can i use cursor ai in vscode the honest answer is no and here is what that actually means for your workflow
People ask this question because Cursor looks exactly like VS Code, imports all your VS Code settings, and runs all your VS Code extensions. The relationship between Cursor and VS Code is close enough to cause genuine confusion. The honest answer is that Cursor is not a VS Code extension. It is a separate editor. But the practical impact of that answer depends on what you are actually trying to do, and for most developers it is smaller than you expect.
Marcus Webb
July 6, 2026
The direct answer: Cursor is not a VS Code extension. You cannot install Cursor inside VS Code. Cursor is a separate application that you download and install on its own. It is built on the same open-source VS Code codebase (called VSCodium or the VS Code open source core) which is why it looks identical to VS Code. It imports your VS Code settings and extensions automatically on first launch. But it is a different program.
Why People Think Cursor Works Inside VS Code
The confusion comes from how Cursor looks and feels. When you open Cursor for the first time it offers to import all your VS Code settings, keybindings, extensions, and themes. After that import Cursor looks pixel-for-pixel identical to your VS Code setup. The same theme, the same extensions in the sidebar, the same keyboard shortcuts. For developers who have years of VS Code muscle memory this is an extremely smooth transition. But under that familiar interface Cursor has replaced VS Code's AI layer (GitHub Copilot integration) with its own significantly more capable AI system. The visual similarity hides the fact that you have switched applications entirely.
What Cursor Inherits From VS Code
- All VS Code extensions from the marketplace: every extension you use in VS Code works in Cursor. Language support, linters, formatters, Git tools, debuggers, Unity development extensions. The VS Code extension ecosystem transfers entirely.
- Your settings.json and keybindings.json: all customisations you have made to VS Code are imported on first launch. If you have spent years customising VS Code, Cursor inherits all of that immediately.
- The editor interface: the command palette, the file explorer, the integrated terminal, split panes, the problems tab, the source control panel. Every VS Code UI element exists in Cursor.
- Debugger configuration: launch.json configurations for your projects work in Cursor. If you had a Unity debugger configured in VS Code it transfers to Cursor.
- Tasks and workspace settings: .vscode folder configurations work in Cursor.
What Cursor Changes Compared to VS Code
- The AI layer: Cursor replaces GitHub Copilot with its own AI that has project-wide context awareness. In VS Code plus GitHub Copilot, the AI sees roughly the current file and recently opened files. In Cursor the AI indexes the entire workspace folder and uses that full context for every completion and chat interaction.
- The chat interface: Cursor has a built-in chat panel (Ctrl+L or Cmd+L) that is tightly integrated with the editor. It can reference specific files, read error messages, and make changes directly. VS Code's GitHub Copilot chat exists but operates more separately.
- Composer for multi-file edits: Cursor's Composer feature lets the AI make changes across multiple files simultaneously with a preview and approval step. No equivalent exists natively in VS Code.
- GitHub Copilot is disabled by default: Cursor prompts you to disable GitHub Copilot on installation to avoid conflicts. If you want both AI systems running simultaneously you need to manually re-enable Copilot in Cursor settings, which is possible but creates redundancy.
If You Want AI in VS Code Specifically
If you specifically want to stay in VS Code rather than switch to Cursor, GitHub Copilot is the option. It is an actual VS Code extension that installs inside VS Code and adds AI completions and chat without replacing the editor. GitHub Copilot Individual costs $10 per month or $100 per year. The free tier gives 2,000 completions and 50 chat messages per month. The trade-off versus Cursor is that Copilot has less project context awareness. It does not index your entire workspace the way Cursor does. For most developers doing standard coding tasks the quality gap is acceptable. For developers working on complex multi-file projects the context gap is meaningful.
My Personal Experience Running Both
- I ran VS Code plus Copilot for one year before switching to Cursor. The switch happened because I kept hitting cases on Unity projects where Copilot suggestions referenced patterns that did not match my existing codebase. Cursor's suggestions reference my actual class names and method signatures. That difference accumulated into significant time savings on complex projects.
- I still have VS Code installed for specific cases: when I am working on a project in JetBrains territory (Java, Kotlin) or when I specifically want to test something in the pure VS Code environment. Having both installed is fine.
- The migration to Cursor was genuinely seamless: importing settings took 3 minutes. All my Unity extensions worked on day one. My C# formatter, my GitLens configuration, my custom keybindings. Nothing broke.
- What I sometimes miss about VS Code: VS Code's performance on very large repositories is marginally better than Cursor's. On very large codebases (hundreds of thousands of lines) Cursor can feel heavier during initial indexing. For the game projects I work on this has never been a real problem.
The Decision Matrix: Cursor vs VS Code Plus Copilot
- Choose Cursor if: you want the most capable AI code assistance available, you work on projects with multiple interconnected files where full project context matters, you want multi-file refactoring AI, or you are willing to switch editors for better AI.
- Choose VS Code plus GitHub Copilot if: you specifically need to stay in VS Code (your team uses VS Code, company policy, or tooling dependency), you use JetBrains IDE elsewhere and want consistency, or you want to add AI without changing your editor at all.
- The cost comparison: Cursor Pro is $20 per month. GitHub Copilot Individual is $10 per month. For the same budget you get meaningfully more from Cursor Pro's context awareness than from Copilot Individual's in-VS Code experience on complex projects.
Final Thoughts
You cannot use Cursor AI inside VS Code because Cursor is not a VS Code extension. You can run Cursor as a separate editor that looks and feels exactly like VS Code because it is built on the same open-source foundation. For most developers the practical impact of this distinction is near zero on the first day and increasingly positive as you use Cursor's project context features over time. If staying inside VS Code specifically is a hard requirement, GitHub Copilot is the correct answer.