Learn Ionic, Jspm and Tailwind

Tailwind is a utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.

tailwind

[Tailwind](https://tailwindcss.com/) is an atomic CSS framework that makes styling an application more consistent and maintainable. In this lesson, we look at building out a similar UI to Twitter using only Tailwind classes.

Additionally, we use a heart icon from Feather Icons for our like button, and create a new `<GitHubButton />` component that displays a nicely styled GitHub logo to trigger the user authentication flow.

## Resources

- [Tailwind docs](https://tailwindcss.com/)
- [Feather Icons](https://feathericons.com/)
- [GitHub Logo](http://github.com/logos)

Style a Twitter clone with Tailwind CSS

We will go through and add tailwind to our project and create a simple navbar. Tailwind is an incredibly easy to learn 'utility-first' css framework. 

Tailwind has a great CLI to help initialize the set up for use so that we don't have to create every config file by hand.

When you run `npx tailwindcss init tailsind.config.cjs -p` you'll have the proper postcss and tailwind config files create. 

We will then add the tailwind base styles to our global css and point tailwind to all the files we want it to process.

From there we'll get some practice in by building out a `<Navbar />` component that will have some basic styles applied.

Add TailwindCSS to a SvelteKit Project and Build a NavBar Component

Get started building web applications with Angular and Firebase.

In this course, you'll learn how to set up and use Firebase in your Angular applications using the AngularFire library.

We choose the AngularFire library because it is an official library created by the Firebase and Angular teams to work better with Angular.

It helps you by wrapping everything into observables and helps update zones. 

By the end of this course, you'll be able to build web applications using Cloud Firestore as your database, Firebase Authentication as your Auth system, Cloud Storage to save files, and Firebase Hosting to deploy your applications to the web.

TypeScript is a typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript.

typescript

Build Full Stack Web Applications with Angular and Firebase

Ionic is the beautiful, free and open source mobile SDK for developing native and progressive web apps with ease.

ionic

Now that file uploading works, we want to actually show that a task has files associated with it. To do this we will need to update the task object with a file property that we'll push files too.

In this lesson, we'll use Cloud Storage methods like getDownloadUrl() to get the file's download URL from our bucket.

Then we'll add that file's information to our task and persist it in the database to show the list of files in a task to the user.

While we do this, you'll see how we can easily add a spinner when files are being uploaded using Ionic loadingController.


Save and Display Tasks Files Utilizing Firebase Cloud Storage getDownloadUrl

A scenario you will inevitably run into is users needing to reset their passwords for security reasons or they lost and forgot their password.

We'll learn how to send our users an email to reset their passwords, after we send the email, we'll display a notification alert with ionic alertController to the user and redirect them to the login page.


Send a Password Reset Email Using Firebase Authentication with sendPasswordResetEmail

Now it's time to create a template for our authentication page using Ionics page generation CLI.

We'll show how to use the same page for all of our authentication operations by reading the parameters from the URL and displaying the right form elements and buttons depending on the parameters present.


Create an Authentication Page Template with Ionic Page Generation

We'll learn how to delete documents from the database. This action is pretty straight forward, we'll add a delete button that will call Firestore `deleteDoc` and pass in the task id.

We'll also explore a good practice when performing destructive operations (__like deleting database objects__) of adding a confirmation step to make sure our users don't delete objects by accident. We'll do this with the Ionic Alert Controller.


Delete a Document with a Confirmation Step from Firestore

We'll evaluate 2 good practices when adding a new task.

First, we'll show the users a toast alert to notify them that their document was saved in the database. We'll do this with a toast component that ionic makes available to us

And second, we'll use Angular's router to navigate the user back to the task list.

Notify Users Their Database Operation Worked with a Toast Alert

We'll create the template for our new page and set everything up so that we can use this page to create new tasks. The first thing we will do is create a BehaviorSubject task variable that we'll store form values in to send to Firebase.

Because we are using the ionic framework we'll lean heavily into this when creating our templates. You'll see how we bind text values to the object we'll send to Firebase as well as a selector component that will use `ion-segment`.

We'll also see a tip on handling the `async` pipe in a top container in our template so that we don't have to manually add it everywhere we'll render a property from an observable


Create a New Task Form Page Template with Ionic

firebase

There are 2 different ways to get a document's ID when using `@angular/fire`.

