How to Setup Cursor for Unity Development

I’m a big proponent of using AI for development, but I’m not a fan of vibe coding approach - it’s a recipe for a disaster. You have to understand the codebase to be able to make the right decisions.

Use AI as a tool, not a replacement for your knowledge.

Setting up Cursor (the AI-powered fork of VS Code) for Unity development can be a bit tricky because some C# features are blocked in Cursor. However, there’s a simple path to get it working perfectly.

1. Install Unity Package for Cursor

To allow Unity to properly “see” and interact with Cursor, you should install a dedicated package.

Open your Unity Project.
Go to Window > Package Manager.
Click the + icon and select Add package from git URL....
Enter the following URL: https://github.com/boxqkrtm/com.unity.ide.cursor.git
Click Add.

2. Set Cursor as Default External Editor

Once the package is installed, you need to tell Unity to use Cursor for opening scripts.

Go to Unity > Settings (on macOS) or Edit > Preferences (on Windows).
Select External Tools.
In the External Script Editor dropdown, select Cursor.

3. Install Dotrush for Debugging

For the best debugging experience (often better than the official Unity plugin), it’s recommended to use Dotrush.

Install the Dotrush extension from the Cursor marketplace.

4. Project Configuration (.vscode)

To ensure smooth operation, add these configurations to your .vscode folder in the root of your Unity project.

`extensions.json`

Recommends the Dotrush extension for your team.

{
  "recommendations": [
    "nromanov.dotrush"
  ]
}

`settings.json`

Excludes clutter from search and file watching, and sets the default solution.

Important: Replace <YourProject> with the actual name of your .sln file.

{
  "files.exclude": {
    "**/*.meta": true,
    "**/Library": true,
    "**/Temp": true,
    "**/obj": true,
    "**/Logs": true,
    "**/Build": true,
    "**/.vs": true
  },
  "search.exclude": {
    "**/*.meta": true,
    "**/*.csproj": true,
    "**/*.sln": true,
    "**/Library": true,
    "**/Temp": true,
    "**/obj": true,
    "**/Logs": true,
    "**/Build": true,
    "**/.vs": true
  },
  "files.watcherExclude": {
    "**/Library/**": true,
    "**/Temp/**": true,
    "**/obj/**": true,
    "**/Logs/**": true,
    "**/Build/**": true
  },
  "dotnet.defaultSolution": "<YourProject>.sln"
}

Sources

How to setup cursor for Unity development - reddit thread