
• You: "Make it mobile-responsive"
• AI: Refines the code

You're the driver. AI is the assistant. Never let AI make decisions without your direction.

Team Workflows

For teams using Cursor:

• Share .cursorrules file (design system, code standards)
• PR reviews: Have humans and Bugbot review PRs
• Code pairing: Use Cursor together for better decisions
• Documentation: Let AI generate docs, humans refine them

When NOT to Use AI

AI isn't always the right tool:

• Complex algorithms: AI struggles with novel logic. Think first.
• Security-critical code: Always hand-review before deployment
• Novel patterns: If you're pioneering something, guide AI more carefully
• Learning: Sometimes, you should code manually to learn

Continuous Learning

Stay updated:

• Check Cursor changelog (cursor.com/changelog)
• Try new features when released
• Experiment with different models and prompts
• Share learnings with your team