Why Cursor struggles with large TypeScript types

1// Cursor Chat prompt (Cmd+L, Ask mode):
2// @src/types/api.ts How many interfaces are in this file?
3// What is the total number of properties across all
4// interfaces? Which interface is the most deeply nested?

1// Before: one massive interface
2interface Order {
3  id: string;
4  userId: string;
5  items: Array<{ productId: string; quantity: number; price: number }>;
6  shipping: { address: string; city: string; zip: string; country: string };
7  billing: { cardLast4: string; method: string };
8  status: 'pending' | 'confirmed' | 'shipped' | 'delivered';
9  total: number;
10  tax: number;
11  discount: number;
12  createdAt: Date;
13  updatedAt: Date;
14}
15
16// After: composable types
17interface OrderItem {
18  productId: string;
19  quantity: number;
20  price: number;
21}
22
23interface ShippingInfo {
24  address: string;
25  city: string;
26  zip: string;
27  country: string;
28}
29
30interface BillingInfo {
31  cardLast4: string;
32  method: string;
33}
34
35type OrderStatus = 'pending' | 'confirmed' | 'shipped' | 'delivered';
36
37interface Order {
38  id: string;
39  userId: string;
40  items: OrderItem[];
41  shipping: ShippingInfo;
42  billing: BillingInfo;
43  status: OrderStatus;
44  total: number;
45  tax: number;
46  discount: number;
47  createdAt: Date;
48  updatedAt: Date;
49}

1// Composer prompt (Cmd+I):
2// @src/types/api.ts Split this file into separate type
3// files organized by domain:
4// - src/types/user.ts (User, UserProfile, UserSettings)
5// - src/types/order.ts (Order, OrderItem, ShippingInfo)
6// - src/types/product.ts (Product, Category, Variant)
7// - src/types/index.ts (re-export everything)
8// Update all imports across the project.

1// Instead of opening the full file and pressing Cmd+K:
2// 1. Find the specific interface you want to modify
3// 2. Select just that interface (Cmd+Shift+K to select block)
4// 3. Press Cmd+K
5// 4. Type your prompt:
6
7// Cmd+K prompt (with OrderItem interface selected):
8// "Add a 'notes' optional string field and a 'sku' required
9// string field to this interface"

1// In the Cursor Chat panel:
2// 1. Click the model dropdown at the top of the chat
3// 2. Select Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o for type work
4// 3. For very large operations, toggle MAX mode
5//
6// MAX mode provides:
7// - Larger context window
8// - Up to 200 tool calls (vs 25 standard)
9// - Better handling of complex type relationships
10//
11// Note: MAX mode uses more credits per request