Cursor vs Claude Code is less a model contest than a window contest. Claude Code runs in the terminal, in VS Code and JetBrains, in a desktop app, and on the web. The overview lists Install for Cursor beside Install for VS Code, so Claude Code also runs in the Cursor editor. Cursor’s Agent sits in the editor side pane (Cmd+I / Ctrl+I), and Cursor also has a command line you start with agent. Both cover command-line and editor work. The choice that matters is the window you already work in — the terminal, or an editor that shows inline diffs next to the code — plus the instruction files you keep in the project, and the habit of planning first and rewinding when a turn goes wrong.
Review
Claude Code shows the before-and-after of changed files as inline diffs in the VS Code extension, as visual diff review in the desktop app, and as interactive diff viewing in JetBrains. The VS Code extension also includes plan review.
Cursor Agent applies edits in the editor. While it works you can queue the next instruction, which waits until the current task finishes, or send a follow-up that is delivered at the next tool call. The command line uses the same three modes as the editor: Agent to make changes, Plan to design the approach before coding with clarifying questions, and Ask for read-only exploration without making changes.
If you want to design the approach before coding, Cursor’s Plan mode asks clarifying questions first. In Claude Code, plan review is part of the VS Code extension.
Checkpoints
Both keep session-level snapshots so you can undo agent edits without reaching for git.
Claude Code creates a checkpoint before each prompt that starts a turn and tracks edits Claude made by writing files itself. /rewind, or Esc twice on an empty prompt, opens a menu to restore code, conversation, or both. Snapshots do not include changes made only through terminal commands (bash), and they are not a substitute for commits.
Cursor Agent creates checkpoints before significant changes and shows them on the chat timeline. You can preview files at a checkpoint and restore them. Cursor also stores those snapshots locally, separate from git.
Use a checkpoint to undo the file edits from a prompt when you want to try a different approach. Use git for anything you want to keep.
Instructions and context
Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md at the start of every session. Skills load when you call them. Put the stack, conventions, and review checklist in CLAUDE.md — things Claude should see every time, such as “this repo is TypeScript; run the review checklist before you stop.” Create a skill for a repeated workflow and call it by the name you chose, such as /review-pr or /deploy-staging.
Cursor Agent follows a system prompt plus project rules. The command line can run non-interactively in scripts: agent -p prints a result and exits. Both tools expect project knowledge somewhere the agent will see without you pasting it each time.
A small job with a clear stop is easier to judge in either tool than a long, open-ended session.
Try one small job
Stay in the window you already have open. Use this same job in the window you already have open. This is an editorial example, not a test we ran:
Add a due date to the task list. Include a test. Do not change login or the list layout. Stop when the test passes.Write that stop condition in the prompt. Then notice what you actually used — a plan you approved, a diff in the editor, a checkpoint you restored.
If that window is a terminal, start with Claude Code’s command line or Cursor’s agent. If it is an editor with inline diffs, start with Cursor’s side pane (Cmd+I / Ctrl+I) or the Claude Code extension. Switch only after that one job, once you know which review flow you prefer.