Training course · Cursor · Python Development

Cursor for Python Developers

Work productively with the AI code editor Cursor: agent mode, rules, codebase context, Tab completion, background agents and review.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“Cursor for Python Developers” is designed for roles such as Python back-end developers working with Django, Flask or FastAPI, Automation and scripting specialists in IT and business units and Data and ML engineers maintaining production Python code and shows step by step how to use Cursor productively, safely and transparently in Python Development – from the fundamentals to advanced workflows.

Cursor is an AI code editor built on VS Code that weaves language models deeply into everyday development. Alongside context-aware Tab completion, it offers an agent mode that searches files on its own, plans changes across the whole project, runs terminal commands and fixes errors iteratively. In this two-day course you will learn to use Cursor with purpose: choosing the right interaction mode, steering context deliberately and combining AI assistance with your existing workflow of version control, automated testing and peer code review.

A key focus is making Cursor work for teams. Project rules let you capture architectural decisions, naming conventions and testing strategies so that the agent produces consistent results. You will learn to make good use of codebase indexing, targeted references to files, documentation and symbols, and MCP integrations. You will also delegate tasks to background agents, review their output as pull requests and set up a review process that takes quality, security and data protection seriously across the organisation.

Python powers web back ends, automation, data pipelines and AI applications – often inside the same organisation, which makes codebases notoriously diverse. AI coding assistants and agents have a particularly visible impact here: they write pytest suites around your existing fixtures, add type hints until mypy passes cleanly, migrate legacy scripts to modern packaging with pyproject.toml and walk you through an unfamiliar Django or FastAPI project in minutes rather than days. The key is steering these tools with the right context: project conventions, Ruff rules, test commands and architectural decisions belong in instruction files and prompts. Once you master that, you can delegate routine work with confidence and focus on design, review and business logic.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Python back-end developers working with Django, Flask or FastAPI
  • Automation and scripting specialists in IT and business units
  • Data and ML engineers maintaining production Python code
  • Tech leads responsible for code quality and review processes
  • Developers modernising legacy Python codebases

Typical challenges we address

  • Ageing codebases with no type hints and patchy test coverage
  • Dependency sprawl across requirements.txt, Poetry, uv and virtual environments
  • Time-consuming reviews and inconsistent style despite linters and formatters
  • Onboarding into unfamiliar projects that rely on undocumented tribal knowledge

What you will be able to do

  • You choose the right Cursor mode for each task and use it efficiently.
  • You steer codebase context precisely and get more accurate suggestions as a result.
  • You write project rules that reliably enforce your team’s conventions.
  • You use agent mode and background agents for features and refactorings with verifiable results.
  • Have AI agents reliably deliver pytest suites, type hints and refactorings across your Python codebase.
  • Encode project conventions, tooling such as Ruff, mypy and uv, and test commands so the assistant follows them consistently.
  • Review generated Python code systematically for correctness, security and maintainability before it is merged.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 Setting up Cursor and understanding its modes
  • Installation and migration of VS Code settings and extensions
  • Differences between Tab completion, inline edits, Ask mode and Agent mode
  • Choosing a model per task: balancing speed, depth and cost
  • Privacy mode and organisation-level settings
Module 2 Steering codebase context
  • How codebase indexing works and where its limits lie
  • Referencing files, folders, symbols, documentation and web sources precisely
  • Using ignore files to exclude sensitive or irrelevant content
  • Avoiding overlong chats and restarting tasks with fresh context
Module 3 Rules for consistent team results
  • Creating and versioning project rules and scoping them by file pattern
  • Expressing architecture, style and testing conventions as effective rules
  • Separating user rules from team rules
  • Refining rules iteratively based on the agent’s typical mistakes
Module 4 Agent mode in practice
  • Building features step by step with plan, implementation and tests
  • Running multi-file refactorings safely with checkpoints
  • Approving terminal commands deliberately and feeding error output back
  • Connecting MCP servers for issue trackers, databases or browser testing

Day 2

Module 5 Background agents, review and governance
  • Delegating tasks to background agents and running them in parallel
  • Reviewing results as branches or pull requests and steering follow-ups
  • Using AI-assisted code review alongside human review
  • Addressing security risks, secrets and licensing in enterprise use
Module 6 Practice lab: Python Development
  • Generating pytest tests
  • Type hints and mypy clean-up
  • Django migrations and ORM refactoring
  • FastAPI endpoints with Pydantic
  • Modernising legacy scripts
  • Understanding and documenting a codebase
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Define which source code may be sent to cloud-hosted models, keep secrets from .env files strictly out of context, and check generated code for licence carry-over and newly introduced PyPI dependencies (typosquatting, supply-chain risk). For products with digital elements, obligations under the Cyber Resilience Act are becoming increasingly relevant.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Generating pytest tests

The assistant inspects functions and existing fixtures, writes parametrised pytest tests covering edge cases and mocks for external services, then runs them iteratively until they pass and reach the coverage you are aiming for.

