2 min lesson
The core token-efficient loop
Take "The core token-efficient loop" step by step, then finish with the result that proves it worked.
Step 1 of 3
The core token-efficient loopplan expensive, implement cheap
The cost-and-quality pattern Cursor's own engineers repeat most: use your smartest thinking modelA reasoning model (shown with a brain icon in Cursor's picker) that spends extra compute before answering; reach for it on complex, nuanced work and a standard model for fast, simple tasks. Press Enter for the full definition. in Plan modeA mode that makes no edits: it researches the codebase and produces an editable plan you review before any code changes. Press Enter for the full definition. to generate and validate a plan, then hand off to a cheaper, faster coding model to execute the to-dos. Letting a frontier model write all your code burns the token budget fast, and you don't need the expensive reasoning model once the plan exists. This is the loop you coach platform teams to standardize, because it saves both tokens and time.
Interactive diagram. Step through it with the Next and Previous controls below, or Tab to a region to read its detail.
Spend the expensive model on the plan, then hand the typing to a cheaper one.