10 AI-Powered Coding Hacks to Supercharge Your Development Workflow (and Avoid Costly Mistakes)

 

Introduction

Did you use Cursor? After the arrival of AI, most developers headfirst into writing code with AI tools. As a result, they have unstructured projects. The real success with AI is to perform better structure your code, develop strategy, and smart automation. Let’s explore the 10 game-changing ways to use AI programming tools for faster, cleaner, and more efficient development.

1. Plan Before You Code

Ok, you have less time but why are you jumping straight into code requests? It is better if you prepare a structured folder. For this first, create a product requirements document:

1. Technology Stack Overview
2. Recommended File Structure
3. Front-end & Back-end Specs
4. Configuration File

If you save this document in Markdown format in your repository, this will become the easy reference for your project.

2. Don’t Start from Scratch

The time has gone when you need to start from scratch. Why not take advantage of V0, Lovable, or Bolt to generate functional UI screens covering 80% of your MVP? Later on, refine and integrate business logic with the help of Cursor IDE.

3. Set Project Rules

Why are you managing? cursorrules files manually, switch to Project Rules:

1. Apply different rules for different file types (SQL vs. JavaScript).
2. Control AI tone and output structure
3. Sync rules across your team via GitHub.

This will turn your Cursor IDE into an AI developer on your tech stack.

4. Sync Documentation for Smarter AI Suggestions

You will boost AI accuracy by syncing key documentation:

1. Supabase
2. Stripe

Navigate to @Docs → Add a new doc and provide deeper context for more relevant AI-generated code.

5. Query Your Entire Codebase with @Codebase

The Cursor IDE scans your entire project and delivers answers based on the full context. For example, use @Codebase: “Where is the blockchain process handled?”

6. Automate Schema Management with MCP

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) gives you AI real-time access to your Supabase database schema for:

1. Dynamically retrieve tables
2. Auto-edit schema
3. Skip manual database migration files

7. AI-Generated Row-Level Security (RLS) Policies

Are you avoiding RLS because it’s tedious? Don’t worry; tell Cursor, “Create an RLS policy so users can access only their data.”

8. Enable YOLO Mode for Faster Execution

The cursor, by default asks for confirmation before executing commands; you can remove it with the help of YOLO Mode:

1. Commands run instantly.
2. No confirmation prompts.
3. Ideal for trusted workflows.

9. Use Screenshots to Improve UI Design

It is a more interesting one; take a screenshot, drag it into the cursor, and make a prompt: “Make this UI simpler and more modern.”

10. Save Your Best Code in .md Files + Notepad

Always save your Cursor-generated code with:

1. Save it as a .md file for future reference.
2. Store snippets in Notepad for quick reuse.

In summary, now you have built the AI-powered internal code library — your personal AI co-pilot. Thanks for reading.