Cursor 1.0 in-depth analysis: Which one will be the next "AI colleague" for developers, Cursor 1.0 or Windsurf?

Vibe Coding, a concept proposed by AI leader Andrej Karpathy, is describing a new software development paradigm: developers "are completely immersed in the atmosphere, embrace exponential growth, and even forget the existence of code." Behind this is the increasingly sophisticated capabilities of large language models (LLMs), which are driving software development from traditional line-by-line coding to a more intuitive and interactive AI collaboration model.

In this wave, AI-assisted development tools are undoubtedly the core role. In early June 2025, the highly anticipated Cursor officially released its 1.0 version after two years of polishing. Unlike its main competitor Windsurf, which debuted with version 1.0 from the beginning, Cursor's "two years of polishing" has triggered widespread thinking in the industry.

Key points of this article:

• A full analysis of Cursor 1.0 : It is not only a tool, but also a research and development platform of "IDE+teammates+knowledge layer".
• Duel between the two : Cursor is fast, Windsurf has a deeper understanding of context. One picture will tell you which one is more suitable for you.
• Market changes : How does the battle between OpenAI and Anthropic affect your choice of AI tools?
• The future is here : "Human-machine hybrid development team" is the end of Vibe Coding, and the role of developers will be reshaped.

1. Cursor 1.0: What has it brought after two years of hard work?

The release of Cursor 1.0 is not only an iteration of the version number, but also a comprehensive upgrade of product concepts and core capabilities, aiming to upgrade itself from a code generation tool to a more comprehensive  "IDE + AI teammates + knowledge layer"  R&D platform.

Core Features Highlights

• BugBot : Automated code review and repair. As one of the flagship features, BugBot can automatically analyze pull requests (PRs) on GitHub, intelligently identify potential errors, and leave comments directly in the PRs. Developers can click "Fix in Cursor" to jump to the editor for quick repairs with one click.
• Memory (Beta) : Intelligent learning and contextual memory. This is a Beta feature that allows Cursor to store and recall facts and instructions in AI chat. It can learn based on project context, helping developers review code decisions and avoid repeating mistakes. One user commented that it is "a little scary, but very useful", indicating its potential to deeply learn user coding habits.
• Background Agents : Remote and asynchronous code execution. This feature is now available to all users and can handle tasks such as code completion and file analysis in the background, and even clone repositories, create branches, and push changes in remote environments. The official documentation also admits that this feature has a "larger attack surface" and the infrastructure has not been audited by a third party, which may bring security risks.
• Jupyter Notebook support : allows users to edit Jupyter cells directly in the editor, greatly facilitating data scientists and machine learning engineers (currently only supports Claude Sonnet models).
• Experience and ecosystem improvements : including a one-click installation plug-in system (MCP), support for Mermaid charts and Markdown tables in chats, new settings and dashboards, faster Agent calls, and a series of other optimizations.

2. Why did it take two years to release version 1.0?

In a market where AI tools are changing rapidly, Cursor's two-year version 1.0 development cycle is based on deep strategic considerations.

First, there are technical challenges and strategic shifts . It is reported that the Cursor team tried AI models in the CAD field in the early days but failed. Later, they turned to the code field and decided to rebuild the IDE experience for LLM, and even forked VS Code for this purpose. This is a huge engineering task.

Secondly, it is the high standards for product quality, stability and security . Cursor positioned version 1.0 as a "game-changing update", invested a lot of effort in performance improvements, and regarded "security as the primary concern". This is crucial to gaining the trust of enterprise-level users.

Finally, it is waiting for the technology to mature and the business model to be explored . The AI-assisted development market is growing rapidly, but users have "no loyalty or lock-in". Cursor's two years of precipitation may be waiting for the underlying LLM technology to reach a more mature inflection point in performance and cost, while carefully considering its own business model to build deep value that is difficult to be easily copied.

3. Competition: In-depth competition between Cursor 1.0 and Windsurf

In the Vibe Coding race, Cursor and Windsurf are the most direct competitors, representing two different product philosophies.

? What does it mean to you?

• If you are a solo developer or focused on rapid prototyping , Cursor's speed and familiar VS Code experience may be your first choice.
• If you work in a large team and need to deal with complex code bases and large-scale refactoring , Windsurf's stronger context understanding and autonomous agent capabilities will be more advantageous.

IV. Evolution of Vibe Coding and Market Changes

In addition to the direct comparison of product features, more macro industry dynamics and technology trends also profoundly affect the future of Vibe Coding.

Market changes: The impact of Anthropic's ban on Windsurf

In May 2025, after OpenAI acquired Windsurf, its model supplier Anthropic quickly cut off Windsurf's direct access to the Claude model, and Windsurf could only respond by supporting users to "bring your own API key" (BYOK) . This incident highlights the serious dependence of AI tools on upstream large model suppliers.

This is a strategic opportunity for Cursor. It continues to have full access to multiple models such as Claude, GPT, etc., which puts it in a good position to take advantage of market fluctuations.

New Paradigm: Claude Code from the Terminal

Unlike Cursor and Windsurf, which are IDE-centric, Anthropic's Claude Code runs directly in the terminal, and is positioned more like a "colleague" working side by side with developers. It can read logs, run commands, and modify code directly, and is said to bring "high-dimensional" efficiency improvements.

This represents a radical direction for AI-assisted development. While Cursor is an IDE at its core, its new  Background Agents  and  Agent mode show that it is also actively evolving towards greater autonomy and collaboration capabilities.

5. The end of Vibe Coding: moving towards an independently operated “virtual development team”?

At present, the Vibe Coding tool is still a "tool" rather than an end-to-end development team that can operate independently. AI-generated code still faces severe challenges in maintainability, security, and architectural consistency. Debugging AI-generated "spaghetti code" is sometimes more time-consuming than writing it from scratch.

However, the future is slowly unfolding. AI agents are evolving from simple code generators to digital “teammates” capable of handling multi-step workflows.

The ultimate form of the future may not be to completely replace humans, but to form an efficient and collaborative **"human-machine hybrid development team"**.

In this team:

• Reshaping of human roles : The role of developers will change from "manual coders" to "AI orchestrators" and "AI governors", focusing on higher-level system design, architectural decisions, and verification and optimization of AI outputs.
• Emergence of new roles : Future teams may include new roles such as dedicated “AI integrators” (responsible for tuning and monitoring AI) and “AI validation engineers” (responsible for challenging AI-generated code).
• AI’s responsibilities : As an intelligent “colleague”, AI will be responsible for handling a large number of repetitive and tedious development tasks, freeing up human developers to focus on the most creative and strategic work.

Conclusion: Your next AI colleague is on the way

The release of Cursor 1.0 is an important milestone for Vibe Coding to move from concept to mature application. Its careful consideration in terms of functionality, stability and platform strategy demonstrates its determination to build long-term value in the fierce competition.

Looking ahead, the road to a "virtual development team" that can independently handle the entire process is still long. But a new era of deep collaboration between humans and AI has begun. In this era, our roles will be redefined and the boundaries of software development will be infinitely broadened.

So, how do you see the future of Vibe Coding? In your opinion, who will win the competition between Cursor and Windsurf? Or do you think new paradigms like Claude Code are the real future?