Developer Onboarding
Battle-tested practices for shipping faster with AI - real patterns from production
About This Playbook
This isn't a Cursor tutorial - Cursor has excellent docs for that. This is a playbook of what actually works in production, learned from real client projects and hundreds of hours building with AI.
What You'll Find Here
- Real patterns that increased velocity 15-30% on client projects
- Team workflows for AI-assisted development at scale
- Hard-won lessons from Client A, Client B, and Client C projects
- Specific examples with before/after metrics
- What doesn't work (so you don't waste time)
What You Won't Find Here
- How to install Cursor (see Cursor Docs)
- Keyboard shortcut lists (Cmd+K, Cmd+L, etc.)
- Feature explanations (Composer, Chat, etc.)
- Basic prompting tips you can Google
Assumption: You have Cursor installed and know the basics. Now let's talk about what actually moves the needle.
Where to Start
1. Security First
Before anything else, configure .cursorignore to protect client data. This is non-negotiable.
2. Quick Start
Get productive in your first 4 hours with battle-tested setup and first-day workflows.
Follow the quick start guide →
3. Configure User Rules
Set up AI coding standards that apply across all your projects.
Core Practices
Learn the five battle-tested patterns that work in production:
- Characterization Test Safety Net - Refactor legacy code with confidence
- Progressive Enhancement - Build features iteratively
- Database Query Optimizer - Fix performance issues fast
- API Contract Generator - Enable parallel development
- Documentation Sync - Keep docs up to date
Explore battle-tested patterns →
Bugbot Debugging
Master Cursor's autonomous debugging mode with real workflows and examples.
Agentic Workflows
Decision frameworks for when to use Agent mode vs Chat - with guardrails for autonomous AI.
Context Management
Master context window management - when to use @codebase vs @file, the 7 files rule, and working with large codebases.
MCP Server Integrations
Practical patterns for connecting AI to external tools - Figma, databases, browsers, and more.
Learn about MCP integrations →
Model Selection Strategy
Choose the right AI model for each task - when to use Opus vs Sonnet vs Gemini vs GPT-5.
Scale with Your Team
Code Review Standards
Establish PR review practices for AI-assisted code.
Shared Prompt Library
Create consistency across the team with shared prompts.
Onboarding New Developers
Get new team members productive in 1 week instead of 3.
Learn from Mistakes
Avoid the five most common anti-patterns:
- Blind Acceptance
- Over-Engineering
- Skipping Understanding
- Context Overload
- Using AI for Everything
Advanced Topics
Performance Optimization
Real case studies with before/after metrics from client projects.
Security Hardening
Audit and harden security in critical systems.
Architecture Decisions
Use AI for research and deep reasoning while keeping humans in the decision loop.
Reference
Common Questions
Frequently asked questions and scenarios.
Bugbot Reference
Complete reference for Bugbot workflows.