VSCode with extensions Copilot [autocomplete] + CLINE [AI chat] + FOAM [obsidian-esk markdown support] is goat. There's no way a closed-source alternative to going to compete with this.
The benefit of Aider is that you can configure a very involved static analysis toolchain to edits which directly triggers new edits in response, and everything is a git commit so it's easy to revert bad edits quickly. I have used both and I find Aider provides more control and produces code faster due to leaner prompts (it's also easier to run multiple Aider instances than Cursor instances), while Cursor has a prettier interface, and I do like being able to see diffs live in files (though I almost never spend the time reading them to accept/reject). I imagine if you don't spend any time configuring Aider cursor would probably seem far better.
Create a file like conventions.md in the root of your repository with specific commands for common tasks: running tests, linters, formatters, adding packages
Set this as part of the files it reads on startup. Then ask aider to look at your codebase and add to it :)
Aider has a lot of slash commands to familiarize yourself with. Ask and web are crucial commands to get the most out of it.
My recommendation to anyone is to use ask the most then tell it to “implement what we discussed” when it looks good.
The biggest thing is to set it to autofix lint/test issues, then to set up a really good lint/test config. Also, I find that Aider's default system prompt setup is a little less preconfigured out of the box than Cursor's, so it helps to have detailed styleguide/ai rules documents that are automatically added to the chat. I usually configure my projects to add README.md, STYLEGUIDE.md (how to structure/format code) and AIRULES.md (workflow stuff, for instance being socratic with the user when requirements aren't clear or the prompt contains ambiguity, general software engineering principles/priorities, etc).
I was not commenting on the vintage of this, I was commenting on my ignorance which is where the parent or grandparent comment started from. Sorry if it did not come out right
Copilot in VSCode has autocomplete and also something they call "next edit".
In my experience, next edit is a significant net positive.
It fixes my typos and predicts next things I want to do in other lines of the same file.
For example, if I fix a variable scope from a loop, it automatically scans for similar mistakes nearby and suggests. Editing multiple array values is also intuitive. It will also learn and suggest formatting prefences and other things such as API changes.
Sure, sometimes it suggests things I don't want but on average it is productive to me.
Cursor does this. And in my experience it gets it perfectly right 95% of the time or better. A lot of times I can start editing something and then just keep hitting tab over and over again until the change is complete--including jumping around the file to make edits in various disconnected places. Of course you can do most of this in Copilot too, but you'd expect something that maybe works and needs a lot of cleanup. The cursor autocomplete is, more often than not, EXACTLY what you would have hand crafted, without any deficiencies.
It's also somehow tracking what I look at, because I can look up an API and then return to the original source file and the first autocomplete suggestion is exactly what I was looking up, even though there would be no context to suggest it.
It's really quite magical, and a whole different level from Copilot.
Reading up on this, it sounds like Copilot adopted the methodology that Cursor has been using internally for more than a year. Which is great, but if your question is "why is everyone using Cursor?" it is because many initially used Cursor when they were the only ones with this feature. I, for example, specifically switched from Copilot on VSCode to Cursor because of the spooky accuracy of Cursor's tab complete compared to Copilot, at the time. This was only a few months ago.
Cursor tab is remarkable. There's a lot of competition for agents but I don't think any other product comes close to their tab completion. Admittedly it might be rather useless in the near future with how things are going though.
Interesting. For me Cline and Roo are king. I would use them exclusively if I could afford it. With Copilot Pro+ it goes a long way but still ends in rate limits down the road