You can add the parameter `{ idField: 'id' }` to your collection when using the `collectionData()` observable.

You can also use the observable `collectionChanges()` and access the internal metadata of the document to manually get the ID and add it to the resulting object.

Code sample: https://github.com/javebratt/angularfire-idField

Access a Firebase Document's ID Even when It's Not Stored in the Document with angularfire

We are starting from scratch! To create a new Next.js application we'll run `npx create-next-app` and pass in the `with-tailwindcss` flag to include Tailwind.

Then we will clear out the initial page and write in hello world.

Bootstrap a New Next.js Application with Tailwind using create-next-app

We use the Message component we built in the very first video to render messages from the server's dummy data. Use some simple logic to conditionally render the message author's information. Learn how to tweak the line height of a paragraph of text.

The code for this lesson is divided into two sections, with this you can see the progress on the code.

1. [Begin](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-19-begin)
2. [End](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-19-end)

Using Components to Dynamically Generate the Channel's Messages

Use Tailwind's responsive prefixes to apply specific classes only at certain breakpoints. Learn about two approaches for adjusting your UI for different screen sizes – sprinkling responsive prefixes on existing templates, or creating new chunks of markup to use at specific screen widths.

The code for this lesson is divided into two sections, with this you can see the progress on the code.

1. [Begin](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-21-begin)
2. [End](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-21-end)

Using Responsive Design to Hide the Desktop Navigation

Let's round out our clone by replacing all static links with the mock data file, making sure the navigation works at every step.

The code for this lesson is divided into two sections, with this you can see the progress on the code.

1. [Begin](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-20-begin)
2. [End](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-20-end)

Dynamically Generating the Server and Channel Navs

Add the @tailwindcss/forms plugin to ensure input fields are easily styleable using Tailwind's utility classes. Add the search bar and customize the placeholder to match Discord's UI.

The code for this lesson is divided into two sections, with this you can see the progress on the code.

1. [Begin](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-18-begin)
2. [End](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-18-end)

Styling the Search Box Using the Forms Plugin

Learn how to use the flexbox-shrink utility to choose which parts of our multi-column layout shrink or expand to accommodate the available space. Use the truncate utility to add ellipses when the channel description is too long.

The code for this lesson is divided into two sections, with this you can see the progress on the code.

1. [Begin](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-17-begin)
2. [End](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-17-end)

Building the Channel Header with Flexbox Shrink and Truncating Text

Use some simple React state to toggle categories open and closed. Filter out channels based on their unread and closed state. Use Tailwind's transform and transition utilities to animate a category's arrow to the right.

The code for this lesson is divided into two sections, with this you can see the progress on the code.

1. [Begin](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-16-begin)
2. [End](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-16-end)

Building Collapsible Categories with Rotating Arrow Icons

Learn how to use a simple variable to improve the readability of our code when styling more than two states. Add an unread indicator to the new inactive and unread state. Use the active prefix to style the channel links for the active CSS pseudostate.

The code for this lesson is divided into two sections, with this you can see the progress on the code.

1. [Begin](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-15-begin)
2. [End](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-15-end)

Using a State Variable to Add Unread States to the Channel Nav

Use nested dynamic router segments along with the Next.js Link Component to tie our channel links to new URLs. Learn why you should separate out UI states in order to avoid CSS conflicts.

The code for this lesson is divided into two sections, with this you can see the progress on the code.

1. [Begin](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-14-begin)
2. [End](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-14-end)

Styling the Active Channel Link with a New Dynamic URL Segment

See how to dynamically generate our lists of channels using a React component and Tailwind's spacing utilities, and learn how this is often enough to reduce any duplication we have in our templates.

The code for this lesson is divided into two sections, with this you can see the progress on the code.

1. [Begin](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-13-begin)
2. [End](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-13-end)

Identifying Repeated Patterns while Dynamically Generating the Channel List

Learn how to use the space, padding, and margin utilities to properly layout a list of items while styling the channel list. Use the group and hover utilities to add interactivity.

The code for this lesson is divided into two sections, with this you can see the progress on the code.

