Migrate from JetBrains IDEs - Cursor Documentation

Learn how to customize Cursor to replicate your JetBrains IDE experience

Cursor offers a modern, AI-powered coding experience that can replace your JetBrains IDEs. While the transition might feel different at first, Cursor’s VS Code-based foundation provides powerful features and extensive customization options.

Editor Components

Extensions

JetBrains IDEs are great tools, as they come already pre-configured for the languages and frameworks they are intended for.

Cursor is different - being a blank canvas out of the box, you can customize it to your liking, not being limited by the languages and frameworks the IDE was intended for.

Cursor has access to a vast ecosystem of extensions, and almost all of the functionality (and more!) that JetBrains IDEs offer can be recreated through these extensions.

Take a look at some of these popular extensions below:

Remote Development
SSH, WSL, and Containers

Project Manager
Manage multiple projects

GitLens
Enhanced Git integration

Local History
Track local filechanges

Error Lens
Inline error highlighting

ESLint
Code linting

Prettier
Code formatting

Todo Tree
Track TODOs andFIXMES

Keyboard Shortcuts

Cursor has a built-in keyboard shortcut manager that allows you to map your favorite keyboard shortcuts to actions.

With this extension, you can bring almost all of the JetBrains IDEs shortcuts directly to Cursor! Be sure to read the extension’s documentation to learn how to configure it to your liking:

IntelliJ IDEA Keybindings

Install this extension to bring JetBrains IDEs keyboard shortcuts to Cursor.

Common shortcuts that differ:
Find Action: ⌘/Ctrl+Shift+P (vs. ⌘/Ctrl+Shift+A)
Quick Fix: ⌘/Ctrl+. (vs. Alt+Enter)
Go to File: ⌘/Ctrl+P (vs. ⌘/Ctrl+Shift+N)

Themes

Recreate the look and feel of your favorite JetBrains IDEs in Cursor with these community themes.

Choose from the standard Darcula Theme, or pick a theme to match the syntax highlighting of your JetBrains tools.

JetBrains - Darcula Theme
Experience the classic JetBrains Darcula dark theme

JetBrains Icons
Get the familiar JetBrains file and folder icons

Font

To complete your JetBrains-like experience, you can use the official JetBrains Mono font:

Download and install JetBrains Mono font onto your system:

Download JetBrains Mono

Restart Cursor after installing the font

Open Settings in Cursor (⌘/Ctrl + ,)

Search for “Font Family”

Set the font family to 'JetBrains Mono'

For the best experience, you can also enable font ligatures by setting "editor.fontLigatures": true in your settings.

IDE-Specific Migration

Many users loved the JetBrains IDEs for their out-the-box support for the languages and frameworks they were intended for. Cursor is different - being a blank canvas out of the box, you can customize it to your liking, not being limited by the languages and frameworks the IDE was intended for.

Cursor already has access to the extension ecosystem of VS Code, and almost all of the functionality (and more!) that JetBrains IDEs offer can be recreated through these extensions.

Take a look at the following suggested extensions for each JetBrains IDE below.

IntelliJ IDEA (Java)

Language Support for Java
Core Java language features

Debugger for Java
Java debugging support

Test Runner for Java
Run and debug Java tests

Maven for Java
Maven support

Project Manager for Java
Project management tools

Key differences:
Build/Run configurations are managed through launch.json
Spring Boot tools available through “Spring Boot Tools” extension
Gradle support via “Gradle for Java” extension

PyCharm (Python)

Python
Core Python support

Pylance
Fast type checking

Jupyter
Notebook support

Python Test Explorer
Test management

Key differences:
Virtual environments managed through command palette
Debug configurations in launch.json
Requirements management through requirements.txt or Poetry

WebStorm (JavaScript/TypeScript)

JavaScript and TypeScript Nightly
Latest language features

ES7+ React/Redux Snippets
React development

Vue Language Features
Vue.js support

Angular Language Service
Angular development

Most WebStorm features are built into Cursor/VS Code, including:
npm scripts view
Debugging
Git integration
TypeScript support

PhpStorm (PHP)

PHP Intelephense
PHP language server

PHP Debug
Xdebug integration

PHP Intellisense
Code intelligence

PHP DocBlocker
Documentation tools

Key differences:
Xdebug configuration through launch.json
Composer integration via terminal
Database tools through “SQLTools” extension

Rider (.NET)

C#
Core C# support

C# Dev Kit
Enhanced .NET tools

Unity
Unity development

.NET Install Tool
.NET SDK management

Key differences:
Solution explorer through file explorer
NuGet package management through CLI or extensions
Test runner integration through test explorer

GoLand (Go)

Go
.NET SDK management

Go Test Explorer
Test management

Go Doc
Documentation tools

Key differences:
Go tools installation prompted automatically
Debugging through launch.json
Package management integrated with go.mod

Tips for a Smooth Transition

Use Command Palette
Press ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + P to find commands

AI Features
Leverage Cursor’s AI features for code completion and refactoring

Customize Settings

Fine-tune your settings.json for optimal workflow

Terminal Integration

Use the built-in terminal for command-line operations

Extensions

Browse the VS Code marketplace for additional tools

Remember that while some workflows might be different, Cursor offers powerful AI-assisted coding features that can enhance your productivity beyond traditional IDE capabilities.