1 min lesson
Keep agent edits reviewable
Show edits as they happen, protect newer user work and preserve selective review and recovery.
Step 1 of 2
Show edits in a diff
Current Cursor documentation says Agent changes are applied as it works and can be reviewed in a diff. A multi-file design should keep the changing state visible and let the user accept or reject the parts they want.
- Show progress
- Display changes as they are applied and keep a stop control available during the run.
- Review the diff
- Present additions and deletions in a familiar diff so the user can inspect the final change set.
- Protect live edits
- Compare against the current document before applying a change. Re-read or regenerate when the user changed the same region.
- Allow selective decisions
- Support file-level and line-level acceptance so one weak part does not force rejection of the whole change.
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Full explanation
Limit access and preserve recovery
Limit actions and keep recovery
Limit file and tool access to what the task needs. Add confirmation before consequential external actions and preserve a recovery path for Agent edits.
Bound writes to the workspace or an approved path set.
Give tools the least access needed for the current task.
Let local, reviewable edits proceed under the selected mode.
Ask before destructive or externally visible actions when policy requires it.
Use an Agent checkpoint to restore Agent changes after a bad run.
Keep Git for durable history because checkpoints do not track manual edits and are not version control.