Inline edit
An editing mode where the user selects a range of code, describes a change in natural language, and the AI rewrites the selection in place. Popularised by Cursor as "Cmd+K". Sits between tab completion and full agent mode.
Background
Inline edit replaces small-to-medium chunks of code based on a natural-language instruction — "add error handling", "convert to async", "factor out a hook". The user keeps control over what to edit; the model decides how. Distinguishes itself from tab completion (which decides what to write next) and from agent mode (which decides what files to touch). In 2026, inline edit is supported by every major AI code editor and most code-completion extensions.
Tools that use it
- 01→Windsurf
AI code editor by Codeium with Cascade agent for autonomous multi-step coding tasks.
- 02→Cursor
VS Code-based, agent-first coding environment — since Cursor 3.0 the default surface is an Agents Window, not an editor.
- 03→Continue
Open-source AI code assistant for VS Code and JetBrains, with full BYOK and local-model support.