Installing and Configuring Cursor, Claude Code, and Windsurf

Introduction

Your AI-native environment is only as good as the tools you configure. This lesson walks through installing and configuring three of the most popular AI-powered development environments: Cursor, Claude Code, and Windsurf. Each has its own strengths, but they all share a common foundation — deep integration with AI models and MCP servers.

Cursor

Cursor is an AI-first code editor, forked from VS Code, with tight AI integration throughout the editing experience.

Installation

1. Download Cursor from the official site for your operating system 2. Install it like any desktop application 3. On Ubuntu/WSL you can often use the provided .AppImage or .deb 4. Launch it and sign in with your account

Key Configuration

• Model selection — choose the AI model you want to use for completions and chat
• MCP servers — configure which MCP servers Cursor can access
• Keybindings — keep your familiar VS Code shortcuts

# Example: running Cursor from WSL CLI
cursor .

Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool that runs in your terminal. It's a CLI-first experience where an AI agent works directly in your repository.

Installation

Claude Code is typically installed via npm:

# Install globally
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Verify installation
claude --version

First Run

# Start Claude Code in your project directory
claude

On first launch it will guide you through authentication. After that, you can start giving it tasks directly in your terminal.

Key Configuration

• Permissions — control which tools and commands the agent can run
• MCP server registration — add the servers the agent should use
• Project context — provide a CLAUDE.md file with project conventions

Windsurf

Windsurf is an AI-native IDE focused on agentic workflows and large codebase understanding.

Installation

Download Windsurf from its official site and install it as a desktop application. Like Cursor, it works across Windows, macOS, and Linux (including WSL).

Key Configuration

• Cascade — Windsurf's agentic flow for multi-step tasks
• Indexing — let it build a codebase index for smarter context
• MCP integration — register your servers

Comparing the Three

Real-World Workflow

A practical setup:

1. Use Claude Code in the terminal for batch refactors and repo-wide tasks 2. Use Cursor or Windsurf for interactive editing with inline suggestions 3. Share the same MCP servers across both so your AI has consistent tool access 4. Keep a CLAUDE.md / project conventions file so the AI understands your style

Summary

• Cursor — AI-first editor for interactive development
• Claude Code — terminal agent for hands-free repo work
• Windsurf — AI-native IDE for large codebases
• Configure MCP servers and project context in each for best results

Next Lesson

Let's connect MCP servers and learn the basics of how they communicate with your AI tools.