Summary
The modern code editor is no longer defined by the number of extensions it supports or the level of interface customization it offers. Today, the real differentiator is how efficiently it manages AI agents, and in that regard, Cursor 3 has established a clear advantage.
Its redesigned agent experience brings every AI agent into a single workspace, making it easier to track progress, manage ongoing tasks, and run multiple jobs simultaneously instead of waiting for one process to finish before starting the next.
VS Code Still Feels Designed for Traditional Development
For years, VS Code has been my primary code editor, and it continues to be one of the most flexible development environments available. Even so, its familiar interface still feels fundamentally built around traditional, manual coding workflows.
A typical session involves opening a workspace, navigating between files, managing terminals, installing extensions, and solving problems one task at a time.
Although Copilot and Agent Mode have made the experience considerably smarter, they still feel like powerful features layered on top of an editor that was originally designed for manual software development.
To Microsoft’s credit, the company clearly recognizes the direction software development is taking. The latest beta version of VS Code introduces a dedicated Agents view, signaling a meaningful shift toward AI-driven workflows.
While the feature is still in its early stages and needs refinement, it’s encouraging to see Microsoft moving VS Code in this direction.
Cursor 3 Places AI Agents at the Core of the Experience
Cursor 3 feels less like a traditional code editor with an integrated AI assistant and more like a dedicated command center for agentic development.
Rather than hiding AI capabilities inside a compact chat window, the new Agents interface becomes the central hub for launching tasks, tracking progress, reviewing code changes, and providing guidance whenever an agent requires additional input.
I can assign one agent to build a new dashboard, another to investigate an authentication issue, and a third to review the project for accessibility improvements. Instead of constantly switching between editor tabs, terminal windows, and chat conversations, I can supervise the entire workflow from a single interface.
That change may seem subtle at first, but it significantly reshapes the way I approach software development. I spend far less time navigating through the codebase manually and much more time defining objectives, reviewing implementation plans, and making higher-level technical decisions.
Cursor 3 also provides a clear overview of which agents are still working, which tasks have been completed, and where my attention is needed. This becomes especially valuable when multiple independent tasks are running in parallel.
I’m also looking forward to testing Grok 4.5 within this workflow. Cursor jointly trained the model with SpaceXAI using developer interactions and coding data collected through Cursor, with a focus on long-running software projects and knowledge-intensive work.
It will be interesting to compare its performance with Claude Code Fable 5, Anthropic’s flagship model for advanced coding projects, and GPT-5.6 Sol, OpenAI’s latest flagship model designed for coding, research, and long-horizon agentic workflows.
Cursor 3 Shifts My Role Toward Project Management
One of the biggest changes Cursor 3 introduces is how it transforms my role during software development. Rather than writing every function, fixing every small issue, or working through the codebase line by line, I now spend more time defining tasks, assigning work to AI agents, reviewing their execution plans, and evaluating whether the final implementation meets expectations.
In many respects, I feel less like an individual developer and more like a project manager overseeing a small engineering team.
For example, while building a habit-tracking web application with an integrated focus timer, I didn’t rely on a single agent to complete the entire project. Instead, I divided the workload across multiple agents.
One agent developed the dashboard and habit cards, another created the timer and session history, while a third reviewed the application for mobile responsiveness and accessibility. As these agents worked simultaneously, I monitored their progress, clarified requirements when needed, and intervened whenever different tasks began affecting the same files.
Once the work was complete, I reviewed the code differences, tested the application, and decided which changes should be retained.
The primary reason I prefer Cursor 3 is straightforward: it aligns with the way I build software today. I rarely begin with an empty file and write every line of code manually anymore.
AI Is Becoming the Center of Modern Development
There is no question that VS Code remains the safer option for developers who value familiarity, a rich extension ecosystem, and complete control over their development environment. However, those qualities are no longer the only factors that influence my choice.
As software development becomes increasingly driven by AI agents, the best editor is the one that allows me to delegate work, monitor progress, and coordinate multiple tasks with minimal friction.
Cursor 3 excels in exactly those areas. Although VS Code is clearly moving in the same direction with its new Agents view, the feature is still in beta, so I prefer to wait before making a final judgment.
At this point, Cursor 3 remains the better editor for the way I want to build software.