Vibe Coding Gone Wrong: The Pitfalls of Relying Too Much on Cursor AI

Cursor AI Review: The Good, the Frustrating, and the Real Fixes

You know that feeling when you're vibing, everything's clicking, and you're convinced your AI-powered code assistant is finally the one? Yeah, that was me—three hours deep into a coding session with Cursor, high on productivity and caffeine… until the whole thing unraveled.

At first, Cursor was keeping up. We were building fast, fixing bugs, iterating. But then, as the project grew, the cracks started to show. The AI began forgetting earlier parts of the code. Logic broke. Functions stopped working. And I realized something painfully frustrating:

No matter how good your prompt is, an AI with limited context will eventually forget the big picture.

Context is King (and Cursor Can't Hold It All)

Here’s the problem: Every AI model, even ones built into tools like Cursor, has a context window—a limit to how much code, logic, and previous conversation it can hold in memory at once.

So even if you’ve got a crystal-clear file describing the entire project scope, the AI won’t always see all of it. As your codebase grows, functions and logic start falling outside of the AI’s working memory. You ask it to fix something? It might do that—but break three other things along the way.

The Cycle of Dev Frustration

It goes like this:

1. Start with a great prompt and big dreams.
2. Code, tweak, build. Things look promising.
3. Ask for a fix. Something else breaks.
4. Ask again. It breaks differently.
5. AI forgets what it was doing.
6. You stare into the void, wondering what went wrong.

Been there? Same.

So What Can You Do Differently?

Let’s talk damage control. Here’s what I’ve learned (the hard way) that helps you avoid the spiral:

1. Understand Your Own Project

Even if you’re letting AI do the heavy lifting, you still need to grasp the architecture. Know what your app is doing at a high level. You don’t need to memorize every line, but at least follow the logic flow.

2. Don't Fight the AI Forever

If it messes up repeatedly, pause. Don’t prompt it into oblivion. Read the error messages yourself. Fix what you can. If it’s a broken import, a bad directory path, or a funky file structure—sometimes it’s faster to fix it manually than wait for the AI to “get it.”

3. Break Features into Fresh Chats

Cursor includes your entire conversation history as context. That’s both a blessing and a curse. If you're switching features or starting something new, start a fresh chat. That gives the AI a clean context, focused only on the new task. Way more efficient.

4. Use Revert Like It's a Superpower

Backups are lifesavers. If something worked and then stopped, go back. Cursor has restore tools, and you should absolutely use them. Better yet? Use GitHub or any version control tool to commit regularly and keep checkpoints of your working app.

💡 Pro Tip: Build Your Own Memory System for Cursor

Here’s a smart trick I’ve started using that’s made a huge difference in working with Cursor on big projects.

I work with two core rules:

1. Every time the AI performs a step or makes a change, it must write a summary to a tracker.txt (or rules.md) file. This becomes your personal changelog or breadcrumb trail.
2. Before making any new change or writing any code, the AI has to read that file first to get context.

This way, even if the actual codebase is too big for Cursor’s context window, it still knows what’s going on. It's like giving your AI assistant a memory book. It keeps everything consistent, avoids rework, and helps preserve your logic—no matter how complex the app becomes.

Try it. It turns Cursor from a forgetful assistant into a reliable coding partner.

AI Is Smart. You Still Have to Be Smarter.

It’s easy to fall into the mindset that the AI will figure everything out. But if you don’t know what your code is doing, you’ll get stuck fast. On the other hand, if you do understand the structure, then using tools like Cursor becomes a serious power boost rather than a crutch.

And once you hit that sweet deploy moment, where everything just works? You’ll feel like a wizard. Especially when you realize you can even use Cursor to write your Git commits. Yep—your AI buddy has your back, if you know how to guide it.

This isn’t a Cursor hate post. Honestly, it’s an amazing tool, and I’ve built some really cool stuff with it—including a SaaS platform I developed for research. But it’s not magic. It's a tool—and like any tool, it works best when you know how to wield it.

So go in with your eyes open, back up your work, and don’t be afraid to take the wheel when needed.

You’ll save yourself hours—and maybe a few rage-quits.

👉 Want more hands-on dev insights and AI tool breakdowns? Stay locked in with Land of Geek Magazine, where we turn code chaos into clarity!

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