Training course · Cursor · SQL & Databases

Cursor for SQL and Database Professionals

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 SQL and Database Professionals” is designed for roles such as Database and SQL developers, Database administrators for PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle or MySQL and Backend developers responsible for data models and ORM layers and shows step by step how to use Cursor productively, safely and transparently in SQL & Databases – 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.

Databases are the memory of every application, and their performance, consistency and security determine whether entire systems succeed. AI coding assistants and agents support database developers and DBAs in writing complex queries, reading execution plans, designing schemas and index strategies and migrating between database platforms. They translate business questions into SQL, refactor sprawling stored procedures and generate test data. One principle still holds: a syntactically valid query is not necessarily a correct one, and an agent with write access to production data is a serious risk. In this course you learn to use AI productively with schema context, execution plans and tests, and to design access so that your data stays protected at all times.

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?

  • Database and SQL developers
  • Database administrators for PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle or MySQL
  • Backend developers responsible for data models and ORM layers
  • Data engineers and analytics engineers
  • BI developers working with complex reporting queries

Typical challenges we address

  • Slow queries and load spikes whose causes are hidden in execution plans
  • Sprawling stored procedures and triggers without documentation or tests
  • Risky schema changes and migrations on live systems
  • Different SQL dialects during platform changes or in multi-database estates

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.
  • Optimise queries and indexes with AI support based on execution plans rather than guesswork.
  • Plan and test schema changes and database migrations using generated scripts and rollback strategies.
  • Design database access for AI agents securely, with least privilege, read replicas and traceable queries.

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: SQL & Databases
  • Optimising SQL queries
  • Designing and reviewing schemas
  • Refactoring stored procedures
  • Planning migrations safely
  • Translating dialects
  • Generating test data
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Databases often hold personal and business-critical data: you learn to give AI tools schemas and anonymised samples instead of production data, manage credentials securely and implement GDPR requirements such as data minimisation and deletion policies.
  • 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

Optimising SQL queries

Have execution plans from EXPLAIN ANALYZE or Query Store interpreted, identify bottlenecks such as full table scans or poor join orders and get rewritten queries and suitable indexes with a clear rationale.

Designing and reviewing schemas

Derive normalised data models with keys, constraints and data types from requirements, review existing schemas for redundancy and missing integrity rules and generate ER diagrams.

Refactoring stored procedures

Explain large PL/SQL or T-SQL procedures, convert cursor loops into set-based logic, standardise error handling and add tests with frameworks such as tSQLt or pgTAP.

Planning migrations safely

Generate versioned migration scripts for Flyway or Liquibase, design zero-downtime strategies such as expand and contract and assess rollback paths as well as effects on locking and replication.

Translating dialects

Migrate queries, functions and data types between Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL and MySQL, account for differences in date functions, sequences and transaction behaviour and test for identical results.

Generating test data

Create realistic synthetic datasets that respect constraints, distributions and edge cases without using personal production data, for load tests and development environments. Generators live in the repository under version control.

Possible hands-on projects

Slow query analyser

A script that processes the slow query log or statistics views, groups the most expensive queries and reports concrete index and rewrite suggestions.

Schema documentation generator

A tool that reads a database schema and produces searchable documentation with table descriptions, relationships and an ER diagram. It refreshes automatically after each migration.

Text-to-SQL assistant

A small web app with read-only access to a reporting database that turns business questions into checked SQL and shows both query and result transparently.

Prerequisites

You program regularly in at least one language and are familiar with Git and an IDE such as VS Code. You write SQL regularly, understand joins, aggregations and indexes and work with at least one relational database system.

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

Databases often hold personal and business-critical data: you learn to give AI tools schemas and anonymised samples instead of production data, manage credentials securely and implement GDPR requirements such as data minimisation and deletion policies.

Suggested dates

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

  • Thu, 26 November 2026 – Fri, 27 November 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 9 December 2026 – Thu, 10 December 2026 Stuttgart Request
  • Wed, 13 January 2027 – Thu, 14 January 2027 Online Request
  • Thu, 28 January 2027 – Fri, 29 January 2027 Berlin Request
  • Mon, 1 February 2027 – Tue, 2 February 2027 Online Request
  • Tue, 16 February 2027 – Wed, 17 February 2027 Munich 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.

Should an AI agent access our database directly?

It can, but it needs careful planning. We recommend a dedicated read-only user, access to replicas or development databases rather than production, query timeouts and logging of every statement. Write changes go through versioned migration scripts with review. In the course you build exactly this safeguard, for instance through a restricted MCP server.

How reliable is AI-generated SQL?

It is usually syntactically correct, but semantic quality depends heavily on context: without the schema, relationships and business definitions, wrong joins or double counting creep in easily. With schema context, example queries and tests against known results, reliability rises considerably. You learn to validate generated queries systematically.

How much does “Cursor for SQL and Database Professionals” 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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