1. [Begin](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-12-begin)
2. [End](https://github.com/samselikoff/egghead-tailwind-disord-course/tree/main/lesson-12-end)

Styling the Channel List and Controlling Layout

Hey Everyone 👋,

John Lindquist here with the second issue of AI Dev Essentials! It's been another busy week in the AI tooling world. The biggest splash was probably GPT-4.1 hitting the streets, but there's plenty more action around MCP, Vercel's v0, Google's developer tools, and interesting community discussions. I've spent some time with GPT-4.1 already (specifically in Cursor), and while it shows promise, it didn't quite convince me to switch from Gemini 2.5 Pro yet. It stumbled on a few basic requests where Gemini usually shines on the first attempt.

---

### New egghead.io Lesson This Week:

* **[Create a Custom MCP that Calls Cursor Tools](https://egghead.io/create-a-custom-mcp-that-calls-cursor-tools~r77sw):** Learn how to build custom MCP server tools that allow Cursor's AI Agent to access your local project context. This lesson shows how to use Zod schemas and the crucial `.describe()` method to explicitly request information (like Git status or version) from the Cursor environment *before* your tool runs, enabling powerful, context-aware automation.

---

Here are the highlights that caught my eye this past week.

## Model Mania: GPT-4.1 Arrives, Plus Grok & Llama Updates

* **GPT-4.1 Lands:** OpenAI announced GPT-4.1, and it quickly became available via the [API](https://openai.com/live/) and showed up in [Cursor](https://x.com/cursor_ai/status/1911835651810738406). Cursor is offering it free for now to let users get a feel for it, though they don't recommend it as a default just yet. Curious to hear initial impressions from folks testing it out for coding tasks.

* **Grok 3 in Cursor:** Following other model additions, [Cursor also enabled Grok 3 models](https://x.com/amanrsanger/status/1910434915419906141), with the mini version available for free users. Aman Sanger noted it seems to "think upfront more than other models."

* **Community Hack: Llama 4.0 via Groq in Cursor:** Levi Dan shared a [detailed (and slightly hacky) guide](https://x.com/lxvi_brg/status/1908865544721154455) on how to wire up Groq's fast Llama 4.0 API into Cursor by using the OpenAI API key slot and intercepting requests. A clever workaround for the adventurous!

## Tooling & Platform Pulse

Lots of movement across different platforms and tools this week:

* **Vercel Ecosystem:**

  * Guillermo Rauch teased [v0 coming to VS Code](https://x.com/rauchg/status/1911524154458984515), hinting at tighter integration for the UI generation tool.

  * v0 also [added AI integrations](https://x.com/v0/status/1911912183149256943) with models from xai (Grok), FAL, Groq, and DeepInfra, including automatic API key setup and pay-as-you-go billing via Vercel Marketplace. They're offering a $10 credit for the Grok free tier.

  * Vercel shared insights on the [grep.app migration from CRA to Next.js](http://grep.app/), showcasing performance improvements. ([Source](https://x.com/rauchg/status/1911920410020757881)) I'm personally excited about this one – I rely heavily on examples when working with AI, and for me, a good example is often worth ten prompts. Tools like `grep.app` that make code discovery easier are invaluable.

* **Google's Growing Stack:**

  * Project IDX has officially become [Firebase Studio](https://x.com/_davideast/status/1909990728593453455), positioning itself as a cloud-based, agentic dev environment for full-stack AI apps, deeply integrated with Firebase. I've tried spinning up a few sites with it, and the speed is impressive. However, for more complex tasks like designing from images or intricate interactions, I still find myself leaning towards v0 for now.

  * Google quietly released the [Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://x.com/omarsar0/status/1910004370864742757), a Python library (`pip install google-adk`) for building multi-agent systems with features like state management, tool usage, and orchestration. I haven't had a chance to dive into this yet, but it's right at the top of my list. Building robust agent systems is a huge area of interest, so this is probably the announcement I'm most excited about exploring this week.

  * Ramón Medrano Llamas shared his experience [moving back to VS Code from Cursor](https://x.com/rmedranollamas/status/1909516749612999149), highlighting the effectiveness of GitHub Copilot combined with the Gemini Code Assist extension (using Gemini 2.5 Pro in Agent Mode). I gave the Gemini Code Assist extension a try myself, but as someone deeply embedded in the Cursor workflow with established keyboard shortcuts and patterns, I struggled to find a flow I liked and didn't stick with it for long. It's interesting to see different perspectives, though!

  * AI features are rolling out more broadly in [Chrome](https://x.com/iam_chonchol/status/1909942954686636224), including text grabbing from YouTube videos and Google Lens integration.

