Build and Deploy a Cursor Clone | Next.js 16, React, Convex | Full Course 2026

Quick Overview

The tutorial successfully builds Polaris, a complete AI-powered IDE clone using Next.js 16, TypeScript, and Convex, integrating features like Ghost Text Suggestions, an AI agent with file modification capabilities, live preview via Web Containers, and full GitHub integration.

Key Points: The project initiates by generating the entire structure in real-time, storing files and folders in the Convex database using its sync engine for true real-time reactivity. The editor utilizes CodeMirror 6 and displays context-aware AI suggestions as ghost text, accepted by hitting tab, while Firecrawl scrapes external URLs to feed context directly to the AI. The AI agent executes complex changes via a chat sidebar, utilizing Ingest for reliable background processing, retries, and managing agent execution. Authentication and billing are managed entirely by Clerk, which handles signup flows, OAuth providers (including GitHub for repository access), and tiered billing plans. The initial setup requires installing Next.js 16.1.1, TypeScript, ESLint, Tailwind, and the App Router, followed by installing and configuring Shadcn UI components (version 3.6.2). Dark mode is hardcoded by installing Next Themes (0.4.6) and wrapping the application with the ThemeProvider in layout.tsx, setting the default theme to 'dark'. The tutorial emphasizes a proper Git workflow, committing setup changes, creating a branch named '02 authentication', and utilizing Code Rabbit for automated, teachable pull request reviews.

Context: This video serves as a comprehensive tutorial for building Polaris, a functional clone of modern AI coding editors like Cursor, leveraging a full modern web stack. The core technologies discussed include Next.js 16 and TypeScript for the foundation, Convex for a real-time database backend, Clerk for user management (authentication and payments), and various specialized tools like CodeMirror 6, Web Containers, Firecrawl, Ingest, Sentry, and Code Rabbit to achieve advanced IDE features.