Type hints and mypy clean-up

Untyped code is annotated module by module with type hints, TypedDicts and Protocols. The agent runs mypy or Pyright, interprets the output and fixes issues step by step without changing runtime behaviour.

Django migrations and ORM refactoring

Model changes are planned together with data migrations, makemigrations conflicts are resolved and N+1 queries are fixed with select_related or prefetch_related. The AI flags risks to existing production data before you deploy.

FastAPI endpoints with Pydantic

From a functional description or an OpenAPI draft, the assistant produces Pydantic models, routers, dependency injection and validation logic, complete with error handling and matching tests using the TestClient.

Modernising legacy scripts

Old scripts become proper packages with pyproject.toml, global state is removed, argparse or Click interfaces are added and Ruff rules applied. The agent documents every change clearly in the commit history.

Understanding and documenting a codebase

The assistant explores an unfamiliar repository, produces architecture overviews, explains data flows between modules and fills in missing docstrings in Google or NumPy style so new team members become productive faster.

Possible hands-on projects

Log analysis CLI

A Typer-based command-line tool that reads application logs, clusters error patterns and outputs a concise summary as Markdown or JSON – shipped with tests and proper packaging.

FastAPI microservice with a database

A small REST service with SQLAlchemy, Alembic migrations, Pydantic validation and a Docker setup, planned, implemented and tested end to end by an AI agent.

Dependency audit script

A script that lists all project dependencies, checks for outdated or vulnerable packages against public advisory databases and produces a prioritised upgrade report.

Prerequisites

You program regularly in at least one language and are familiar with Git and an IDE such as VS Code. Solid Python skills plus hands-on experience with Git, virtual environments and at least one framework such as Django, Flask or FastAPI.

Technical requirements

Your own laptop with Cursor, Git and your usual development environment installed; a Cursor account with access to agent features is recommended.

Data protection & compliance

Define which source code may be sent to cloud-hosted models, keep secrets from .env files strictly out of context, and check generated code for licence carry-over and newly introduced PyPI dependencies (typosquatting, supply-chain risk). For products with digital elements, obligations under the Cyber Resilience Act are becoming increasingly relevant.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Thu, 26 November 2026 – Fri, 27 November 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 7 December 2026 – Tue, 8 December 2026 Berlin Request
  • Wed, 16 December 2026 – Thu, 17 December 2026 Online Request
  • Thu, 14 January 2027 – Fri, 15 January 2027 Online Request
  • Mon, 18 January 2027 – Tue, 19 January 2027 Stuttgart Request
  • Thu, 28 January 2027 – Fri, 29 January 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

Do I need prior VS Code experience to use Cursor?

It helps, but it is not essential. Cursor is built on VS Code, so navigation, shortcuts and extensions feel familiar and existing settings can be imported. If you currently work with JetBrains IDEs or other editors, a short introduction during the course gets you up to speed quickly so you can concentrate on the AI features.

How do I prevent confidential code from reaching third parties?

Cursor offers a privacy mode and organisation settings that restrict how code is stored by the provider. You can also use ignore files to exclude sensitive areas from indexing and context. In the course we discuss how to align these options with internal policies, data protection requirements and sound handling of secrets.

What do rules add compared with well-written prompts?

A prompt applies to one request only, whereas rules persist and apply to the whole team. They capture architectural decisions, preferred libraries, testing strategies and style guidelines, so nobody has to repeat that information and the agent produces code that fits your codebase. Rules are versioned with the project and evolve together with it.

Does AI-assisted coding work in large Django monoliths?

Yes, provided the agent gets the right context. On the course you learn to create instruction files describing architecture rules, app structure and test commands, and to scope tasks so the assistant works on individual apps or modules. Changes stay manageable and reviewable even when the overall project is very large.

Will AI replace my code reviews?

No. AI assistants speed up writing code and can prepare reviews by pointing out missing tests or risky sections, but functional and security accountability stays with your team. We show how to combine review checklists, static analysis and tests so that generated code meets exactly the same quality bar as hand-written code.

How much does “Cursor for Python Developers” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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