* **Cloudflare Corner:**

  * Big news for edge compute: [Cloudflare Containers are coming to Open Beta in June](https://x.com/CherryJimbo/status/1910682562499850405), enabling running containerized apps (Next.js, Go, PHP confirmed) directly on the edge. This is huge news, in my opinion. Think about all the WordPress sites and other applications that rely on containerization. Opening this up on the edge unlocks incredible possibilities, including for AI applications. I'm super hyped to see what people build with this come June.

  * A new tool, [MCPify.ai](http://mcpify.ai/), launched for building MCP servers conversationally, built entirely on Cloudflare Workers and Durable Objects. ([Source](https://x.com/pbteja1998/status/1911723180445610149))

  * Securing MCP servers is getting easier, with examples shared using [WorkOS AuthKit](https://x.com/WorkOS/status/1910722639036874943) and [Auth0](https://x.com/dschenkelman/status/1910693265566728319).

* **IDE Updates:**

  * JetBrains shared the public [WebStorm roadmap for March-April](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/WEB-72310). ([Source](https://x.com/WebStormIDE/status/1909291367504748937))

> **✨ Workshop Spotlight: Conquer the Complexity of Cursor (Europe Friendly Time!) ✨**
>
> Missed the last workshop or found the timing tricky? This one's for you! Master practical AI development workflows in Cursor in a session scheduled for **12:00 PM UTC** to better accommodate European attendees.
>
> This hands-on workshop covers Agents, Ask, Custom Modes, multi-file analysis, effective prompting, Cursor rules, and strategies for handling AI failures. Unlock Cursor's potential and streamline your development process.
>
> * **When:** \[Check website for upcoming dates - This session is Europe-friendly at 12:00 PM UTC\]
>
> * **Where:** Zoom (Live Q&A included)
>
> * **Investment:** $149
>
> ➡️ [**Read More about the Workshop**](https://egghead.io/workshop/cursor)
> ➡️ [**Register Now ($149)**](https://buy.stripe.com/7sI7tT81dfpC06s28c)
>
> *(Team training also available)*

## Community Buzz & Resources

* **MCP Explained:** Kent C. Dodds wrote a piece explaining [why he's excited about Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://www.epicai.pro/the-game-changing-potential-of-model-context-protocol) and its potential. ([Source](https://x.com/kentcdodds/status/1911840456432034112))

* **Prompting Guide:** Ian Nuttall surfaced [v7 of Google's Prompt Engineering Guide](https://x.com/iannuttall/status/1911086164196606314), a deep dive into techniques and best practices. Definitely worth a look.

* **Discussion Starter:** Eric Zakariasson asked the community about their [favorite CLIs and MCP servers to use with the Cursor agent](https://x.com/ericzakariasson/status/1910808935961088346). What are you all using?

* **Gemini 2.5 Pro Praise:** The positive buzz around Gemini 2.5 Pro continues to grow in the community. It's getting rave reviews and even achieving 'S-tier' status on social platforms like Reddit for its coding capabilities. ([Source](https://x.com/suchenzang/status/1911251230317490416))

That’s a wrap for this week! There's always so much happening, it's hard to keep up, but hopefully, this helps surface some of the more interesting bits for developers working with AI.

If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to respond to this email. Always happy to talk shop about the latest AI tools.

John Lindquist

[egghead.io](https://egghead.io)

John Lindquist

AI Dev Essentials #2: GPT-4.1 Arrives, MCP Deep Dive & Google's Agent Dev Kit

AI Dev Essentials #2: GPT-4.1 & Gemini updates, MCP tools, Vercel v0, Google ADK, Cloudflare Containers news. Latest AI dev tooling highlights.

In this quick walkthrough, you’ll learn how to drop Nx into an existing npm or pnpm workspace and immediately benefit from project graph visualization, caching, and smart task orchestration, all without rewriting your setup.

You’ll start with a standard React monorepo containing a Vite app, a UI package, and utility functions. Then, using a single command (`nx init`), you’ll initialize Nx and see how it auto-detects your existing scripts, builds a dependency graph, and enables advanced features like affected commands and local caching.

We're also going to explore optional enhancements using Nx plugins for Vite and React. You’ll see how they help Nx infer tasks directly from your Vite config files, improve DX with the Nx Console VS Code extension, and leverage Nx plugin generators to scaffold code with a consistent structure.

