1 min lesson
The human-in-the-loop boundary
Use "The human-in-the-loop boundary" to tell the cases apart, then choose a response for each one.
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The human-in-the-loop boundary
Cursor doesn't auto-apply everything silently. It asks before some actions and shows diffs you accept. Frame that as a design decision, not a weakness - because the honest version is the more persuasive one.
Running a command or editing files has real consequences; a checkpoint keeps the developer in control of irreversible moves.
Trust is earned by being reviewable, not by being opaque.
For low-risk, well-scoped or background tasks, fewer prompts means more flow.
The right boundary depends on blast radiusHow much breaks if a change goes wrong; the scope of potential damage. Press Enter for the full definition. - the DX skill is teaching developers to set it deliberately.
If a work-trial demo asks you to wire up an MCPModel Context Protocol. A standard that lets an AI agent pull in context from outside the repo, like Jira tickets or internal docs. Press Enter for the full definition. server, treat the schema and error messages as the deliverable, not an afterthought. Show a call that fails gracefully - a tool that returns 'no record found for id X, try listing first' instead of a stack trace - and narrate why that makes the agent more reliable. That single detail signals you understand agents at the level Cursor hires for.
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Optional practice
Practice: The human-in-the-loop boundary
QAn MCPModel Context Protocol. A standard that lets an AI agent pull in context from outside the repo, like Jira tickets or internal docs. Press Enter for the full definition.-backed demo keeps failing: the agent calls your tool with malformed arguments and then loops. Before blaming the model, what would you inspect and why?