From File Editing to Feature Orchestration
In our previous exercises, we acted as editors—manually identifying the correct XML files and asking Cursor to modify them. While this is precise, it's slow for building entire features. Plan Mode in Cursor Composer shifts the responsibility of discovery from you to the AI. Instead of specifying a file, you specify a business outcome. Cursor then scans your entire codebase to identify which objects, fields, flows, and layouts need to be created or modified to achieve that goal.
The Power of Model Specialization
To execute larger changes reliably, we utilize a tiered model strategy within the Composer:
Plan Mode with Opus: Opus is known for superior reasoning and architectural foresight. By using Opus in Plan Mode, we ensure the AI thinks through the Salesforce dependency graph—ensuring that the Flow it designs actually has access to the Custom Object it just planned.
Build Mode with Sonnet: Once the plan is finalized, we switch to Sonnet. Sonnet is the industry leader in coding speed and syntax accuracy, making it the ideal "builder" to generate the verbose XML required for Salesforce metadata.
This workflow transforms the SE from a metadata technician into a Solution Architect, focusing on the "what" while Cursor handles the "how."
Quick note about models: models are changing very fast. Figure out which model is best for planning and which is best for execution.