What you’ll learn
- How to initialize Nx in an existing npm or pnpm monorepo
- How Nx understands your workspace structure and scripts
- How local caching and affected builds speed up development
- How optional Nx plugins improve DX without adding bloat
- How to scaffold new packages

Juri Strumpflohner

Using Nx on an existing React and NPM workspace based monorepo

Applying Nx to an existing React monorepo to enable caching, task orchestration, and project graph analysis without changing your current setup.

Typing repetitive or complex instructions for Cursor's AI agent can slow down your workflow. This lesson teaches you how to create custom slash commands (e.g., `/s term`, `/l`, `/c`) using Cursor's "Rules" feature. Learn how to map these simple shortcuts to specific AI actions, instructing the agent to use precise tools like `codebase_search`, `edit_file`, or `run_terminal_cmd` based on your command and the current conversation context.

**Workflow demonstrated in this lesson:**

*   List available AI tools (built-in and MCP) to get their exact names.
*   Navigate to Cursor Settings -> Rules.
*   Define custom rules under a heading (e.g., `## Slash Commands`).
*   Create rules mapping a slash command pattern (like `/s <term>`) to a detailed instruction specifying which tool to use and how (e.g., "Use the codebase_search tool to search for <term/>").
*   Define rules that leverage conversation context (e.g., for summarizing notes or creating commit messages).
*   Save the rules (potentially in `.cursor/rules/project.mdc` for team sharing).
*   Invoke the custom slash commands (e.g., `/s handle`, `/l`, `/c`) in the chat/agent window.
*   Observe the AI understanding the shortcut and executing the intended tool call.

**Key benefits:**

*   Creates efficient, reusable shortcuts for common AI interactions.
*   Reduces the need for typing lengthy, detailed prompts repeatedly.
*   Allows mapping simple commands to specific Cursor tool invocations.
*   Enables commands that leverage the ongoing conversation context.
*   Improves workflow speed and consistency when working with the AI agent.

Speed Up Your Agents with Cursor Slash Commands

Hey Everyone 👋,

John Lindquist here. Since I've been diving deep into AI tooling and workflows over the past year, I'm starting this weekly newsletter to share updates on what interests me and could be helpful to the community. The goal is to help everyone stay up-to-date with the latest in essentials tools for AI devs.

I'll focus on relevant community news, model evaluations for coding, notable tools like Cursor and Windsurf, and practical workflows (including tools I build myself 😇). This week kicks off Cloudflare Developer Week with major announcements around agent/MCP services that many of us will likely use soon (I'll dig in and share my thoughts next issue). There are also lots of hints about new coding models possibly coming to Cursor (though my preference remains Gemini 2.5). Personally, I'm hoping for a Gemini Flash 2.5 variant. So let's hop into the latest! For my detailed, up-to-date workflows, check out the workshop info below.

Recent egghead.io lessons about AI tooling:

* **[Swarm Intelligence: Massively Parallelize Your AI Agents in Cursor](https://egghead.io/swarm-intelligence-massively-parallelize-your-ai-agents-in-cursor~g7u2g):** A workflow using `file-forge`, AI scripting, and a custom `git worktree` tool (`wt`) to launch parallel Cursor agents on different branches.
* **[Build a Better Edit Tool in Cursor with Custom Agent Modes](https://egghead.io/build-a-better-edit-tool-in-cursor-with-custom-agent-modes~21rr0):** Create a focused 'edit mode' in Cursor for precise AI refactors without conversational overhead, overcoming Command-K limitations.
* **[Visually Clone Websites with Gemini 2.5 Canvas for Cursor](https://egghead.io/visually-clone-websites-with-gemini-2-5-canvas-for-cursor~s5ugk):** Use Gemini 2.5 Pro's Canvas feature within Cursor to analyze and replicate website structures.

