Why My Love for Cursor AI Clashed with JetBrains and How a Plugin Could Fix It

As a developer who loves using AI to boost my coding, I was really excited when I found Cursor. Features like generating code with cmd+K or getting smart suggestions right where I type felt like magic.

But that excitement faded fast. I kept missing the polished experience of JetBrains IDEs like GoLand and PHPStorm – tools I use daily for Go and PHP work.

The Core Problem: JetBrains’ Polish vs. Cursor’s AI Power

JetBrains tools just work out of the box. But with Cursor (built on VSCode), I hit constant roadblocks that broke my focus.

Auto-imports were unreliable. I’d press special shortcuts that sometimes failed – unlike JetBrains where imports happen automatically. Navigation felt sluggish too. Jumping to references had delays, and hover documentation wasn’t interactive.

Debugging was especially frustrating. Restarting sessions meant hunting through confusing buttons, while JetBrains gives me clear, consistent controls.

• Configuration headaches: Hours lost fixing JSON files and crashing extensions
• UI inconsistencies: Simple tasks like creating root files felt awkward
• Performance issues: Slow indexing and unstable language servers wasted time

I felt like I was wrestling the IDE instead of coding. That defeated the whole purpose of using AI assistance.

My Lightbulb Moment: Why Not Combine Them?

After weeks of juggling both tools, it hit me: what if Cursor’s AI lived inside JetBrains?

A JetBrains plugin could bring AI smarts into an environment that already handles core tasks beautifully. No more switching windows. We’d keep JetBrains’ excellent Git integration, database tools, and Docker support while adding Cursor’s innovation.

What We Can Do Right Now

Based on my experience, here’s how we can make this happen:

• Share Your Story: Tell the Cursor team and JetBrains community about specific struggles – like import reliability or debugging friction.
• Push for Collaboration: Encourage both teams to explore API integrations. This could create real wins for everyone.
• Temporary Fix: Use both tools side-by-side today – Cursor for AI help, JetBrains for compiling and debugging. But keep asking for integration.

Cursor’s AI is brilliant, but its VSCode foundation creates friction. By pushing for a JetBrains plugin, we could finally get that smooth, powerful coding experience we want.