Cursor rescue
Cursor got you 80% there. We do the last 20%.
If Cursor built most of your app and then you lost the plot — agent mode rewrote files you didn't ask it to touch, the same thing is done three different ways, the build breaks after every dependency update and you no longer know which change broke what — AI Cubed audits the repo in two business days, gets it back under control, and finishes the last 20%. You keep Cursor. Most rescues take two to four weeks.
AI Cubed
September 9, 2026
Cursor is a genuinely good tool in the hands of someone who reviews every diff. Its failure mode is that it lets you skip that step for weeks, and the bill for skipping it arrives all at once.
audit of repo, history and build
most Cursor rescues
Cursor, with a workflow that holds
Sounds familiar?
- "Agent mode fixed the bug and changed six other files. Now a different feature is broken."
- "There are three ways of fetching data in this codebase and I didn't write any of them."
- "It imports a function that doesn't exist. The AI was very confident about it."
- "I upgraded a package because Cursor suggested it and the build hasn't worked since."
- "I never made a branch. Every change went straight to main. I can't go back."
- "It works in the small repo. In the monorepo it forgets what it was doing halfway through."
What breaks in Cursor projects specifically — and what we do
| What breaks | Why it happens with Cursor | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Agent-mode collateral edits | Composer/agent mode edits every file it thinks is relevant. Without review, shared utilities and types drift with each task. | Branch per task, PR with diff review, and a rules file that scopes what the agent may touch. Restore the shared files to one consistent version. |
| Pattern drift | Each session solves the same problem freshly — three data-fetching approaches, two state managers, two form libraries. | Pick one of each, migrate the rest, document the choice in `.cursor/rules` so the model follows it. |
| Hallucinated APIs and imports | The model invents a method or a package version's API that doesn't exist; TypeScript wasn't strict enough to catch it. | Strict TypeScript, type-checking in CI, and a dependency audit against the real installed versions. |
| Dependency churn | Packages bumped mid-task; lockfile absent or ignored; framework major versions mixed (e.g. Next 14 and 15 conventions in one app). | Commit the lockfile, pin versions, reconcile to one framework version and its conventions. |
| Monorepo context loss | The agent loses track across packages; changes half of a cross-package refactor and stops. | Complete the refactor by hand, add workspace-aware scripts, scope tasks so the agent works in one package at a time. |
| Secrets in `.env.local` committed | The agent created `.env.local`, git never ignored it, and it's been in history for weeks. | Rotate everything, purge from history, gitignore, move server secrets out of the client build. |
| No tests, no CI | Cursor 'ran it' once. Nothing checks the next change. | Type-check, lint and a small test suite in CI on every PR. Regressions get caught before merge. |
| Deploy that only works from one laptop | Local env vars, a manual `vercel --prod`, no preview environments. | Repo-connected deploys with preview per PR, environment variables per environment, one-click rollback. |
How we work on a Cursor project
- Audit — two business days. Repo access and a build that we can run. You get a report on what's inconsistent, what's invented, what's leaking, and a fix-or-rebuild call with a fixed quote.
- Stabilise the process — first days. Branches, review, lockfile, strict types, CI. This alone stops the bleeding.
- Consolidate and complete — weeks two to four. One pattern per concern, dead code removed, the missing features built, tests around the money paths, a real deploy.
- Hand over — repo, hosting and a `.cursor/rules` file that encodes the decisions, so the tool keeps helping instead of hurting.
Fix or rebuild a Cursor project?
| Signal | Fix | Rebuild |
|---|---|---|
| Core flow | Runs end to end on at least one machine | Has never built cleanly |
| Consistency | Two patterns per concern | Five, with contradictory types |
| Framework | One mainstream framework, one major version | Mixed majors, or a framework the model half-invented |
| Git history | Exists, even if messy | Everything committed as 'update' with secrets throughout |
| Size | A few thousand to ~30k lines | Huge, with generated duplication everywhere |
How long and how pricing works
Audit in two business days; most Cursor rescues are live in two to four weeks. The audit is a fixed price and the rescue is a fixed quote agreed after it — not hourly. If the honest call is a rebuild, you'll hear that on day two with a phased plan, not in week six.
Frequently asked questions
Related
Start here
See where your operation is losing time.
Twenty minutes with an operator, not a salesperson. We'll name the one bottleneck costing you the most — and tell you whether it's worth fixing with software at all.
Book your free 20-minute consult→20 minutes · video call · no preparation needed