---

## Cloudflare Developer Week: Agent & Platform Updates

Cloudflare announced several updates relevant to AI application development:

* **Durable Objects Free Tier:** Lowers the barrier for experimenting with stateful serverless and the Agents SDK. ([Rita Kozlov](https://x.com/ritakozlov_/status/1909231625855983939))
* **MCP Enhancements:** BYO Auth (incl. [Auth0](https://x.com/auth0/status/1909307220816228354)) and Hibernation for MCP servers aim to improve agent security and efficiency. Exercise caution with MCP, but these are steps toward production viability.
* **Workflows GA & autoRAG:** Orchestration tool is now GA; a new autoRAG product indicates more integrated AI solutions.
* **Outerbase Acquisition:** Expect Durable Objects usability improvements following this acquisition. ([Rita Kozlov](https://x.com/ritakozlov_/status/1909232149246492887))
* **OpenNext Adapter Beta:** v1.0-beta for deploying Next.js apps on Cloudflare Pages adds caching, PPR, middleware support. ([CloudflareDev](https://x.com/CloudflareDev/status/1909598450871652398))

**Summary:** Cloudflare is actively enhancing its platform for AI/agent development, particularly reducing friction with Durable Objects and MCP.

## Llama 4 & Nemotron-Ultra Released

Meta's Llama 4 models began rolling out, with initial reports of variable quality across implementations. Meta attributes this to implementation stabilization, denying training on test sets ([Ahmad Al-Dahle](https://x.com/Ahmad_Al_Dahle/status/1909302532306092107)). Nvidia subsequently released **Llama-Nemotron-Ultra** (253B parameters), derived from Llama-405B via pruning and reasoning-focused post-training. Open weights and data are available ([Oleksii Kuchaiev](https://x.com/kuchaev/status/1909444566379573646)).

**Summary:** More powerful open models are available. Llama 4's initial rollout highlights the importance of stable implementations. Nemotron-Ultra adds a high-end specialized option.

---

## Quasar Alpha: Stealth Model on OpenRouter

OpenRouter provides early access to "Quasar Alpha," a model with limited public details but notable claims: 1M token context, benchmarks reportedly surpassing Claude 3.7 Sonnet, and >4x faster speeds. Reports suggest strong coding performance comparable to O3 Mini/DeepSeek R1 but significantly faster ([Matthew Berman's Thread](https://x.com/TheMattBerman/status/1908286423976886371)). The originating lab remains anonymous; speculation includes GPT-5, Claude 4, or Gemini 3.

**Summary:** The combination of large context, speed, and reported coding strength warrants attention for agentic workflows and large codebase analysis, despite benchmark caveats. Worth testing via OpenRouter if accessible.

---

**✨ Workshop Spotlight: Conquer the Complexity of Cursor ✨**

Master practical AI development workflows in Cursor. This hands-on workshop covers Agents, Ask, Custom Modes, multi-file analysis, effective prompting, Cursor rules, and strategies for handling AI failures.

* **When:** **This Thursday!** April 10, 2025, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM (PDT)
* **Where:** Zoom (Live Q&A included)
* **Investment:** $149

Unlock Cursor's potential and streamline your development process.

➡️ [**Read More about the Workshop**](https://egghead.io/workshop/cursor)
➡️ [**Register Now ($149)**](https://buy.stripe.com/dR67tT4P17Xa8CYfZ1)

*(Team training also available)*

---

## Quick Links

* **Nightwhisper Buzz:** Highly-rated coding model "Nightwhisper" (rumored Gemini 2.5 variant?) left LMSys Arena; release may be imminent. ([ʟᴇɢɪᴛ Tweet](https://x.com/legit_api/status/1908264443827351913), [AiBattle Tweet](https://x.com/AiBattle_/status/1907519430961025476))
* **AI SDK Speech-to-Text:** Vercel AI SDK added a `transcribe` function. ([AI SDK Tweet](https://x.com/aisdk/status/1909603418639155460))
* **Gemini 2.5 Pro Updates:** Supports YouTube URLs as input in AI Studio (transcribe, summarize, analyze); reported improvements reducing stop issues/displaying thinking tokens. ([Jean Gatt Tweet](https://x.com/jean__gatt/status/1909256747518226829), [Eric Zakariasson Tweet](https://x.com/ericzakariasson/status/1908619515023548880))
* **Baby Cursor Project:** Cursor's Ryo Lu is building a rapid prototyping environment for IDE ideas. ([Ryo Lu Tweet](https://x.com/ryolu_/status/1908328050154233863))
* **(Rumor) Qwen3 Soon?:** Hints suggest Alibaba's Qwen3 model release is near. ([Elaina Tweet](https://x.com/Elaina43114880/status/1909572798944841859))

---

If you have any feedback or any questions, feel free to respond to this email. Always happy to talk shop about the latest AI tools.

