Cursor 0.5 Is Here — and It's Ready to Lead the AI Coding Race

Written by tomaszs | Published 2025/05/21
Tech Story Tags: vibe-coding | programming | software-development | software-engineering | cursor-0.5 | cursor-news | ai-coding-news | ai-coding-tools

TLDRCursor 0.5 positions itself as a serious Copilot and Windsurf competitor, introducing request-based pricing, multi-file edits, background agents, improved large file handling, and real support for monorepos and microservice structures. It’s not just catching up — it’s stepping into the lead.via the TL;DR App

Cursor just dropped version 0.5, and it’s not just a feature bump — it’s a signal. While many have viewed Cursor as a "Copilot alternative," this release makes one thing clear: it’s now setting the pace.

Cursor, a fork of VSCode, has been steadily building its own path in the AI-assisted development world. Unlike Copilot, which mostly stays in autocomplete territory, Cursor blends powerful GPT-based tooling with in-editor chat, agents, and vibe coding workflows — where developers guide the AI to build software, not just fill in code.

With this release, Cursor proves it's no longer catching up. It’s stepping ahead.


Smarter Pricing, Cleaner Model

One of the biggest changes in 0.5 is the simplified pricing model. It’s now request-based: each action with the AI is a "request," and pricing is easy to predict.

Here’s how it looks:

  • Free: 2,000 completions and 50 slow requests/month
  • Pro ($20/mo): Unlimited completions, 500 fast requests
  • Enterprise ($40/user/mo): Centralized billing, enforced privacy, and team-level features

Premium models include GPT-4, GPT-4o, Claude 3.5, and the latest Claude 3.7 Sonnet. Each request costs $0.04, and if you enable Max Mode (for more complex prompts), you switch to token-based billing with a 20% markup over API cost.

It’s cleaner, more transparent, and lets developers scale up with less friction.


Multi-File Edits via Tab Model

Cursor’s Tab Model — a core part of its workflow — just got a major upgrade. Before, you could auto-apply AI-suggested changes with TAB, but only in a single file.

Now, Cursor can intelligently suggest and apply edits across multiple files at once. This is a massive improvement for real-world workflows, where features often touch multiple files, components, or layers.

No more 40,000-line files or repetitive copy-paste. The AI now sees the full picture.


Background Agent: Build While You Build

This feature is a vibe coder’s dream.

With the new background agent, you can ask Cursor to implement a feature, generate boilerplate, or refactor something — all while you continue working on something else.

It’s similar to the old Codex-style "fire and forget" workflows. You describe what you want, and Cursor quietly builds it for you in the background. Perfect for offloading routine tasks while keeping your focus where it matters.


Handling Big Files Without Pain

Cursor 0.5 includes a much-improved search-and-replace system for long files.

We all know we should split things up and follow good architecture, but sometimes you're stuck with a giant file that grew out of control. Cursor now makes it easier to surgically update specific logic without editing manually or running dangerous replaces.

It's not glamorous, but it’s one of those features that saves you when you need it most.


Real Support for Monorepos and Microservices

This update makes Cursor genuinely usable in monorepos, multi-package workspaces, and microservice projects.

Previous versions had trouble operating across multiple roots or linked folders. Now, Cursor’s agents and AI chat can understand your entire project structure, even when it spans multiple apps and libraries.

If you’re working in a real production-grade setup, this is the moment Cursor becomes viable at scale.


Bonus Upgrades

Cursor 0.5 includes other nice additions that bring more polish:

  • Duplicate chats to try different prompt paths
  • Export conversations for review or documentation
  • Refreshed inline edit experience that makes local changes smoother

Community Is Waking Up

Cursor’s developer base has started to take notice. Some praise the smarter Tab Model and background agent, others still want more polish.

“Didn’t even need to hint what else to change — it just got it.”
— forum.cursor.com

“Still edits the wrong files sometimes… feels buggy.”
— same thread

It’s not perfect, but Cursor 0.5 shows massive momentum — and it’s enough to pull power users and early adopters deeper into the fold.


Final Thoughts

Cursor 0.5 is more than a version bump — it’s Cursor growing into its own identity.

It’s not just a Copilot alternative anymore. It’s a real contender — especially for developers who want to experiment, vibe code, and build fast.

The AI tooling space is heating up fast. And right now? Cursor's playing to win.

To learn more about vibe coding subscribe to my vibe coding newsletter, where I share actionable tips every week for free so you can manage AI to write perfect code.

While we’re at it, check out also my latest 459-page e-book called Vibe Coding Bible that help people like you become frontiers of the new way of building apps!

And if you’re a founder, check out also my latest e-book: AI for Founders, where I share 100 AI tools for people like you to help in every step of the round to turn your idea into reality.


Written by tomaszs | Software engineer with 16y of pro exp. Tech blogger featuring interesting news and tips about computer science
Published by HackerNoon on 2025/05/21