John Lindquist

[egghead.io](https://egghead.io)

AI Dev Essentials #1: Cloudflare agent updates, Llama 4/Nemotron/Quasar models, Cursor workshop

Cursor's AI Agent has the abilitly to invoke MCP tools, but they lack direct access to your project. This lesson shows how to build custom MCP (Model Context Protocol) server tools that bridge this gap. Learn to define tool parameters using Zod schemas and the crucial `.describe()` method to explicitly request necessary context from the Cursor environment *before* your tool runs. See how the AI gathers this information (like Git status or version via terminal commands, or web search results) and passes it to your tool, enabling powerful, context-aware automation.

**Workflow demonstrated in this lesson:**

*   Scaffold a basic MCP server using a Cloudflare template (`pnpm create cloudflare`).
*   Run the MCP server locally and configure it in Cursor settings.
*   Define MCP tools (e.g., `status`) within the server code (`index.ts`).
*   Specify required context for tools using Zod schema parameters and `.describe()` (e.g., requesting "The status of the git repository").
*   Interact with the Cursor Agent using natural language (e.g., "Please check the status").
*   Observe the Agent's thought process: identifying the need for specific context based on the `.describe()` text.
*   See the Agent automatically using its *own* tools (like `run_terminal_cmd` or `web_search`) to gather the requested context *before* calling your MCP tool.
*   Watch the Agent call your MCP tool, passing the gathered local context (Git status, version, etc.) as arguments.
*   Receive the final response from the Agent, incorporating the information provided by your local MCP tool.

**Key benefits:**

*   Allows Cursor's AI to access and reason about information from your local machine (Git status, versions, file contents, etc.).
*   Enables the creation of AI tools that directly interact with or report on your local development environment.
*   Demonstrates the power of using `.describe()` in Zod schemas to guide the AI in gathering necessary context automatically.
*   Unlocks advanced automation possibilities by combining AI reasoning with local machine access.

Create a Custom MCP that Calls Cursor Tools

Vimium's Vomnibar is a "command palette"-like search tool for your open tabs, browser history, and bookmarks. We can search through and jump to any tab open across browser windows. We can also do a generalized search with results that also include browser history and bookmarks which can either be opened in the current tab or a new tab. If you're anything like me, you open tons of tabs and visit hundreds of webpages over the course of a week. The vomnibar puts all of that at your fingertips.

Josh Branchaud

Open Tabs, Browser History, and Bookmarks with the Vomnibar

Vimium's Vomnibar is a "command palette"-like search tool for your open tabs, browser history, and bookmarks.

Another aspect of Vimium's configurability is customizable key mappings. We can add new mappings and override existing ones. If there is a certain Vimium feature you want to make easier to trigger, adjust the key mapping to suit your needs.

Configure Custom Vimium Key Mappings

Another aspect of Vimium's configurability is customizable key mappings. We can add new mappings and override existing ones.

Many aspects of Vimium can be configured in order to bend the tool to your specific needs and use cases. We look at how to configure what sites turn off Vimium, the default search engine, link hint characters, and other basic settings. We also see how both insert mode and searching a visual selection work. Custom keymappings and custom search engines are covered in subsequent lessons.

Configure Basic Aspects of Vimium

Many aspects of Vimium can be configured in order to bend the tool to your specific needs and use cases.

Vimium's "marks" feature lets you mark positions in the current tab and across tabs. These are positional markers that you can jump back to. For instance, as you browse a huge page of documentation or a massive forum discussion, you can leave a series of "dog ears" to sections or conversations that you'll later want to revisit. Each tab supports its own set of lower-case letter marks. Upper-case letter marks are shared across tabs allowing you to seamlessly move between a specific set of tabs regardless of how they are arranged.

Set Marks on a Vimium Webpage You Want to Jump Back To

Vimium's "marks" feature lets you mark positions in the current tab and across tabs. These are positional markers that you can jump back to.

Vimium's `yy` shortcut makes quick work of grabbing the URL for the current page. I find this useful for linking to an article in my notes or sharing a web page with my team in Slack/Discord. We'll get a glimpse at a couple other features like `gi` (for "go to input") and `o` to open the URL on the clipboard.

Grab and Open URLs with Vimium

Vimium's `yy` shortcut makes quick work of grabbing the URL for the current page.

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